Unit 3 Activity A
Complete My Sentence
Materials
• Reading Rods® Picture Rods
Skill Recognizing words
with the same initial sounds
(alliterative words)
Objective To develop listening
skills to recognize words that
begin with the same initial sound
Activity Overview Children listen to and make up
sentences that use alliteration to draw children’s attention
to the initial sounds in words. Children use Reading Rods
Picture Rods to reinforce initials sounds.
Notes: Getting Ready
Build Background Use Reading Rods
Picture Rods. Give each child a rod with
picture names that begin with the same
initial sound as the child’s name. (Refer
to Appendix, Picture Cards, page 191
through page 193, for a list of pictures on
the Picture Rods.)
Give each child the opportunity to work
with 1 Picture Rod.
Getting Ready
• Let’s have fun with words that begin with the same
sound. We will use Picture Rods to help us learn the
sounds. I will give each of you a rod.
• [Child’s name], say your name and listen to the sound
you hear at the beginning of your name. [Mary] What
beginning sound did you hear in your name? [/m/]
• Look at your Picture Rod. Say the name of each picture
and listen to the beginning sound as you say each word.
[milk, monkey, moon, mouse] What sound did you hear
at the beginning of each word? [/m/]
• Say your name again. Then, say the picture names
again. [Mary, milk, monkey, moon, mouse]
• What did you notice about all the beginning sounds in
those words? Yes! They are all the same sound! They
begin with the /m/ sound!
• Who wants to say his or her name next?
Notes: Watch Me Play
Model the Activity Use Reading Rods
Picture Rods. (Refer to Appendix, Picture
Cards, page 191 through page 193, for a
list of pictures on the Picture Rods.)
Select rods and then complete alliterative
sentences, using the beginning sounds of
the names of pictures on the rods.
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Watch Me Play
• We are going to have fun making up silly sentences with
words that all begin with the same sound. We will use
Picture Rods to help us.
• Here is how to play the game. First, I listen for a
sentence. The sentence is “Lucy Lizard likes lollipops.”
• I say the sentence again as I listen to the beginning
sound in each word. What sound do I hear at the
beginning of every word? I hear the /l/ sound!
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Watch Me Play
continued
• Now, I leave off the last word in the sentence. “Lucy
Lizard likes . . .” I need to use a word with the same
beginning sound to complete the sentence.
• I look at my Picture Rod and say the names of the
pictures as I listen to the beginning sound of each word.
[lamp, leaf, light bulb, lion] What is the beginning
sound I hear in these words? [/l/]
• I pick a picture name and use that word to complete
the sentence. I say the new sentence. [Lucy Lizard
likes lamps.] I said the word lamp instead of the word
lollipops.
• I play again. I get a new Picture Rod and listen for a
new sentence.
Notes: Watch Me Play
continued
The following are examples of alliterative
sentences with at least two beginning sound
repetitions in a row:
Benny Baboon bakes bread.
Kelly caught a cold.
Diego digs dirt.
Edith eats eggplant.
Fred fought for freedom.
Go get a glass.
Happy horses hurry home for hay.
Nelly needs a new name.
Please put pinecones on the plastic plate.
Sally sings songs about sunshine.
Tall Tom took two tickets.
Walter Wombat wanted a white washcloth.
Model the activity until children understand
the concept of listening for the same
beginning sounds, and of substituting the
final word in a sentence. When substituting
the final word for a Picture Rod name,
children may need to use the plural form of
the word for sentence agreement.
Play the Game with Me
• Here is a Picture Rod. Who wants to say the names of
the pictures on the rod?
• [Child’s name], listen to the beginning sound of the
words as you say the picture names. [saw, seal, sock,
sun] What sound do you hear at the beginning of each
word? [/s/] That’s correct! Every picture name starts
with the /s/ sound.
• Listen to this sentence: “Sammy saw a sailboat.” I will
say the sentence again, and this time you say it with me.
What sound do we hear at the beginning of most of the
words? [/s/]
Notes: Play the Game with Me
Continue the Activity Together
Use Reading Rods® Picture Rods. (Refer
to Appendix, Picture Cards, page 191
through page 193, for a list of pictures on
the Picture Rods.)
See Model the Activity for examples of
alliterative sentences.
Give each child an opportunity to make up
1 alliterative sentence.
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Play the Game with Me
continued
• Now, let’s leave off the last word and use the Picture
Rod to help us think of another word that begins with
/s/ to complete the sentence.
• Let’s look at the Picture Rod again. Remember, all the
pictures on the rod have names that begin with /s/. We
can replace the last word in our sentence with one of
the picture names on the rod. The sentence will still have
words that begin with the /s/ sound!
• Who wants to pick a picture to complete the sentence?
[Child’s name], what picture do you want to use? [seal]
You will say the word seal instead of sailboat. Use that
word to complete the sentence. Say your new sentence.
[Sammy saw a seal.]
• Who wants to try a different sentence?
Notes: On Your Own!
Guided Practice Use Reading Rods®
Picture Rods. (Refer to Appendix, Picture
Cards, page 191 through page 193, for a
list of pictures on the Picture Rods.)
See Model the Activity for examples of
alliterative sentences.
Give each child an opportunity to make up
1 alliterative sentence.
Notes: Show What You Know!
Assess Understanding Choose
a variety of animals with a variety of
beginning sounds, such as cat, dog, guppy,
hippo, llama, moth, tuna.
Give each child 2 or 3 opportunities to
make up different silly animal names and
sentences.
On Your Own!
• Here is a Picture Rod. [ball/banana/bicycle/book] And
here is a sentence. “Big Brown Bear bought bread.” Say
the sentence with me.
• Leave off the last word in the sentence. “Big Brown Bear
bought . . .”
• Choose a picture name from the rod and complete the
sentence. [Big Brown Bear bought bicycles.]
• Do all the words begin with the same sound?
Show What You Know!
• I will give you an animal, and you make up a first name
for the animal. The first name must begin with the same
sound as the animal. For example, Darla Dog.
• Make up a silly sentence using your animal’s name,
such as, “Darla Dog dreams about dinosaurs.” The
important words in the sentence should begin with the
same sound.
Note any difficulty and at what point it
became evident. Revisit Activity 3A if
needed.
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Unit 3 Activity A
Complete My Sentence
Going Further
Notes: Going Further
Finish My Sentence
Children work with partners to think of a subject (person,
place, or thing) and verb (action) that begins with the
same sound, such as Santo sips. The rest of the group
brainstorms a word to complete the sentence. Santo sips
straws.
Extend and Adapt
These activities do not require extra
materials. They are all played through
children’s imaginations.
Add a Word
Stand in a circle with children. Say a 2-word alliterative
sentence, such as Tina tastes. The child to the teacher’s
right repeats the sentence and adds another word with
the same initial sound. Tina tastes tacos. The person to the
right of the child adds another word with the same initial
sound. Tina tastes tacos and toast. The next child adds
another word, and so on, until children run out of words
with the same beginning sound. Children may say silly
words to keep the game going, such as Tina tastes tacos,
toast, and telephones.
Fun with Names
Many characters in nursery rhymes, storybooks, and
cartoons have alliterative names. Have fun with children
creating a list of names of such characters. Some of the
many character names include Black Beauty, Bugs Bunny,
Clark Kent, Daisy Duck, Dudley Dursley, Minnie Mouse,
Mighty Mouse, Old King Cole, Tiny Tim.
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