Letter U Name © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 201 Letter of the Week! Letter u Name © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 202 Letter of the Week! Ideas and Activities for the Letter: Ukulele Bring a ukulele to class and let the children play it. Umbrella Take an umbrella to school on a rainy day and have the children dance in the rain. Serve the children a fruity drink and put a cocktail umbrella in it for decoration. Uncle Have the children write a special note to an uncle. Under/Underneath Let the children discover what playground equipment they can crawl under. Create an obstacle course in which the children must crawl underneath several items. Undress/Untie Have the children practice their dressing and undressing skills during arrival time, departure time, and in the Dramatic Play Center with dress-up clothes. Teach them to tie and untie their shoes. Unicycle Invite someone with a unicycle to come to your class and demonstrate their talent. Uniforms Various jobs or occupations require people to wear uniforms. Make a list of different occupations that require uniforms (mechanics, nurses, doctors, police officers, fire fighters, garbage collectors, chefs, football players, baseball players, etc.). Upset Encourage the children to talk about things that upset them. How does it feel to be upset? What can you do to feel better? Utensil Provide a variety of different utensils. Invite the children to sort the utensils by type. Set the table with the utensils placed correctly. © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 203 Letter of the Week! Other words that begin with the letter U: These words may arise in naturally occurring conversations throughout the day/week. As you use these words, point out that they start with the letter “u” and write them on an index card to add to your word board. uncover, unload (removing something) underarm (body part) up, upside down, upstairs (concepts) umbrella © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 204 Letter of the Week! Picture Cards ukulele umbrella umpire unicorn utensils up Word Cards umbrella ukulele utensil underwear unicorn unlock © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 205 Letter of the Week! Picture Cards – These cute illustrations can be used in a number of ways. Here are just a few suggestions: Construct a simple matching game by making two copies (using heavy paper) and cutting them apart. The children turn the cards over and try to find the matches. Make a simple sound sorting game by taking pictures from two different letters and asking the children to sort them by their first letter/sound. For example, copy the “B” and “P” letter/word cards and have the children look at each picture, say its name and place it in either the “B” or “P” pile. Display the picture cards with the matching word cards on the classroom bulletin board. (Not all pictures cards come with a matching word card. In this case, make your own using standard index cards.) An activity for older children can also be made using the cards. Instruct them to match the appropriate picture and word cards together. In addition, the cards represent long and short vowel sounds. Copy several picture card sets and ask the children to sort them by short vowel sound. Start with two vowels, then include cards representing three or more vowels. Or use cards that represent the long and short sounds of one vowel (i.e., long and short “a”). Ask the children to sort them into two lunch bags, demonstrating how they can discriminate between the two sounds. Or develop sentences or stories using cards and words from one or more vowel group. Some of the cards include pictures that begin with initial blends. As mentioned earlier, blends should be taught after initial consonants are introduced. Blends either combine two sounds together or they represent their own sound. The picture cards can be used to make matching games or in sound sorting activities. Word Cards – These word cards can be used to match with the picture cards, label items in the classroom, or used in an “Explore Tub.” Create an Explore Tub by using an empty water table, a large box, or a laundry basket. Collect the “real” items on the word cards. And then tape the word cards to the matching item. Allow the children to explore the items. The teacher can point out the word (emphasizing the initial sound) and then have the children repeat the word. Some children may be able to tell you each letter in the word. Trace and Write – Encourage the children to use this page to practice writing the letters using correct form. My Alphabet Book – This reproducible page reinforces the skills learned by providing practice for the child in writing the letters correctly. Children can also write simple words that begin with the chosen letter and draw a picture of an object that represents the letter of the week. At the end of the year, have the children assemble them in alphabetical order and attach them together in a binder or staple them into a student-made book. © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 6 Letter of the Week! Trace and Write Trace and write the letters. Color the picture. Name Uppercase U UUUUU Lowercase u u u u u u © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company 206 Letter of the Week! My Alphabet Book Name I am learning about the letter U u. This is how I write it: UU u u Here are some words that start with the letter U u: This is my picture of an © Teacher’s Friend, a Scholastic Company . 207 Letter of the Week!