Rational: This lesson will help children identify /z/, the phoneme represented by Z. Students will learn to recognize /z/ in spoken words by learning a sound analogy (zapping a zebra) and the letter symbol Z, practicing finding /z/ in words, and apply phoneme awareness with /z/ in phonetic cue reading by distinguishing rhyming words from beginning letters. 

 

Materials: Primary paper and pencil; chart with “Zappy the Zebra Zipps through the Zoo”; drawing paper and crayons; Dr Suess’ If I Ran a Zoo; word cards with ZAP, ZIP, ZOO, ZERO, ZEBRA; assessment worksheet identifying the letter Z and writing words with the letter /z/. 

 

Procedures:

1. Say: The written language we have is like a secret code. To crack the code, we must learn what each letter stands for and how to move our mouths when we say them. Today we are going to learn how our mouth moves when we say /z/. We spell /z/ with the letter Z. Z looks like a zigzag and sounds like we are zipping a zipper. 

 

2. Say: Let’s pretend we are zipping a zipper, /z/, /z/, /z/. [Pantomime zipping a zipper] Do you notice how when you say /z/ your teeth are touching and you are blowing air out? /z/ We sound just like we're zipping up a jacket! 

 

3. Let me show you how to find the word /z/ in the word fuzz. I’m going to stretch the word fuzz in super slow motion. Fff-uuu-zzz. There it was! I felt my teeth come together and heard the zipp sound. Zipper /z/ is in fuzz.

 

4. Let’s try a tongue tickler [on chart]. Zac the zebra lived in the jungle. One day, he was zapped by a zookeeper! With a zip and a zap, he ended up in the zoo. Here’s our tricker: “Zac the zebra was zapped by the zookeeper.” Let’s say it three times together. Now say it again, and this time, stretch the /z/ at the beginning of the words. “Zzzac the zzzebra was zzzapped by the zzzookeeper.” Try  it again, and this time break it off the word: /z/ac the /z/ookeeper was /z/apped by the /z/ookeeper. 

 

5. [Have students take out primary paper and pencil]. We use letter Z to spell /z/.  Capital Z looks like a zig-zag. Let’s write the lowercase letter z. Start at the fence and draw a short line on the fence. Then draw a crooked line from the end of the first line you drew to the sidewalk. After that, draw another short line on the sidewalk. After I have checked your first written Z, I want you to write 9 more just like it for practice.

 

6.  Okay everyone, let’s practice. Raise your hand once you know the answer. Do you hear /z/ in zoo or can? Buzz or moss? Zebra or horse? Hero or zero? ? Let’s see if you can spot the mouth move in /z/ in some words. Zip the zipper if you hear /z/: buzz, lake, meat, zoo, yellow, zebra, zoom, home. 

 

7. Say: “Let’s look at a new book. Dr. Seuss introduces the character Gerald McGrew who visits the zoo. There, he determines that the animals at the zoo were not exoctic enough. He says that if he ran the zoo, he would set all of the current animals free and find new, more bizarre and exotic ones. Let’s read to find out what Gerald does! We are going to make the zipper sound every time we hear a word in the story with the sound /z/ in it.” After reading the book to the class, ask students to draw their own version of an exotic, fun animal on a cutout of the letter Z. After they finish drawing, have them name their creation that starts with Z. 

 

8. Show ZAP and model how to decide if it is cap or zap: The Z tells me to zip my jacket, /z/, so this word is zzz-a-p, zap. You try some: ZAP: map or zap? CAT: fat or cat? ZIP: hip or zip? FOG: fog or dog? ZOOM: boom or zoom?

 

9. For the assessment, distribute the worksheet. Students are to circle the Letter Z’s that they find, and record how many found in total. Students will then circle the correct pictures that start with the letter Z.

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Reference: Learning Z with Zoey the Buzzing Bee by Elizabeth Escalera

Assessment worksheet: Letter Z Worksheet