S & Z

Week 4

Zoo Trip Preparation!!!!
Our school is going to the ZOO next Monday!!! The zoo is a really fun place to find and use words with your target sound. Below are some ideas to get ready to talk about what you see with your friends :) You can do the same activity each day, or mix it up. You can spend 3 minutes, or 15 minutes: make it work for you!

Click HERE each day you practice to submit your homework.

Quick Ideas:

Practice saying the names of 3-5 animals that have your sound in them, 5 times each. Examples: sea lion, salmon, starfish, bison, walrus, zebra, (or pluralize an animal to add a /s/ or /z/ to many animals)

Do a google image search to find pictures of animals with your sound in their name. Using your hands in circles around your eyes for binoculars, practice talking about a few pictures by saying 5 short sentences like, "I see a zebra!" "I spy a baby zebra!" "I see a HUGE zebra!"

Expansion Ideas:

Take a virtual field trip to the zoo! (See the links below.) As you do, you can
- - - Talk about what you see and learn using your best sounds.
    - Can you find an animal that starts with your sound?
      - Make 3 sentences describing this animal ("zebras eat...")
Practice writing or drawing about an animal that starts with your sound. Tell at least 2 people about what you wrote or drew. (First graders have been working on writing stories. Kindergartners have been working on writing 4 sentences, like "I see a zebra. It is big. It has stripes. It can run.")
Use the tune of this song to sing about 5 animals together (e.g. "Z is for zebra. /z/ /z/ zebra, /z/ /r/ zebra, Z, zebra." or "B is for bison, /b/ /b/ bison, /b/ /b/ bison, B, bison"). Warning, this song can get stuck in your head and lead to extra practice opportunities ;)

Tongue tip UP on alveolar ridge (bumps behind upper front teeth)
Sides of tongue touch upper teeth (like when you're saying "EEEEE")
Air through small groove in center of tongue tip
"S" is quiet (voice off), "Z" is loud (voice on)

light pink = where tongue touches top of mouth for this sound

If your child cannot correctly produce the words you find even with your help, switch to modeling the words while your child watches and listens (you can have them give you a thumbs up or thumbs down if you say the sound correctly to keep them engaged).

Ideas for virtual field trips:

Reid Zoo: http://reidparkzoo.org/cameras/elephant-cam/
- - You can see a live camera for several animals (African Wild Dog, Elephant, Flamingo, Giraffe, & Lemur) or learn about more of their animals here: https://reidparkzoo.org/animals/
Houston Zoo: https://www.houstonzoo.org/explore/webcams/
- You can see a live camera for several animals (Giraffe, Otter, Elephant, Flamingo, Rhino) or learn about more of their animals here: https://www.houstonzoo.org/explore/animals/
Smithsonian's National Zoo: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/webcams
- You can see a live camera for several animals (Giant Panda, Cheetah, Naked Mole Rat, Lion, Elephant) or learn about more of their animals here: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/list
San Diego Zoo: https://sdzwildlifeexplorers.org/videos
- You can see a live camera for several animals (Ape, Baboon, Burrowing Owl, Condor, Elephant, Giraffe, Hippo, Koala, Panda, Penguin, Platypus, Polar Bear, Tiger) or learn about more of their animals here: https://sdzwildlifeexplorers.org/animals
Atlanta Zoo: https://zooatlanta.org/panda-cam/
- You can see a live camera for the pandas or learn about more of their animals here: https://zooatlanta.org/animals/
Youtube: search for an animal that has your sound in its name and see what National Geographic or other sources can teach you.
No-Internet Version: Library! Go to your local library and look at books about animals! :)

Adults, remember the internet can contain surprises that aren't appropriate for your child. When searching google images, youtube, or other internet sources, preview the page or video before viewing with your child. I cannot be responsible for all of the content out there :)

Homework Tip: While practicing these words, focus on the target sound ("S" & "Z").
Don't worry about errors on other sounds your student can't produce yet.

For example, if they can't say "R," and they say "zebwa" instead of "zebra," that's okay because we're focusing on "Z."

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