Lesson 2: Same or Different Sounds?
Main Concept:
Children will identify whether two sounds or words are the same or different.

Objectives:

• Strengthen listening skills by differentiating sounds.
• Improve sound recognition by identifying similarities and differences.
• Develop fine motor skills by practicing vertical and horizontal lines.

Warm-Up Activity: Where’s That Noise?

• Gather your learner and explain that you’re going to make sounds while their eyes are closed, and they will need to listen closely to figure out where the sound is coming from.
• Once their eyes are closed, choose a sound-maker (e.g., bell) and make the sound from somewhere in the room, and then return quickly to your spot
• Ask the child, “Did you hear the bell? Where is it coming from?”
• Vary the objects and make the sounds from different directions to keep the
  activity engaging.
• Encourage the child to listen for the specific sound and identify it from the
  others.
• This activity is inspired from one from www.sightwords.com and can be found here https://sightwords.com/phonemic-awareness/listening/find-the-noisemaker/ 

Main Activity: Same or Different Sounds?

• Present two sounds (e.g., clap and clap, or clap and whistle) and
  ask the child: “Are these the same or different sounds?”
• Encourage the child to answer and then discuss the reasoning
  behind their answer.
• Repeat with a variety of sound pairs, ensuring that you introduce a mix of same and different sounds (e.g., bell and bell, bell and clap, clap and whistle).
• After each pair, encourage the child to describe what they heard
  and why the sounds are the same or different.
  
  

Story Time with Horizontal and Vertical

• Book Recommendation: Mister Horizontal and Miss
  Vertical by Noémie Révah.
• Encourage the child to notice the difference between the two types of lines while engaging in sound effects to add fun.
• Afterward, ask the child to make horizontal and vertical lines with their bodies or with objects like sticks or string

Prewriting Activity:

• Practice drawing vertical and horizontal lines.
• Make big movements that cross the midline
• Encourage the child to make the vertical lines top to bottom and the horizontal lines from left to right.
• Activity Options:
  • Large Paper: Use crayons or markers for the child to draw vertical and horizontal lines independently.
  • Chalkboard or Whiteboard: Have the child draw vertical lines (up and down) and horizontal lines (across).
  • Window Markers: Let the child draw lines on a window or mirror, focusing on the direction of the lines (vertical or horizontal).
  • Sensory Tray: Use finger to draw the lines in a tray of rice or
    salt.

Extensions:

Mondrian-Inspired Art

• Introduce the artist Piet Mondrian, explaining how he used geometric shapes like squares and rectangles, with bold black lines and primary colors (red, blue, and yellow), to create abstract art.
• Video for inspiration
• Activity: Let the child create their own abstract artwork inspired by Mondrian by drawing overlapping horizontal and vertical, thick black lines and filling in the spaces with red, blue, yellow, or other colors. Use markers, crayons, or paint to help them explore this style.

Making Patterns w/ Horizontal and Vertical Lines
Incorporate some math by introducing or continuing to work on making patterns
using the horizontal and vertical patterns in this unit.