1. Say: Today we are going to learn about the letter J. We will learn how our mouth moves when we say the letter J, and how it sounds like jjjjjjjellyfish. The letter J looks like a fish hook, and I will show you how to write it. You start at the rooftop go down by the fence, touch the sidewalk and curl back up to the fence. 

2. How many of you have ever been to an aquarium? Do you remember seeing the jellyfish? Everybody stand up and pretend to swim like a jellyfish. )Wave your arms down and pretend you are swimming like a jellyfish does, make the /j/ sound each time you wave your arms) /j/, /j/, /j/. When we say the /j/ sound, our tongue touches the roof of our mouth, but our lips stay open. A fish puckers their mouth just like we do when we make the /j/ sound. A jellyfish has a mouth like that too, it is just under their tummy! 

3. Now let’s find the /j/ sound, in some real words! I am going to say a word, and I want you to listen for the /j/ and move your arms like a jellyfish when you hear the /j/ sound in the word I say out loud. Jjjj-ump. Slower: jjjjjjjjj-ump.

4. Let’s try a tongue tickler. Jake and Joe went to a state called New Jersey. In New Jersey, Jake and Joe wanted to go to the aquarium. Jake and Joe journeyed to find a joyful jellyfish. Here is our tongue tickler: “Jake and Joe journeyed to find a joyful jellyfish.” Everyone say it together three times. Now, we are going to stretch it out when we say it by stretching the /j/ at the beginning of the words. “JJJJJJake and JJJJJJoe jjjjjjourneyed to find a jjjjjjoyful jjjjjjellyfish.” We are going to do it one more time, but this time break the /j/ sound off of each word. “ /j/ake and /j/oe /j/ourneyed to find a /j/oyful /j/ellyfish.”

5. Now let’s practice writing the /j/ sound. We use the letter J to make the /j/ sound. Let’s try writing the capital J that looks like a fish hook that I showed you earlier. Start at the rooftop, go down past the fence, touch the sidewalk, and curl back up to the fence. Now let’s try a lowercase j. The lowercase j looks like a fishhook too. We start at the fence and go down past the sidewalk, touch the ditch, and curl back up to the sidewalk. Then we add a floating bobber above the fence. Let me see your lowercase j, and after I put a smile on it, I want you to write nine more lowercase J’s.  

6. Next, I am going to call on some of you and ask if you hear the /j/ sound in two different words, and I want you to tell me how you know. Do you hear /j/ in boy or joy? Razz or jazz? Bump or jump? Let or jet? Now if you hear the /j/ sound move your arms like a jellyfish does: cat, jet, joyful, dog, jelly, and, goat, jam, jack. Now we will read “Jog and Jump.” I want you to listen and try to find words that start with the /j/ sound. Jog and Jump is a book about young animals who are at a summer camp. We are going to see what all the young animals do to have fun at summer camp.

7. Show JOY and model how to decide if it is joy or boy. The J tells us to move our arms like a jellyfish, /j/, so this word is jjjjjjj-oy. Now you try some JILL: Jill or mill? JET: Jet or pet? JACK: Rack or Jack? 

8. For assessment, distribute the worksheet, students will practice by writing the letter J, and only coloring the pictures that start with the /j/ sound. 

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