Engage students in exploring words that begin with M through this interactive activity. The morning before going on the word hunt, help students create their mice. Photocopy a large M outline onto gray card stock and distribute to students. Guide students to cut out the letter and add decorations to create a mouse. Glue two paper eyes close the two top points, a black paper nose onto the bottom point, and white paper whiskers fanning out from the nose. Allow mice to dry for the word hunt. Later, when students are not in the classroom, write words that begin with the letter M on small yellow pieces of paper, or cheese. Hide these pieces of cheese around the room. Gather students together and hand out their created mice. Tell students their mice will be going on a hunt for cheese. Set a timer and allow students to search. When the timer buzzes, gather the students and collect the cheese. Discuss what the words have in common and read each word with the students. If desired, attach the cheese pieces to poster and display near the classroom writing station.
Kindergarten students love word play games and benefit from the phonemic awareness practice they provide. In The Land of M, students substitute an M sound for the initial sound in familiar words. Introduce the class to The Land of M by guiding students to discover their names with an initial M sound. For example, "Kelly" would be transformed into "Melly" in The Land of M. Once students can produce their own names in The Land of M, challenge them to transform other words. To make the activity extra special, create each student a wand by gluing a letter M to the top of a large craft stick. Encourage students to use their wands as they travel around the classroom transforming words in The Land of M. For example, students can wave their wands over a book and change it to a "mook." Students will enjoy playing this game throughout the school year using various letters.
Incorporate language arts skills into show and tell by inviting students to bring a special item from home that has an M sound in it. Remind students and parents that the item does not necessarily need to begin with M but should have an M sound somewhere in the word. Send a reminder email to parents the day before show and tell to encourage participation. Gather students with their show and tell items. Allow students to stand up and tell what item they brought. If desired, allow students to share one special thing about their items. Explain to students that they will be sorting their show and tell items by where the M sound is in the word. Designate three areas at the front of group: items that start with M, items that have an M sound in the middle and items that end with M. Show several examples of your own items. Once again, have each student stand up with his item. This time, encourage students to segment, or sound out, their word to find where the M is. If a student is unsure of segmenting, invite the class to join in. Students will then place their items in the correct area. When finished, count the number of items in each group and compare.
Students will encounter numerous fonts everyday in books, on signs and on papers; however, most language arts curriculum only teach and expose students to standard handwriting fonts. Help students explore various ways a letter M could appear and practice valuable sorting skills, through a font sort. Download a font sort set or create one by typing large letter Ms into a word-processing document in as many fonts as possible. Try using various colors of font as well. Print the font sort onto card stock, cut the letters into cards and laminate for durability. Begin by allowing students to explore and observe the letters. Promote discussion by asking questions such as "What is different about the letters?" or "Where have you seen letters like this before?" Encourage students to find similarities and differences between the fonts. As a class, decide on a sorting rule, such as colors, curly or not curly, thickness or size. Distribute at least one card to each student, designate the sorting areas at the front of the group and allow students to sort. Discuss the results and determine another sorting rule. Redistribute cards and sort again. Continue as many times as time allows. For an extra challenge later in the year, try sorting multiple letters at one time.