The Farmer in the Dell

Phoneme Awareness Procedure 1. Teach the traditional song and game “The Farmer in the Dell .” (See lyrics on the next page and in the Digital Resources .) Have children form a circle . One child plays the “farmer .” The circle moves around the farmer as children sing the first verse . 2. As they sing the second verse, the farmer selects someone from the circle to join in the centre as the “spouse” (or “mate”) . During the third verse, the “spouse” selects someone to join them in the centre as the “child,” and so on . Finally, the “rat” chooses the “cheese .” Everyone, except the child who is the “cheese,” leaves the centre to reform a circle around the “cheese,” who stands alone . The “cheese” becomes the “farmer” for the next round . 3. Once students understand the game, change the lyrics so that instead of singing Hi-ho, the derry-o, you will sing Mi-mo, the merry-o . Ask children what they notice about the new lyrics . Guide them to observe the substitution and repetition of the /m/ sound . 4. Ask children to suggest other sounds to substitute in the phrase . Sing together and enjoy the sound manipulation . Next time you play the game, ask “How shall we sing Hiho, the derry-o today?” Differentiate or Extend ▲ Add children’s names to the song, and target additional words in the song for sound substitution using the child’s initial phoneme . For example, “Nathan in the nell, Nathan in the nell, Ni-no, the nerry-o, Nathan in the nell . ” ▲ Shift attention to the final sound in derry-o . Substitute the sound with other vowel sounds one at a time . Make a corresponding substitution in hi-ho . For example, if the focus is on the long /i/, children sing hi-hi, the derry-i . Letter Connection ▲ Select letters for which children have learned the lettersound correspondence . Show one, review the letter name and the sound it represents, and make the appropriate substitution in the song . For example, display and talk about The Farmer in the Dell Objective Students will substitute initial or final phonemes in words . Overview Children sing and play the traditional song and game “The Farmer in the Dell .” The teacher shows them how to change the initial phonemes in the phrase Hi-ho, the derry-o to form alliterations . Materials none School-Home Connection Suggest that children teach their families the song and game . Ask which other versions of Hi-ho, the derry-o they plan to share . Invite them to return to class with more suggestions . sample sample the letter p . Then, sing the song with Pi-po, the perry-o .

Phoneme Awareness

Additional Sounds and Verses Sound Verse

/b/ /d/ /f/ /k/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /p/ /r/ /s/ /t/ /v/ /z/

Bi-bo, the berry-o Di-doe, the derry-o Fi-fo, the ferry-o Ki-ko, the kerry-o Li-lo, the lerry-o Mi-mo, the merry-o Ni-no, the nerry-o Pi-po, the perry-o Ri-ro, the rerry-o Si-so, the serry-o Ti-toe, the terry-o Vi-vo, the verry-o Zi-zo, the zerry-o The Farmer in the Dell (cont.) The Farmer in the Dell The farmer in the dell, The farmer in the dell, Hi-ho, the derry-o The farmer in the dell. The farmer takes a spouse, The farmer takes a spouse, Hi-ho, the derry-o The farmer takes a spouse. The spouse takes a child, The spouse takes a child, Hi-ho, the derry-o The spouse takes a child (additional verses) The child takes a nurse… The nurse takes a cow… The cow takes a dog… The dog takes a cat… The cat takes a rat… The rat takes the cheese… The cheese stands alone… sample