Level 5: Zippity-Bippity

Manipulation of Sounds

Level 5 Activities are the highest level of phonemic awareness. The focus is to manipulate sounds (phonemes) within words; adding, exchanging, deleting, or transposing sounds (phonemes) to form new words.

Children ready for Level 5, have solid knowledge of how language works before attempting this level. Children need to be able to mentally blend sounds (phonemes), modify words, and segment sounds (phonemes) in order to make the sound (phonemic) transference. The ability to manipulate sounds (phonemes) strongly correlates with beginning reading acquisition.

Early Literacy Foundational Skills

• Sound (Phoneme) Substitution

  • identify and substitute beginning sound in a word

  • identify and substitute ending sound in a word

  • identify and substitute middle sounds in a word

• Sound (Phoneme) Deletion

  • identify and omit beginning sound in a word

  • identify and omit ending sound in a word

  • identify and omit middle sounds in a word

Zippity-Bippity

GOALS: sound (phoneme) substitution

Materials

• None

Directions for Players:

1. Teach the song following the verse to the tune of “Zippity-Do-Dah”:

   Bippity-bo-bah, Bippity-bay,

   My, oh my, what a wonderful day.

   Plenty of sunshine coming my way.

   Bippity-bo-bah, Bippity-bay.

2. Have the child(ren) repeat the song several times, substituting the initial sounds in the verse with other sounds.

   Example: mippity-mo-mah, wippity-wo-wah, or tippity-to-tah

HELPFUL TIPS:

• Always model first until the child is comfortable with this activity.