Decodable High­Frequency Word Unit 

Lesson 6: High­Frequency Words 
with /am/ Welded Sound 
 

Performance Objective: 
Given a list of high­frequency words containing the /am/ welded 
sound, students will state the words with 90% accuracy (nine or more 
correct out of 10 attempts). 

Resources/Materials Needed: 
● Letter cards 
● Lists of words to reference (Appendix G) 
● Whiteboard and markers 
● Student whiteboards and markers 
● /am/ tic­tac­toe boards and game markers 
● Game boards from previous lessons 
● Digital links to assessment document/slideshow 
● Assessment papers for teacher to record student responses 

Time: 1 Hour 

Step 1: Pre­Instructional Activities 

Flip through letter cards one by one, with students stating the sounds 
of each letter chorally. Then, call on individual students to supply the 
sounds of the letters, incorporating entry level skills review and 

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practice, and allowing for corrective feedback as needed. Display 

the letter cards (Appendix D) on the document camera/TV to form 
consonant­vowel­consonant words for students to practice reading, 
creating a connection between prior learning and today’s lesson, 
which will incorporate a new sound into the types of words students 
are familiar with. Review a few /sh/, /th/, /wh/ /ck/, and /ch/ words 
from the previous lessons using letter cards to form them on 
document camera. Students should read them aloud, chorally, with 
the teacher providing necessary corrective feedback. Allow time for 
students to play the games they had created during the previous 
lessons as a way to review and activate prior knowledge.  

Step 2: Content Presentation 

Use the letter cards to form and read several /am/ words with the 
class . Connect to students’ entry level skills knowledge of the 
individual sounds of /a/ and /m/. Teach the class that the letters /a/ 
and /m/ have distinct sounds when they are separate in a word, but 
when they are next to each other, they make a new sound. 
Introduce the vocabulary term, welded sound, and explain that it 
means two letters that come together to make a new sound, with 
the sound of the vowel slightly changed. Practice several more 
/am/ words whole group. Display these through the TV connected to 
the teacher computer using a Google Slideshow (Appendix B). 

Step 4: Learner Participation 

Students will retrieve their individual whiteboards, markers, and 
erasers and return to the learning area. They will write down five 
/am/ words that the teacher writes on the board and practice 
reading them to themselves. They will then partner with a peer to 

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read the words together. The teacher will write five more /am/ 
words down, which the students will copy and read individually and 
with a partner. During this time, feedback will be given verbally to 
students as needed, based upon the responses they give. If students 
are struggling with the concept, the teacher will spend more time 
reading words whole group or with individual students. The students 
will then be given time to brainstorm as many /am/ words as they 
can in one minute and write them on their boards. They will switch 
boards with their partner and practice reading the words the other 
has written. Even if a child writes a nonsense word, their partner 
should read it using the phonics skills and letter sounds knowledge 
he/she has. 

Step 4: Assessment 
During the time the student are playing the game described in Step 
5: Follow­Through Activities, the teacher will call students over 
individually to read 10 words containing the /am/ welded sound 
(student can either read the words from a Google Document in list 
format or a Google Slideshow that they can advance by clicking). 
All digital links and blackline masters can be found in Appendix A. 
The teacher will use a checklist (Appendix C) to document whether 
or not each child was able to read the words and their percent of 
correct responses. The performance goal states that nine out of 10 
correct responses or more (90%) is required to show proficiency. 

Step 5: Follow­Through Activities 

Introduce the /am/ tic­tac­toe game to students and assign 
partners. Students use game markers to select a square on the 
game board they would like to cover. They must correctly read the 

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/am/ word in the box before being able to place their game marker 
there. The first partner to get a tic­tac­toe wins that round and the 
game starts again. After students have had ample time to play, 
pass out blank tic­tac­toe game boards and invite students to write 
in their own /am/ words. The students should then take turns using 
their game boards to continue playing the game and reading the 
words.   

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Lesson 6 Assessment Word List 

 
jam 
bam 
ham 
Sam 
dam 
Tam 
yam 
Pam 
slam 
ram 
 

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Lesson 6 Assessment (for teacher use) 

 
Student Name:   /am/ Word Identification Assessment 

YES NO  jam 

YES NO  bam 

YES NO  ham 

YES NO  Sam 

YES NO  dam 

YES NO  Tam 

YES NO  yam 

YES NO  Pam 

YES NO  slam 

YES NO  ram 

Total Correct:   

Percent of Proficiency:    
 

   

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Appendix D 
Letter cards for building words 

Link: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U7Q8NcEbWlft7f8xLE72zjjKO4_HlhFW
/view?usp=sharing   

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Lesson 6 Game Boards 

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Appendix G 
● Consonant­vowel­consonant words to use for whole group 
practice 
 
mop  sub  dip  zap 
rat  lap  tub  den 
yes  lot  quit  pig 

 
● /sh/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
rash  shot  lash  dash 
dish  shut  rush  shop 
wish  fish  shed  ship 

 
● /ch/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
chip  much  rich  chin 
chop  chat  chunk  Chet 

 
● /th/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
moth  path  math  Beth 

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bath  Seth  thin  thud 

 
● /wh/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
whip  when  whiff  where 

 
● /ck/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
duck  lick  rock  pick 
kick  shock  Rick  neck 
back  pack  chick  sock 

 
● /am/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
ham  Sam  am  jam 
Pam  bam  ram  Tam 

 
● /an/ words to use for whole group practice 
 
can  than  pan  man 
fan  Jan  an  tan 
Dan  ran  Nan  van 

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