J is for jam: Building Phonemic Awareness and Letter Identification

How to Use This Book

• Show the cover and point to the title.
  
  • Have students locate all the J letters in the title and trace over them with a finger while saying the letter name and sound.
  • Reinforce the idea that each letter has two forms—uppercase and lowercase.

Exploring the Story

• Tell students that in the book, they will see different types of jam.

  • Ask: Have you ever eaten jam? What kind?
  • How do you think jam is made? 

• Point out how the first letter of the word “jam” is red on each page.

  • Explain that this helps readers focus on the letter J and its sound.

Interactive Reading 

Place a finger on the J and have students try making its sound.

• Ask students to think of other words that start with J.

  • Place a finger on the J and have students practice making its sound.
  • Ask students to think of other words that start with J.
    
  • Show students the different games in the book.

• • Model how to use their pointer finger to interact with the games.
  • Let students practice tracing the letter J in the air or on paper.