How to teach phonics in a way that kids love and learn – making words – using letters in all positions as soon as possible.
Each time a child learns a new letter, practise it in as many ways as possible. Write the letter, learn its rhyme, make it with your body, find words that start with the letter (e.g. “e” for elephants) …
Add its card to the collection of cards and make words with them. Make three-letter words that start with the letter, end with the letter or have the letter in the middle. Then try adding “s” to the end of each of these words. Does it make a real word? Can you add a letter at the beginning?
It is important that a child learns to use the letters in any position in a word from very early in learning to read. Don’t only use words that start with a particular sound. E.g. den, ned (really Ned) and end. How many words can your child make that end with “ed” using letters learned thus far? – fed, red, wed, ted, bed … (Perhaps just give him the cards e, d, f, r, w, t and b. This avoids “sed”, “ded” and “hed” which sound like real words.)
Write fed, red, wed, ted and bed in a list and ask your child to read them.
As always, continue to talk about any unfamiliar words. If necessary, look them up in a dictionary together. Talk about anything unusual, interesting, surprising …
The entertainer asked, “Do you think I can ride across there without my wheel touching the ground?” How long does it take a chicken to grow in an egg before it hatches? What do you call an animal that drinks milk from its mother? …
The baby wombat is biting the keeper because that is what it would do to its mother. He has a hard plate on his bottom to protect himself in his burrow. What do you call an animal that has a pouch? …
Click on the bottom right hand corner of each video to see it full screen. If you have trouble seeing the videos, try these links: e, w, Phonic Comic 1/8, ed bed, cards
Thanks to Hanover Adventure Zoo, Germany for permission to photograph the baby elephant drinking from its mother. Photo © Mark Sands, c2004
Print the books easy 1- 08 12 back-to-back on A4 paper, cut across the centre on the line and fold.
{ 0 comments… add one now }