|
WHAT IT IS:
Phonics is the understanding that there is a correspondence
between letters and sounds with the goal of learning to blend sounds
to decode and encode words fluently.
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO TEACH:
Blending sounds together accurately and automatically
to make words is a critical step in reading. As children become independent
readers, they require instruction in the structure of syllables and
the spelling and meaning of word parts such as prefixes, suffixes, and
root words to expand their phonics knowledge-base.
|
Classroom practices
that support the acquisition of phonetic skills through reading, writing
and word making activities:
- Conduct small group interactive writing sessions
for two to eight children with similar instructional needs to help
build their knowledge of the letter/sound correlations. The children
and the teacher jointly plan and write the message together. The children
are supported by the teacher as they stretch out each word to isolate
the individual sounds in sequence and connect each sound to a letter
or a cluster of letters. The children write the letters with the teacher
supplying any letter/sound correlations that the children are unable
to hear or identify.
- Create print opportunities during dramatic play such
as reading a menu or taking an order in a restaurant center to give
children the opportunity to practice phonetic skills while reading
and writing for a purpose.
- Model, assist and assess children's understandings
of letter/sound correlations during guided reading lessons. Teaching
points may be made to help a child use word analysis to decode a word.
Children learn to sound out words and look for parts of words they
know as they pay attention to letters and letter clusters such as
digraphs, syllables, onsets, rimes, prefixes and suffixes while reading
for meaning.
- Use magnetic letters, Magna Doodles or letter cards
to build words or to generate new words from a known word (bat or
that from cat or looks and looking from look).
- Use close activities during the shared reading of
a big book by having children predict a word covered with a sticky
note using meaning and then identify the letter they expect to see
at the start of the covered word. Let the children look at just the
first letter to confirm or if necessary make a new prediction until
the whole word is shown.
- Provide daily independent writing times to give children
the opportunity to independently practice sounding out words in sequence
and writing the corresponding letters. Teachers can analyze independent
writing samples to look for and reinforce strengths and to plan teaching
points to further the child's learning.
- Provide a daily independent reading time to create
the opportunity for children to practice their reading strategies
including phonetic visual analysis skills. Providing beginning readers
with a selection of books that can be read on an independent reading
level will make it more likely that they will work to figure out the
few unknown words. Books that have previously been used as guided
reading books are excellent choices for independent reading.
- Play "Guess my message" with your class. The teacher
or a child with help puts a secret message on the board such as -----
-------- ------- (Happy Birthday Corvell). The children guess letters
and the teacher writes the correct guesses on the appropriate lines.
As the message appears, children use decoding skills and meaning to
figure out the message and fill in the remaining letters.
- Use children's names for a natural way to build the
concept of a letter making a particular sound or sounds. When name
cards are displayed and referred to on a regular basis, children begin
to use them when sounding out new words to write. "B-b-b, that sounds
like Brandon, that's a B!"
- Read lots of alphabet books!
- Provide the opportunity for the children to notice
print and make connections between the sounds they say and the letters
they see through repeated shared readings of large print big books,
songs or pocket charts.
- Play the "I am thinking of a word" game. The teacher
or a child gives a clue such as, "It starts with a b and rhymes with
cat."
- Have children compare, contrast and sort words by
how they look or sound. For example children might sort the word cards
by beginning letter, find all the words with a silent e or sort words
ending in 'ed' by how they sound.
- Provide an ABC or word making center with materials
such as alphabet and name charts, magnetic letters, dry erase boards
with markers, Magna Doodle boards, Wikki sticks, highlighter tape,
letter and word tiles, letter and word stamps and word cards for sorting.
The materials can be used to practice and extend skills learned in
teacher directed mini lessons.
|
