hi
welcome~
Teaching Phonics to Beginners
GLOSSARY
Alliteration – repetition of the same initial sound in a succession of words. E.g. Fine
feathered friends.
Analytic phonics – see below.
Behaviorism – involves the notion that human behavior is shaped by stimulus and
response to one’s surrounding context and environment. Behaviorists
therefore believe in a process of behavioral conditioning where learning
ideally involves particular stimuli producing appropriate responses.
Blend – combination of single phonemes, e.g. ba, pi, etc.
Consonant blends – combinations of consonants where each contributes a distinct sound,
e.g. spr, nt, lk, cr
Constructivism – involves teacher supported rather than teacher centered learning. It is a
dynamic process that involves learners constructing new ideas based on
their previous knowledge and experiences. Thus, learners construct new
concepts rather than passively absorb information. For these new
constructs to have any purpose and meaning learners have to
understand the interrelationships between the old and the new
information.
Digraph – a digraph can be any two-letter combination that represents a single sound.
However, we can identify particular types of digraphs such as consonant or
vowel digraphs:
(consonant digraph) – a combination of two consonant sounds that together represent a
new sound. Some examples of consonant digraphs are: sh – shop,
ch – chin, th – thin, wh – what, ck – duck, ph – photo, qu – queen
(vowel digraph) – where two vowels appear beside each other in a word or syllable, with
the first vowel sounding long while the second vowel remains silent.
Examples of vowel digraphs are: ai – maid, ee – sweet, ea –bean, oa –
boat, ay – tray. Compare these sounds to the diphthongs below.
Diphthong – diphthong refers to the blending of two sounds with both sounds being
heard, making a gliding sound. Examples of diphthongs include: oi – boil,
oy – toy, ew – new, ow – cow, ou – mouth.
EFL – English as a Foreign Language. An EFL learning environment in one where
learners are learning English in a place where English is not the native language
(e.g. China, Japan, Spain, etc). Therefore learners are less likely hear or use
English much outside the classroom.
ESL – English as a Second Language. ESL involves teaching and learning English in a
country where it is the main language (e.g. Teaching English to migrants or
international students in Australia, the U.K., Singapore, the U.S.A.).
Elkonin Box – designed to help children analyze the segmenting and blending of
phonemes and to decode and spell words. An elkonin box may take
various forms.
Grapheme – a grapheme is the written representation of a phoneme.
Mnemonic – something that helps make information easier to memorize: e.g. a verse to
remember the number of days in each month, such as, “Thirty days has
September, April, June and November…”
Morpheme – the smallest meaningful element of language. E.g. “cat” is one morpheme
and “cats” is two morphemes, the “s” indicating the plural of cat.
Onset – the initial consonant (i.e., the onset of bag is b and the onset of swim is sw).
Phoneme – the most basic unit of sound.
Phonemic awareness - the awareness of individual sounds (phonemes) that make up
spoken words. A learner with phonemic awareness will understand
the relationship between letters and sounds and will be able to
separate them. For example, they would know that the sounds in
the word ‘cat’ consists of three phonemes, c/a/t.
Phonetics – the study of speech sounds and how they are produced.
Phonics – a method of teaching reading where learners associate letters with the sound
they represent.
R - controlled vowels – a combination of a vowel and the letter R where the vowel does
not make either a long or short sound and is therefore considered r
– controlled: e.g. or, ar, ir, ur.
Rimes – part of a syllable that contains the vowel and all that follows it (i.e., the rime of
bag is ag and the rime of swim is im).
Synthetic phonics – see below.
Trigraph – a group of three letters that represent a single speech sound.
Vowels – The vowels are "a, e, i, o, u and sometimes letters "w" and "y".
(short vowels) – When there is a single vowel in a short word or syllable, the vowel
usually makes a short sound. These short vowels usually appear at the
beginning of the word or between two consonants. Examples of short
vowels are found in these words: c a t , e n d, d o g, a n t, b u s.
(long vowels 1) – When a short word or syllable ends with a vowel/consonant – “e”
combination the vowel is usually long and the "e" at the end of the
word is silent (this rule doesn't apply in all cases). Examples of a
vowel/consonant – “e” combination are: b a k e, r i d e, p o l e, t u n e
(long vowels 2) – When a word or syllable has a single vowel and it appears at the end of
the word or syllable, the vowel usually makes the long sound. Example
are: no, he, po/ny
Whole-word phonics – see below.
(http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/reading/glossary.shtml; http://www.phonicsworld.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/, http://www.google.com.my/ [in the Google search engine, type the word ‘define’ followed by a colon then the word you want the definition of: E.g. define: word])
FLASHCARDS, MATERIALS & ACTIVITIES
The flashcards and activity sheets used in this program were downloaded from www.mes-English.com, www.bogglesworld.com and based on material contained in Paul (1991). Finding Out 1 and Paul (1992). Finding Out 2. The flashcards available on the course CD should be laminated. However, if teachers are interested in making other flashcards they can be purchased at Phoenix Press (tel: 04-261-9449) in Penang. The store is located at No. 6 Lebuh Gerejah, which runs between Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street) and Penang Street. From the India House Building, walk across Beach Street and down Lebuh Gerejah. The store can be found on the right.
WHAT IS THIS COURSE ALL ABOUT?
This course will present an approach to language learning that gets students focused on individual phonemes before moving onto more complex language. It is an approach highly suited to absolute beginners, especially in an EFL context where learners have fewer opportunities to engage with spoken and written language. Rather than stare blankly at unfamiliar words, it is very helpful for beginner learners to be able to break down and deal with the components of words. This can also be helpful as a means of remediation for struggling readers at the higher levels.
By learning phonics students are becoming aware of component sounds in the language, blending those sounds, automating their responses to those sounds and applying this knowledge and skill to both speech and text. Phonics presents an opportunity to introduce learners to the logic and relationship between sounds and the construction of words that have meaning. There are at least 44 basic sounds in the English language (readingmaster.com, Internet). It would be great if learners could work with each of these sounds. However, reality often does not allow this to happen. Even so, learner’s early phonic experience working with many of these sounds should later prove useful in helping students break down unfamiliar words and achieve greater confidence and fluency. If students still struggle in the later stages of learning with trying to decode text, it may interfere with their focus on meaning. Ultimately we want students to be using their concentration on meaning in the language. Because we want students to work with meaning in text as soon as possible, this course advocates getting students into working with whole words as soon as possible. Sooner or later students have to automate their phonemic skills to use in the whole language, whether it be in the written or oral form. Therefore, once students have developed a basic phonemic awareness it is important that they start working with whole words and whole language.
This course will try to introduce teachers to some basic concepts of teaching phonics and at the same time try to provide some practical advice. It will offer some suggestions with regards to how teachers can go about teaching phonics, materials and activities. It will also include some discussion about educators’ different opinions and approaches towards phonics and the development of phonemic awareness in learners.
WHAT IS PHONICS AND WHAT DO TEACHERS NEED TO KNOW?
Many teachers and principals unfamiliar with phonics believe it merely teaches learners the sounds in language. This is not the case. Phonics aims to teach students the most common sound-spelling relationships and is associated with print. It involves the development of both phonemic awareness and the ability to work with associated symbols (Blevins, Internet; Hepplewhite, Internet). Phonemic awareness alone simply involves making learners aware of the sound in spoken words (Harris, Turbill, Fitzsimmons & McKenzie, 2001, p. 53). By learning phonics, students are becoming aware of component sounds in the language, blending those sounds, automating their responses to those sounds and applying this knowledge and skill to both speech and text.
Many teachers and researchers suggest learner’s early phonic experience working with sounds and letters should later prove useful in helping students break down unfamiliar words and achieve greater confidence and fluency (Blevins, Internet; Harrison, 2002; Hepplewhite, Internet). Phonics may work well in scaffolding learner’s understanding of the mechanics of language. It is not directed at assisting learners in becoming a text participant, user or analyst (Freebody & Luke, 1990). However, phonics may indirectly make it easier for a learner to later become an efficient reader through becoming a more efficient text decoder (Freebody & Luke, 1990; Hepplewhite, Internet). If students still struggle in the later stages of learning with trying to decode text, it may interfere with their focus on meaning. Ultimately, students need to be using their concentration on meaning in the language.
APPROACHES TO PHONIC INSTRUCTION
(Synthetic Phonics, Analytic Phonics, Whole-word Approach & Balanced Approach)
There are a number of different starting points we can use to develop phonemic awareness in learners. In this course I will be sharing my own particular approach to phonics. In summary, my own approach to phonics has been:
· Get students started using Synthetic Phonics. (see below)
· Have students blend vowels and consonants in two-letter, then three-letter combinations as soon as possible. Tasks should be both oral and written.
· Use a learning process of:
- modeling (teacher models the language to be learnt)
- co-construction (teacher uses the language with the students)
- independent construction (students have a go at the language by themselves)
- feedback (teacher provides feedback to the students at every stage of the learning process)
· While teaching the individual phonemes, also teach the students pieces of whole language. E.g. What is it? / It is a cat. / Are you a ___? / What is your name? / When is your birthday? etc. Write these sentences on the board and practice them orally. As students learn the individual phonemes they can begin decoding and analyzing these pieces of whole language.
· After introducing a new phoneme, get students involved immediately in a written task, activity or song that reinforces that phoneme and its relationship to other phonemes. Reinforce their awareness of phonemes over and over for the first few weeks until they get used to the sounds. This can be done by spontaneously returning to a letter by using a flashcard or other activity that elicits the correct verbal or written response.
· As students work more and more with whole words and sentences be aware of whether or not they are developing phonemic awareness. Go back and review phonic work where necessary.
When teachers read about approaches such as Synthetic Phonics, Analytic Phonics and the Whole-word Approach, the obvious question is, “Which approach is the best one?” Different teachers will have different theories depending on their experience and preferences. Teachers should be cautious not to see themselves as being stuck inside any one particular approach. You should feel free to experiment with whatever sequence and approach you feel confident with. Some teachers feel very strongly in favor of one particular approach while feeling very strongly against another. I advise against getting into such debates as the ‘synthetic phonics vs. whole word approach’. I follow what is called the Balanced Approach (see CD). I believe it is more helpful to think in the long term and view the different approaches as potentially complimentary. For example, if starting with absolute beginners, teachers could sequence the learning process by starting with Synthetic Phonics, which introduces the basic phonic scaffolding, then as soon as possible start learners blending phonemes, decoding familiar and unfamiliar whole words, then applying these skills to pieces of whole language. This process does not leapfrog over potentially important elements in language development and can be achieved within a few months. I am prepared to use a variety of strategies in the learning process. I use my own judgment as to when whole words and language is introduced to students depending on their response.
Krashen (2005) described three notions of phonics learning and instruction as: Intensive Systematic Instruction, Basic Phonics and Zero Phonics. I have linked Krashen’s (2005) descriptions with three commonly used classroom approaches to phonics: Synthetic Phonics, Analytic Phonics and the Whole Word Approach.
 |
| INTENSIVE SYSTEMATIC PHONICS |
Synthetic Phonics |
| phonics taught in sequence | |
| learn all "major" rules | |
| all rules consciously learned | |
| reading = practice of learned rules |
|
|
Analytic Phonics |
| no optimal sequence | |
| consciously learn only basic rules | |
| most rules subconsciously acquired | |
| reading = source of most phonics knowledge |
|
|
Whole-Word Approach |
| rules subconsciously acquired | |
| reading = source of phonics knowledge |
Adapted from Krashen, 2005
Synthetic Phonics
Synthetic phonics involves a part-to-whole approach where students first learn the individual phonemes represented by letters and letter combinations. The student learns to apply these phonemic generalizations to reading and pronunciation of text. E.g. a – ant, b – book, t – tiger, b/a/t = bat (http://www.syntheticphonics.com, Internet)
Analytic Phonics
Analytic phonics involves a whole-to-part approach where students learn phonemic generalizations through reading a number of whole words. By learning to read whole words the students can begin to identify patterns such as consonant clusters, rhythm, rhyme, etc. E.g. street = str_ee_t, would-could, p/ot_d/ot, c/ot, sp/ot etc.
(http://www.ltscotland.org.uk, Internet).
Whole-Word Approach
The Whole-word Approach (sometimes referred to as the Whole-language Approach) makes no effort to separate the individual sounds of word parts. Students learn new words by sight, and as they do so will continue to compare and contrast the sounds and letters within them to others words they come across. Students will therefore become phonemically aware without the need for explicit instruction or practice in constructing words phoneme by phoneme. E.g. I can run. John can run. I can jump. Betty can jump.
(http://jan.ucc.nau.edu, Internet; http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Whole_word_approach)
SEQUENCING OF INSTRUCTION
There is no best sequence for students to learn the phonetic sounds in English. However, I personally have taught students the vowels first followed by the most frequently used consonants. In this way, after students have learnt about 10 sounds and letters, they can begin to blend them in two and three letter combinations. They can continue to use their knowledge of these sounds and letters to explore other words they know and ones they do not know. I want to see that students are applying what they know about the letters and phonemes to decode language for themselves without relying on me all the time to decode the language for them.
In the table below I have detailed a sequence of instruction, based on Paul (1991), that would allow students to begin blending letters and making words after only a few lessons. The letters learnt in previous lessons can then be combined with new phonemes as learning progresses.
| Single letter phonemes | Vocabulary | Double letter phonemes | Vocabulary |
| Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo, Uu | ant, apple, egg, elephant, igloo, iguana, octopus, ostrich, umbrella, up | ee, ea, ch, sh | bee, tree, seal, leaf, chicken, cherry, ship, shop |
| Bb, Cc, Tt, Dd, Gg | bed, bat, bag, book, cat, can, tent, tiger, dog, desk, gorilla, green | ar, or, ir, oy | car, card, shark, carpet, horse, fork, girl, bird, shirt, boy, toy |
| Pp, Mm, Nn, Ss, Kk | pin, pen, panda, map, mask, monkey, nut, net nine sock, snake, key, kangaroo | oo, oo, ow, ou | book, foot, zoo, spoon, owl, cow, crown, mouse, house |
| Hh, Jj, Ww, Rr, | hat, hut, hand, jet, jacket, jump, whale, watch, ring, red | oa, ow, ai, ay | boat, goat, cockroach, coat, window, bowl, tail, train, tray |
| Ll, Vv, Ff, Qq | leg, lemon, lion, violin, vampire, volcano, flag, frog, fish |
|
|
| Xx, Yy, Zz | fox, box, yo-yo, yak, yellow, yacht, zebra, zoo |
|
|
In between teaching individual phonemes teachers could be doing any number of other language building activities. Stop occasionally and teach something else about the language, so long as it does not confuse students. In fact, it is very important that students be exposed to pieces of whole language from the start. As student’s abilities increase they should be able to have a go at speaking and writing pieces of whole language that they are encountering every lesson. Below are a few of the language structures that I try to use with beginner students every lesson.
Example initial language structures
What is it? Yes, it is.
It’s a/an _____. No, it isn’t.
What’s you name? How are you?
I’m ______. I’m fine, thank you.
I’m a _____. I’m great!
Are you ____? I have a cold.
Are you a ____? I’m terrible.
Yes, I am. I’m okay.
No. I’m not. I’m not so good.
Is it a _____?
THE CYCLE OF DISCOVERY AND LEARNING
The Cycle of Discovery and Learning is a process that involves young learners trying to make sense of the world around them, a process where successful explorations lead to more confidence and more questions. When introducing a new piece of language I briefly share the student’s curiosity over this new thing. I don’t just slap an object up on the board and say what it is. I create an atmosphere of curiosity… of questioning and then discovery. David Paul (1991, p. 3) describes a process or cycle of early childhood learning that he calls the “Questioning Cycle”. This cycle is summarized below:
| The children notice something new. Students’ attention is attracted by a flash card, an action or some other prompt, which contains new information they want to understand. |
| They relate it to their previous experience. When practicing, the students link new language with what they already know. The students should have developed a sense of pattern in the language that they use to make guesses about new information they encounter. Students need to feel that the language fits together in some way and that they are not learning sets of isolated, unrelated knowledge and skills. The old and the new language must be brought together in activities that repeatedly demonstrate language relationships.
|
|
| ||
| They wonder what it is. The students have time to wonder, feel curious and make guesses. They will see a need to learn the language before discovering it.
|
| They play with it. They practice new language through trial and error. When mistakes are made the teacher encourages the children to find out where the mistakes are and make corrections. Students should have an opportunity to practice what they have learnt through a variety of activities and games… not through continual mechanical repetition.
|
|
| ||
| They try to find out what it is. The child uses the resources available to them in an effort to solve a puzzle. This involves sounding out single letters, making letter combinations and asking questions. |
| They find outThey learn what is and is not successful. The successes as well as the mistakes are important steps in the process of discovery. By this stage the children should have understood that they have learnt new language that they can use to discover other new combinations. Frustrating this stage by introducing language too difficult to learn should be avoided. |
SONGS, GAMES & ACTIVITIES
Songs
The Vowel Song I (Short vowels sang to the tune, ‘B-I-N-G-O’. Paul, 1991)
a – e – i – o –u
a – e – i – o –u
a – e – i – o –u
Hello. What’s your name?
a – e – i – o –
I’m _________.
a – e – i – o –
I’m _________.
a – e – i – o –
I’m _________.
Hello. What’s your name?
After the children have become familiar with the short vowel sounds and the alphabet sounds, this song can be done in a way that combines both the alphabet and short vowel sounds to the same B-I-N-G-O tune.
The Vowel Song II (http://members.tripod.com/~ESL4Kids/songs/vowel.html)
The vowels of the alphabet, I know them all by name, oh!
A-E-I-O-U
A-E-I-O-U
A-E-I-O-U
I know them all by name, oh!
The vowels of the alphabet, I know them all by name, oh!
[clap]-E-I-O-U
[clap]-E-I-O-U
[clap]-E-I-O-U
I know them all by name, oh!
The vowels of the alphabet, I know them all by name, oh!
[clap]-[clap]-I-O-U
[clap]-[clap]-I-O-U
[clap]-[clap]-I-O-U
I know them all by name, oh!
(Continue pattern.)
The vowels of the alphabet, I know their short sounds too, oh.
A-E-I-O-U (sing short vowel sound for each letter)
A-E-I-O-U
A-E-I-O-U
I know their short sounds too, oh.
The Letter Hunt (adapted from http://members.tripod.com/~ESL4Kids/games/letters.html)
Equipment: Alphabet cards.
Choose some alphabet flashcards the students should know the phonemic sounds of. Have a group of students take a card each and stand at the front of the class. The rest of the class then sings the following song to the tune, “The Farmer in the Dell”:
We're looking for a/an [name of letter],
We're looking for a/an [name of letter],
[Sing sound of the letter to the tune of "Heigh, ho, the Derry Oh!"] E.g. a-a-a-a-a-a
We're looking for a/an [name of letter].
As the children sing, the child holding that particular letter takes a step forward and holds the letter above their head.
Digraph Song (Sang to the tune, ‘Here we go round the mulberry bush.’ Paul, 1991)
ee a tree and ea a seal
ch a chicken and sh a ship
oo a spoon and oo a foot
ou a house and ar a car
or a horse and ir a girl
ow a cow and oy a boy
ow a window and oa a boat
ai a tail and ay a tray
Games & Activities
Tic Tac Toe (Paul, 1991)
Equipment: Alphabet cards
1. Divide the class into teams. Set the alphabet cards up in 3 X 3 grids or write a tic tac toe grid up on the board with a letter in each square.
2. A child from one team comes forward and pronounces one letter. If he/she is correct turn the card over (horizontally for one team, vertically for the other) or if working on the board block out the grids using an X or an O. After the first team has finished a child from the other team tries.
3. The winner is the first team to get three squares in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
4. The game can also be played using pictures instead of letters.
Numbers
Equipment: A ball or soft toy. Number cards.
1. Hold up number cards and count with the children. Work from numbers 1 to 10 or 12.
2. After you have been through the numbers a few times have the children stand up. Then using a ball or soft toy, have a child throw it to someone else and as they do the whole class counts forward. Some children may not remember the next number. If so class members should be encouraged to help each other.
Number chant (Paul, 1991)
1 potato
2 potatoes
3 potatoes
4
5 potatoes
6 potatoes
7 potatoes
MORE!
This should be chanted while clapping your hands or hitting your hand on the desk for rhythm. Clap on each number. Also you can change the word from potato to some other object.
Slam Game (Paul, 1991)
Equipment: Alphabet or vocabulary cards.
Place the alphabet cards on a table or the floor face up. The activity can be done in groups or as a whole class. Ask the children to put both hands on their heads. Call out a letter, u – umbrella, etc. The children then try to touch the correct card as quickly as possible. The first child to touch the letter then gets to call out the next letter. Points can also be kept.
When using vocabulary cards the teacher might like to try a variation from time to time. Try to trick the students by calling out a word with a mistake in it. For example, call out “besk” instead of “desk”.
Car race (Paul, 1991)
Equipment: Alphabet or vocabulary cards, markers, dice or number cards.
1. Place the letter cards around in a circle to resemble a car track. Have a few of the cards picture side up and make a start and finish line.
2. Each child should have a car (any convenient marker will do) and place them at the start line. A child then throws a dice or draws a number card. If they get a five, for example, they will move five places forward and say the letter for that card. If they cannot say the letter they land on they must go back to where they started. If their marker lands on a picture card they can throw again.
3. Crashes. If the child throws a three their car has crashed. They have to place their car next to the card they are on and miss a turn.
4. This game can also be used with vocabulary cards.
Stepping Stones
Equipment: flashcards.
Simply lay out the flashcards on the floor in a hopscotch pattern, like below. Make the pattern longer or shorter if you wish. Mix up the order of the cards from time to time so as to get the students to think. Line a group of students up at the start position. As each student steps next to a card they have to say the sound of that letter. If they say them all correctly they get to the other side. If they mispronounce a letter they have to go to the back of the line and try again.
START
a
e i
o
 |
u b
|
c
 |
t g
 |
d
FINISH
Concentration (Paul, 1991)
Equipment: Two sets of letter or vocabulary cards per group.
Place two sets of letter or vocabulary cards face down on the table. In turns the students turn over two cards saying what they see on each card. If they find a matching pair they can keep that pair. The winner has the most pairs.
Alpha Toss (http://members.tripod.com/~ESL4Kids/games/alpha.html)
Equipment: 26 A4 sheets with the alphabet on them, one to six beanbags per group.
Print each letter of the alphabet on a separate A4 sheet. In the lower right hand corner, assign a point value to each letter. (I use the letter values from Scrabble.) If at all possible, laminate these for prolonged life.
Purchase half a dozen beanbags, or create beanbags by filling old socks with dried beans, sand, etc., then tying them shut.
Place letters in four rows: six in the first, seven in the second, six in the third, and seven in the fourth. Students then stand at an assigned line and toss a beanbag onto the playing area. Beginning students must think of a word beginning with the letter upon which the beanbag landed and if able to, use the word in a sentence. Intermediate students should toss two to three beanbags, think of words that began with all letters, then use all words in one sentence. For more advanced students, you might have them toss all six bean bags, then create a word using as many of the letters as possible. Points are assigned for each letter used.
WHY DO SOME EDUCATORS DISAGREE WITH TEACHING PHONICS?
It should be noted that there are differing opinions as to how students can best learn phonemic awareness. Some argue that beginning learners clearly benefit from developing phonemic awareness through learning to identify and blend individual phonemes before moving on to more complex language. Hepplewhite (Internet) suggests research seems to support Synthetic Phonics as the most effective way to establish phonemic awareness and the ability to work with new language in the later stages (Harrison, 2002; Hepplewhite, Internet). Others argue that by getting learners to work with whole words from the beginning they will become phonemically aware anyway (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu, Internet). Learners will deduce from reading whole words how individual phonemes are pronounced. Some teachers who adhere to this approach may highlight the phonemes within whole words while others may not explicitly highlight individual phonemes at all. They may merely model the correct pronunciation of a word. The more learners read the more they hear and see relationships between certain sounds and letters.
There are two key philosophies in education that are at odds with each other. One is Behaviorism the other is Constructivism. Phonics requires teachers to actually teach it and for students to memorize the phonemes. Therefore some have associated phonics to a behaviorist mold of teaching, out of step with current educational thought.
Read the definitions below and consider what your objectives of teaching phonics are.
· What are your thoughts about the value of teaching individual phonemic awareness?
· Where do you see your own teaching style?
· How do you see the teaching style of the education system as a whole?
· Do you see phonics as being more behaviorist, constructivist or somewhere in between?
Behaviorism:
Behaviorism is often associated with the work of J.B. Watson and B. F. Skinner who suggested learning is associated with good habit formation. Behaviorism sees students as a) the recipients of either good or bad information and b) programmable, to develop either good or bad habits. As such, educators who follow a behaviorist style of teaching will often be more teacher-centered and engage students in repetition exercises in the hope that they will respond appropriately. Behaviorism involves a system of reward and punishment. When a student responds appropriately they are rewarded with a high score, when they respond inappropriately they are punished with a bad one (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu, Internet).
Constructivism:
Constructivism is based around the belief that students learn by connecting new knowledge with old knowledge and experiences. If learners are not able to make that connection then they will often be trying to memorize something of which they do not really understand. In other words, for new information to be relevant and understood a learner must be able to relate it to something they already know and understand. Students will only understand new concepts to the extent that a new concept can be related to existing understandings. As such a constructivist classroom is student centered with learners working on problem-solving tasks suitable to their level and needs (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu, Internet).
(See also the work of Lev Vygotsky on constructivism.)
PHONICS PRACTICE
Week 1
PHONICS PRACTICE
| Week | 1 | Subject | s i t p a n |
|
| Day 1
s – weave hand in s shape (like a snake) - say: sssssssss
i – point with finger at something - say: i i i i i i i t – make a T for “time out” - say: t t t t t t
repeat gesture/ sound
Days 2 – 5
p – pretend to puff out candles - say: p p p p a – wiggle fingers above elbow (ants) - say: a a a a a n – make a noise (a plane arms out wide) - say: nnnnnnnn
(use words sheets at end)
sit, pan, pat, tap, nap, pit, pin, nip, tip, tan, sin, nit, tin, sat, nat, sip,
| ||
Week 1
READING/WRITING PRACTICE
| Week | 1 | Subject | LETTER SHAPES / DISTINGUISHING SOUNDS |
|
| Airwriting
Variations
Letter and Sound Relay Race
Variations
Looking, listening, pointing
sit, pan, pat, tap, nap, pit, pin, nip, tip, tan, sin, nit, tin, sat, nat, sip,
Letter formation – writing (worksheet at end)
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Week 2
PHONICS PRACTICE
| Subject | c k e h r m d |
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| Days 1 – 5
c k clap hands – say: ck ck ck e hand to ear (can’t hear you!) – say: eh eh eh d kick start a motorbike – say: d d d d
e.g. [ce / ke / he / me / /de ] [ci / ki / hi / mi / di ] [ca / ka / ha / ma / da ] [pe / se / te / ne ]
e.g. [ red / her / deck ]
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Week 2
READING/WRITING PRACTICE
| Subject | DISTINGUISHING SOUNDS / LETTERS AND THEIR SOUNDS / LETTER FORMATION + SOUND BLENDING / SEGMENTING |
| 10’ review
20’
| Airwrite s i t p a n with finger, nose. Add new letters (below). Write on back
Noisy Letters
c k e h r m d s i t p a n
Tray Game
Team Writing
Letter formation – writing (worksheets below)
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Week 3
PHONICS PRACTICE
| Subject | g o u l f b |
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| Days 1 – 5
g spiral hand down (water down drain) – say: g g g g o turn light switch on and off – say: o o o o b hitting a ball with a bat – say: b b b b
e.g. [go / lo / fo / bo // og / ol / of / ob ] [gu / lu / fu / bu // ug / ul / uf / ub]
e.g. [ red / her / deck ]
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Week 3
READING/WRITING PRACTICE
| Subject | LETTER FORMATION / IDENTIFYING + BLENDING SOUNDS | ||||||||
| 10’ review
20’ new
| Noisy Letters · letters from weeks 1 + 2 (select – not all) c k e h r m d s i t p a n
airwrite
Invisible Writing
variations
sound buttons
variations
Number Fingers
Letter formation – writing (worksheet at end)
combination week 2 week 1
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Week 4
PHONICS PRACTICE
| Subject | j z w v |
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| Days 1 – 5
j jelly wobbling on plate – say: j j j w Blow on open hand (you are the wind) – say: wh wh wh
e.g. [ce /] [ci / ] [ca /] [pe /]
e.g. []
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Week 4
READING/WRITING PRACTICE
| Subject | LETTER RECOGNITION / WHOLE WORD FORMATION | |||||||||
| 10’ review
20’ new
| Noisy Letters letters from week 1 + 2 + 3 ( s i t p a n c k e h r m d g o u l f b )
Airwrite new letters with nose, elbow, toe ( j z w v )
Relay Race
Bag Letters
Variations
Washing Line Words
Variations
Number Fingers
Letter formation – writing (worksheet at end)
combination week 3 week 2
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Week 5
READING/WRITING PRACTICE
| Subject | LETTER SOUNDS / PHONEME SEGMENTING + BLENDING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10’ review
20’
| Noisy Letters (from week 2)
s i t p a n c k e h r m d g o u l f b j z w r
Airwrite new letters with finger / toe / nose / elbow ( y x ch )
 Sound Frame and Sound Count
word lists
Sound Buttons (from week 3) for c ch x
number flashcards: from week 3 + 4 (1 – 10)
Number Sequencing
Letter formation – writing (worksheet at end)
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Week 6
PHONICS PRACTICE
| Subject | sh qu |
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| Days 1 – 5
sh Place index finger over lips – say: shshsh
e.g. [/] [ / ] [ /] [ /]
e.g. [ ]
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Week 6
READING/WRITING PRACTICE
| Subject | NUMBERS: 1 – 10 + NUMBER RECOGNITION / LETTER/SOUND BONDS |
| 30’
| Airwrite new letters with nose, elbow, toe sh qu
Noisy letters (noisy sounds) (from week 2) ch x qu sh k
Sound count (from week 5)
Circle Swap Shop
ssssssss + ffffffff p p p + b b b e + eeee variations
T makes sound p b s ss with object starting with that letter swap objects
Airwrite number sequence,
Invisible writing
Bingo!
say three – draw a cross through the 3 show how to get three in a row
Variations
Number Dictation Preparation number flashcards (words, figures, and grouped dots in separate sets) paper and pencil.
Variations Translation: for one ss write satu
How Many Hands?
Variations
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