Welcome all! I am in the process of creating a simple guide to Level 1 - which is the level Id like to see all pre-school and prep aged children achieve as early as possible bearing in mind their individual capabilities. I would like people to focus much more on creating opportunities for children based around their language development rather than age- and will be discussing in depth ways in which we can help children develop language skills, in another discussion.
Forget the end result - ie that children will love to read and have excellent spelling and writing skills- let's focus on giving children opportunities to understand concepts. If children are able to create the sound 'buh' then they are capable of learning the symbol that is used to represent that sound ie the letter 'b'. If they can look at a picture that represents something- eg a house- they can see a letter and learn it is used to represent a sound- make sure you do this with sounds they can create with their mouths. Generally 'muh' 'buh' etc.'
Please do also bear with me- and understand that this guide is subject to change. I hope to constantly edit it, so it becomes easier to understand and to use. Your feedback is invaluable-do let me know how you get on with it.
I am also creating a guide for parents of children who are 7+ and not reading and spelling with confidence- and also developing Level 2. Coming soon.....!
Let's start from the beginning- from a point children understand. Let's consider the concepts that are required by the children- so they understand what they are doing- and become readers who really understand the written code.
I'd like you to consider the following 3 concepts before you start doing anything with your child. The more you understand the easier it will be for you to explain it to your child, and to create experiences and activities to introduce and reinforce these concepts.
These concepts dont necessarily follow on from one another- although I have put them in the logical order. Be creative- just think about introducing them and reinforcing them wherever you can- in the car, supermarket, at the park! Make it fun- something you are exploring together.
1/ Spoken words are made up of sounds.
For children to understand what a letter is we first start by giving them opportunities to understand what we mean when we talk about sounds in words. Even at this stage you can start to break down words so children hear parts of words- eg ouch- could be 'ow - pause- ch' 'Harry- I made two sounds with my voice when I said that word!' At this stage dont write it down- all we are doing is focussing on what we are saying. We are introducing the words 'sounds' and the word 'word'!
So dont look at a letter and ask what sound it makes- letters dont make sounds (unless electronic!)
Children are ready for this when they are making sounds!
Repeat sounds, words, make up funny sounds- and use the word 'sound' as you do so. 'listen to this sound 'eheheheheheheooooooaaaahhh'
They can look at your mouth- you are introducing concepts relating to the sounds we make using our voices!
Follow on from this with the fact that sounds we make can be at the beginning, middle or end of words! So the sound 'b' (think buh, not bee) can be heard at the beginning of words we speak, in the middle and at the end! Listen for a sound in words- ask them to wave at your when your mouth creates the 'buy' sound for example- say 'banana, stable, grab'- emphaisising the 'buh sound. Dont just focus on beginning sounds. Let's not limit children.
2/ The sounds we make using our voices can be recorded on paper! Yeah! We can draw a horse to represent the picture of a horse- and in the same way we can draw the picture that represents the sounds we use in our words! When we say the sound 'buh' in words- at the beginning, middle or end- sometimes twice or three times in a word!- we can actually draw this sound- it looks like this! b
When you introduce this please draw it while they are watching- from the top down up and round- use this language. 'down, up and round'. Why not introduce correct letter formation while teaching them to read?
Put that picture on your fridge- whats this a picture of? The sound 'buh' !
Find pictures that have this sound in it- a picture of a banana, stable etc- you might even put a word with 2 of them- kebab!
Write the word for that object in black and put next to the picture- and the child can go over the b in red- doesnt matter if its messy. You want the 'buh' to stand out. Its all we are focussed on. The concept of a sound in words, and that we can represent it on paper. (the word 'letter' doesnt matter at the moment- although by all means mention it's nake- however we want the focus to be on the picture representing a sound)
If you see a capital B then point it out- this is the 'important' way to write 'buh'. So we use this picture/ symbol instead of 'b' when its someone's name- because they are important. Again show them how to draw this picture- of the important 'buh' Focus on lower case sounds in the early stages as this is mainly what they will see in the books you share with them, and when they see people writing.
Then introduce other pictures/ symbols of sounds- I have suggested 'buh' here- as its easier for me to write it down so you will understand I mean the 'buh' sound and not 'bee'- you can use any sounds.
You could then introduce s, i, t, p, n, a
3/ Symbols of sounds can be put together on the paper to create a whole word. We do this from left to right.
To introduce this concept they need to understand the previous 2 concepts- as we are going to put it all together.
Use only 3 letter words- and only 3 letter words that they can 'sound' out! eg b a t
Have cards with these pictures on them (lower case, all same height) and encourage the children to do it 2 ways:
.
The first is 'spelling. You say a word - eg pin- and the children work out which is the first sound- and find the symbol that represents that sound. That needs to go first- on the left. Then ask if they hear any other sounds when you say the word - say the whole word again... 'pin'... slowly- promouncing each sound clearly. They will usually then tell you there is a n (nuh)- so ask if its at the end or the middle? You have done this work already- so its not new. 'nuh' is at the end- so what sound is in the middle? Say the whole word again 'pin'. Help and encourage- you do it if they dont hear it pretty quickly. Then look at the word- pointing left to right- and with the children say the sound (verbally) as you point to the letters- quickly enough for the child to 'hear' that this word is 'pin'.
Always reinforce by doing the whole word at the end - and use your finger - pointing to each sound symbol as you say it, while saying the whole word. You could then get the children to trace the individual sound symbols (letters)- showing them how they are formed- eg 'up, down and around'.
The second way - the other way around- is reading! You create a 3 letter word from those sounds- eg 'pat'. Use the individual cards in order. Point to the card on the left- can you remember what sound we make with our mouths when we see this sound symbol? 'p' (short- not pee) Do that for the second- and then do 1 and 2 together- and finally look at the third and then put it all together. Point to the cards as you say the words slowly, left to right. Again, finish with the whole word.
So your child can 'read' and 'spell' lots of words using these 7 pictures of sounds!
pit, pin, sit, sat, bat, bit etc etc
Gradually add new ones- so you can create new words- and spell new words!
Eventually they will know all 26 sound symbols (letters of the alphabet) however it is more important that they understand these concepts than recognise all letter sounds. Go slowly and have fun! Play bingo, snap, pairs etc with your cards. Put them in a folder and make them special. Also put copies on the fridge etc. Remember though that the first concept revolves around the sounds we use in our words- we aren't starting from what's on the cards. They just represent the sounds- focus on getting children to 'hear' sounds in words first. Children who fail, or who have learning difficulties struggle with this- and all children benefit from lots of work this way around.
4/ When the children are fairly familiar with the above you can introduce the concept that some pictures actually represent more than 1 sound (that we make with our mouths)
Do you - as a parent- know which they are? Work it out! Ill give you 3. 'o'- as it 'hot' or in 'most' (so it can be 'o' or ow') g- as in got or giraffe (j) and x as in fox or exit (in exit it does sound differently- has ore of a 'g' sound) Sometimes accents also plays a part.
So up until now you have been using 3 letter words- that they can 'sound out'- so now you can use 4 letter words- however again they must all remain 'single' pictures. eg 'frog' is ok as all sounds are individual. Do not, in level 1 use symbols that consist of 2 sounds which together make a different sound- eg shut would be made up of 3 sound symbols ie sh + u + t.
We start intruducing these in level 2.
Of course if it comes up- suppose you heard the 'sh' sound in words- then show the children how you draw the picture for that sound 'sh'.
But at level 1 we want to keep it simple- and make sure they understand level 1 concepts.
Create mini books with them- made up of words that they can 'sound out' It doesnt matter if they cant write it- although that would be great- what matters is the auditory and the visual at this stage. No pencils required:-) Use fingers to trace however- on the table, in the air etc.
You can introduce a sight word in level 1 - the word 'the'. They can learn that this is the word 'the' by memory- Ill allow that (smile)- even though you will know that to me learning sight words in the early years is a sin.
This means you can create sentences (use the word 'sentence' - why not?) - eg 'The cat sat on the pin.' You could then draw the cat jumping up- and no reason you can add the word in big letters 'ouch !' and an exclamation mark to show surprise, shock etc. You can explain this word has two pictures- ou and ch (ow and chu). Even though they might not be ready- and some may be!- we can put it in here even though we are still at level 1. Its amazing how much goes in. And this is a concept- 'o' + 'u' sitting together = ou (ow)
I am adamant that at this stage children should not be given 'readers' to de-code that aren't de-codable by them at that stage. Yes, read to them and with them- but 'their 'readers should be 'readable' to them. If the words used arent within the above concepts them dont ask the child to 'read' them. All they will do it learn to guess and to memorise. We want to know they are de-coding!
Enough to be getting on with for now. I will be explaining all this on YouTube etc- so difficult to write! In the meantine have fun and tell me how you get on- and come down to one of my workshops if you get chance. Please do post questions and comments!
Em:-)
Emma Hartnell-Baker BEd Hons. MA Special Educational Needs
'Read Australia™ !'
http://www.ReadAustralia.com
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