8/14/2019 Great Ways to Help Kids Learn Letters and Sounds

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Great Ways to Help Kids Learn Letters and Sounds

Submitted by,

Susan Meynell

Most researchers, teachers, and parents will agree that letter and letter soundknowledge is a basic component to be weaved in while children are beginning to

learn to read. In this article you will be provided with great examples of how a

teacher creates and “hooks into” children’s prior knowledge when presenting new

letters and letter sounds.

The Class (or family) Book: A very effective way to draw the learner’s attention

to the initial letters and sounds in their names and the names of their peers or

families.

Materials

• Individual class pictures or family pictures

• Card stock paper

• Glue

• Permanent marker

Procedure

On one side of each page attach a picture of a class member or family

member. Under the picture write some simple predictable text such as, “This

is {name}.” Highlight or make bold the first letter of each name { Joey}.

Over each picture attach a flap of colored paper (that the children cannot see

through) to hide the picture. The children make predictions about whose

picture is under the flap by the letter and letter sound beginning the name.

Put the pages together and bind them into a book.

Instruction

•  The teacher reads the entire text to the children.

•  The book is left out for the children to explore.

• When introducing a new letter/sound the teacher will zero in on The

Class Book page with the student’s name that begins with that letter

(later they can zero in on final and lastly medial letters.) For examplethe teacher would point to the books and say “This is ‘S’ . .” and pause,

allowing children to make predictions about whose picture may be

under the flap based on that first letter. Lift the flap and confirm or

negate their predictions.

• Place the child’s name, beginning with the featured letter which was

found in The Class Book on the word wall.

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• Have the children practice forming the featured letter with clay, in theair, on the floor, each other’s backs etc. Make sure they are notreversing the letter!

• Student should then record the featured letter in his/her own personal

alphabet book. The children draw a picture of the child whom they

have been reading about in the class book. S/he may also draw or

write any other words s/he knows that begins with that letter. Don’t

insist on any one way, let each child find their own way to demonstrate

the letter in a way that is meaningful for him/her.

• When teaching letter formation, it is important to provide the studentswith a consistent way for them to recall how to form letters easily.Emphasize that almost all letters start at the top and go down. Teachthe exception, some letters are formed by first making the letter ‘C’:such as, O, Q, G, etc.

• Some teachers find it helpful to have a clock on display and makereference to the starting place for those ‘C’ letters as “2 on the clock.”

• It may also be useful to leave pages at the end of the class book for

possible letter combinations that may come up (Sherry).

• As letter confusions arise they should be dealt with. Most letter

confusions will not disappear with the passage of time in your lowest

readers and writers. They will only become habituated and increasingly

problematic for the learner. The most common confusion and most

important to get under control due to the frequency with which it

occurs in both reading and writing is b/d. The most useful approach I

have found is to simply record these next to their corresponding

uppercase letter and have it prominently displayed for frequent

reference by the learner (Bb, Dd ). For older readers still exhibiting

this confusion it sometimes helps to ask the child if s/he can make anuppercase ‘B’. If the student does this without reversing them, explain

that all they need to do is picture (or write) an uppercase B and

remove the top loop and presto! It’s a lower case b!

Children will learn at a markedly increased rate when you foster a “can do” attitude

in them. You are creating “prior knowledge” in them in your making of the class

book. Research shows that hooking in to prior knowledge is invaluable for all

children’s learning in all subjects. Many children come to school without a lot of 

prior knowledge so it is imperative that the instructor find ways to create that for

them. The Class Book is one great way.