Integrating Phonics into English Class

September 15, 2015Hua Yang Primary School, Tianhe District, Guangzhou

Who am I?

▪ Patrick King, M. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction▪ English Language Fellow at South China Normal

University▪ Working on PRT project, a partnership between School

of Professional Development and Research on Primary and Secondary Education at SCNU and STL (数童）

Who Am I?

• I am from a small town in Wisconsin.

• I have taught in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, China (青岛 ), and Panama.

• I have worked mostly at private international schools teaching English and History.

Phonics

▪ Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing of the English language by developing learners' phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate phonemes—in order to teach the correspondence between these sounds and the spelling patterns (graphemes) that represent them.

▪ By building phonemic awareness, students will be able to access and understand new words that they encounter.

▪ Phonics should be taught explicitly.

What Should Our Learning Objectives Be?

Start with the Basics▪ Consonants and Short Vowel Sounds▪ Two-letter blends (na, ti, su)▪ Three-letter blends (pig, dad)

Students should be able to read three-letter words (real and nonsense) with 90% accuracyWhen they hear a three-letter word (real or nonsense), they should be able to spell it correctly 80% of the time.

What are some problems with teaching phonics?

Potential Problem

▪ Boring, Repetitive▪ Doesn’t fit curriculum▪ Teacher pronunciation

Solution

▪ Games, keep it short▪ Short daily activity (5

minutes)▪ Use tapes or online

resources

Module 1, Unit 1 Additional Phonics ActivityWord Pairs

▪ Word Pairs is a listening activity in which two words are read and the students must determine which word is being said.

▪ This activity could be done in several ways: - Raising right hand or left hand- hand out a list and then ask students to circle

▪ Too hard?: Start with individual sounds ▪ Too easy?: Say the word and have students spell the

words

Word Pairs on the Handout

▪ Some of these words are nonsense words. They have no meaning. This is okay because our goal is for students to gain phonemic awareness. However, this should be communicated to students.

▪ Stay with three-letter words until students have mastered all consonant sounds and short vowel sounds. This will keep things simple and allow students to focus on the sounds they hear.

Module 1, Unit 1Integrated Phonics Activity

This activity is meant to be used with page 5 of the textbook.

Note: When you prompt students use the sound, not the name of the letter▪ Try to integrate phonics into the larger lesson and to

reinforce the phonics skill that is targeted in that lesson. ▪ Connect the activity/lesson to the students. Either

connect to their prior knowledge (what they already know) or their real lives.

Module 1, Unit 2 Additional Phonics ActivitySWAT!

▪ SWAT! Is a listening game in which students listen to a prompt and respond by “swatting” the correct answer.

▪ This activity could be done: - with the whole class with the answers posted on

the board- in small groups with the answers posted on a

piece of paper▪ Students get too excited: Whisper your prompts▪ Students get too bored: ????

Unit 2 Phonics ActivitySWAT!

B C D F G

H J K L M

N P Q R S

T V W Y Z

Module 2, Unit 3 Phonics Activity Secret Code

This game requires teams of three. Each person will have a specific role or job. A code will be written on the board. The team’s job is to copy the code exactly and deliver it to the General. If there is a mistake in the code, your team is disqualified. ▪ The Infiltrator: This person’s job is to go back and forth to the enemy’s base (the

blackboard) and read the message. They may return to the board as many times as they wish.

▪ The Codebreaker: This person’s job is to listen carefully to the Infiltrator and record the message. They may ask the Infiltrator to repeat the message, but they cannot ask any other questions.

▪ The Captain: This person’s job is the most important. While the Infiltrator and Codebreaker are working, the Captain must remain silent. When the Infiltrator and Codebreaker have completed the message, the Captain must check the answers. The Captain may not carry the codebreaker’s sheet to the front of the room. He or she must go back and forth between the enemy’s base and his or her troops. When the Captain believes the code is 100% correct, they must submit it to the General (teacher’s desk).

Module 2, Unit 3 Phonics Activity Secret Code

1. Lap2. Map3. Den4. Leg5. Jam6. Can7. Fen8. Bell

Module 2, Unit 3Integrated Activity: Alien Names

1. Review/Practice the Short I and Short O soundsShort I sound: Bin, Pin, Lip, Dip, Fib, JibShort O sound: Hot, Got, Cob, Lob, Pod, Nod2. Each student will receive an “alien” name, which will be a three letter nonsense word using a Short I or Short O sound.3. Have students mingle around the class while playing music. When the music stops, students will practice the “Hello my name is______. What’s your name?” dialogue.4. After two or three rounds, bring the whole class together and ask who knows Student A’s alien name. Repeat.

Unit 3, p. 19 Additional Activity

Directions: Long A or Short A1. Cat 2. Kate 3. Cab 4. Play5. Came 6. Raid 7. Ann 8. Bag9. Day 10. Dad 11. Plain 12. Plan

These could be: A.) Given to students to circle/underline words with Long AB.) Read aloud and students respond whether it has a Long A or not

Long A and Short A story, Adapted from stickyball.net

Directions: Please circle all of the words that use the Long A sound.Kate and Janet like to play at the lake. One day they made a kite to fly. That day it rained. So, Kate and Janet ran back to play games.“Can Kate stay and play games?” Janet asked her Dad.“Kate can stay and play if her mom and dad say it is okay,” said Janet’s Dad. Kate and Janet stayed up late.

Resources

▪ Phonics Primer, National Right to Read (Handout)▪ starfall.com (ABCs, Phonics, Easy Reader Books)▪ stickyball.net (phonics worksheets▪ patrickandrewking.weebly.com

Questions? Contact me

▪ Email: mrpatrickking@outlook.com▪ Wechat: patrickking