Teaching young children phonics
Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators
Re: Teaching young children phonics
The method may change but not the fact of what is being taught. All successful KS1 teachers use a variety of multi-sensory methods to introduce the FACT that, for example, the short /a/ sound in English is normally represented by the letter 'a'yoyo123 wrote:but some children need a slightly different key to help them unlock that. If a child struggles with one method then it is worth trying something different.To say children learn in different ways is totally irrelevant as you can't change how English works.
Teaching via sight words changes the FACT not the method and studies have shown that many children initially taught in this way (especially those it seems to suit better) never fully recover and reach their full potential
Last edited by drummer on Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Teaching young children phonics
I think we are in agreement!
I like the way that phonemic teaching also helps with the irregular representations, especially some of the vowel phonemes such as <oa> ..ow, o--e, oe, o ough etc..
I like the way that phonemic teaching also helps with the irregular representations, especially some of the vowel phonemes such as <oa> ..ow, o--e, oe, o ough etc..
Re: Teaching young children phonics
I spent a long time delving into this a few years ago due to our eldest's reading problems at infant school, the research is absolutely unequivocal and there is really no excuse for resisting phonics methods.
A couple of interesting quotes from the Ofsted report:
Mike
A couple of interesting quotes from the Ofsted report:
And...In raising the attainment of learners in literacy who are most at risk of not gaining the skills they need for successful lives, the factors identified from visits on this survey included:
- teachers with high expectations for pupils’ achievements in literacy
- an emphasis on speaking and listening skills from an early age
- a rigorous, sequential approach to developing speaking and listening and teaching
reading, writing and spelling through systematic phonics
- sharp assessment of progress...
- carefully planned provision to meet individual needs...
It's nice to see the educational establishment beginning to catch up with my opinionsThe schools visited that were less successful in narrowing the attainment gap set their sights too low for children from disadvantaged groups.
Mike
Re: Teaching young children phonics
it is very good for helping older children who have fallen behind in their reading too. Am currently using the letters and sounds based material with some y5 and y6 children who have not made the progress that would have been expected in spelling and reading. It seems to work well and they enjoy the approach..especially sorting words and looking for the best bet spelling.
Re: Teaching young children phonics
YES!
A mistake that many (most sadly) schools make is to use synthetic phonics to teach reading, okay, great start, but to then follow that up with some eclectic spelling programme that does not plug into and extend the logical foundations that have been set.
It is essential to teach reading AND spelling and part and parcel of the same thing - which of course they ARE!
A mistake that many (most sadly) schools make is to use synthetic phonics to teach reading, okay, great start, but to then follow that up with some eclectic spelling programme that does not plug into and extend the logical foundations that have been set.
It is essential to teach reading AND spelling and part and parcel of the same thing - which of course they ARE!
-
- Posts: 455
- Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:04 pm
Re: Teaching young children phonics
I think that phonics are really good although I do have different experiences of them. All 3 dcs have been taught in the same school, with the same teachers, using the same methods. Ds1 is amazing with his reading and spelling. Ds2 was unable to hear for his reception year and part of year 1. He has a lot more difficulty with his reading and spelling,to the point that in yr 4 we have been going back over all of the sounds. Dd is in yr1. She will sound out everyday words that she reads all time and forgets simple ones that dont match the rules. Yet she can read longer,more complicated words straight off! I have to remind them to listen to the story,not just the sounds.
Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will think it is stupid.
Re: Teaching young children phonics
Deleted
Last edited by Optimist on Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
- Posts: 378
- Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 12:06 am
Re: Teaching young children phonics
I wonder if anyone following this thread can offer me some advice?
I am trying to teach DD3 to read - she is already 4 but doesn't start school till September. She pretty much knows her letter sounds, but currently cannot grasp how to blend the sounds together to form a word. I know that you have to sound each letter carefully (mmm rather than muh, etc) but at the moment we are still on 'what does cc aa ttt say?' ' um, dog?'
She's good on what the first sound in a word is, and I know with DD1 it took quite a while for her to 'get' the blending, but if anyone has any tricks/ideas on how to teach this I would be very grateful!
Pixiequeen
I am trying to teach DD3 to read - she is already 4 but doesn't start school till September. She pretty much knows her letter sounds, but currently cannot grasp how to blend the sounds together to form a word. I know that you have to sound each letter carefully (mmm rather than muh, etc) but at the moment we are still on 'what does cc aa ttt say?' ' um, dog?'
She's good on what the first sound in a word is, and I know with DD1 it took quite a while for her to 'get' the blending, but if anyone has any tricks/ideas on how to teach this I would be very grateful!
Pixiequeen
-
- Posts: 744
- Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:08 pm
- Location: Not in a hole in the ground but in a land where once they dwelt-the Beormingas
Re: Teaching young children phonics
I would try reversing the process. Instead of asking her what does 'c-a-t' read, show her picture of a cat and ask her: what letter sounds can you hear in cat? Have the alphabet cut out in individual letters for her to select. Helps to have vowels in a different colour for emphasis. Does she really say 'dog' instead of cat?
Play more sound games. My DC4 found blending hard, so I made up a sound- rhyme box for her. In it was a set of twenty objects. The idea of the game was to pair them up so that they rhyme. E.g a pear with a bear. Bananas with pyjamas. Cat and hat. Mug with rug etc.
If she's ok on her letter sounds, take a blend like 'at': using pictures ask her to build a word by adding one letter to 'at', eg. Hat, pat, sat, cat, fat, rat etc.
Actually, there's so much more to say but my computer is down & I'm still not used to smart phone keyboards. Hope this helps!
Play more sound games. My DC4 found blending hard, so I made up a sound- rhyme box for her. In it was a set of twenty objects. The idea of the game was to pair them up so that they rhyme. E.g a pear with a bear. Bananas with pyjamas. Cat and hat. Mug with rug etc.
If she's ok on her letter sounds, take a blend like 'at': using pictures ask her to build a word by adding one letter to 'at', eg. Hat, pat, sat, cat, fat, rat etc.
Actually, there's so much more to say but my computer is down & I'm still not used to smart phone keyboards. Hope this helps!
-
- Posts: 966
- Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:14 am
Re: Teaching young children phonics
Pixiequeen my advice, fwiw, would be not to rush things, she's only 4! Enjoy playing I Spy and other word/sound games and the reading will come in its own good time.
My DD, who was five at Christmas and is in Reception, was put off big time at school when she was suddenly given lots of highly inappropriate books and asked to read. They've now bought a new set which can be read phonetically and she's suddenly gone from blending out loud to sounding the words in her head and saying the whole words out loud in about a week!
My DD, who was five at Christmas and is in Reception, was put off big time at school when she was suddenly given lots of highly inappropriate books and asked to read. They've now bought a new set which can be read phonetically and she's suddenly gone from blending out loud to sounding the words in her head and saying the whole words out loud in about a week!