I love listening to Parker sing the Alphabet Song. He’s so enthusiastic and always ends with, “Yeah!!!” and self applause. He already has the ability to recognize the letters of the alphabet by name, sight, and sound. I think back to what Bryce and I have done to facilitate his strong phonemic awareness and I wonder if Brandon will develop a similar strength with the exposure to a literacy rich environment. Then I think about the students I have who don’t have the level of phonemic awareness that Parker has and I determine how I can teach them the same skills. Here are some of the ideas we use with Parker and Brandon:
- Letter magnets on the fridge
- Foam letters for the bathtub
- Alphabet posters
- Alphabet line
- Phonics related videos
- Wooden craft letters
- Writing letters in the air
- Books
- Physical movement to each syllable: clap, jump…
- Games
- Flashcards
- Teaching letter families (-at, -ed, -ot, etc.)
- Rhyming
I also incorporate the above strategies into my lessons for my non-readers at school. The idea is to make it fun and they won’t even know you’re instructing. I’m hoping one day I’ll hear one of my students self-applaud and congratulate themselves, too.