I live in the U.S. How do pre-school teachers introduce reading in class?

Question

Do you teach actual reading skills? How and which ones? Or just sight words and if so, how and which ones? Can you refer me to some books that give info?

I;m in my last leg of getting certified to teach pre-kindergarten students. I am passionate about reading, and have lots of ideas of how to get these kids started in reading. But since Madonna moved to England so her kids could go to English schools because she says "they are better than U.S. schools" (and she is no doubt correct about that!), I wondered what pre-K teachers in the U.K. did to teach reading to 4 year old pre-K students. Thanks!

Answer 1

I assume they would take in a book.

Answer 2

Putting signs up in the classroom for the kids to look at.  Labeling everything!  Also, they obviously need to know/learn their letters as well as the sounds.  There are many songs that stress these points, such as "Who let the letters out."

Books with patterns that are "decodable" is helpful for children.  They would need to be at grade-level and have easy simple words, combined with pictures.

Sight words from my experience are not really done at the pre-k level.  They are used first in Kindergarten from my experiences. and in the older grades as well.

Answer 3

In the UK they usually teach them the alphabet and their sounds first then they go on to reading small words first like it, at, on, we and so on.

Answer 4

In some parts of the UK, 4 year olds are in full-time education in what is their "Reception" or "Foundation" year (kindergarten).  If they are 4 yrs old by Sept 1st, they are in.  So it's not the "pre-school" setting, per se.

This is the case in the town where I live, and also in the out-of-town school where I work.  The Key Stage 1 (Foundation year, Year 1 and Year 2)  teachers all use the PIPS program (Progression in Phonics)  and swear by it.    But if you are interested in some other popular programs, take a look at this site:  http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Database...

One important detail is that when teaching the letter sounds (even the kids know them as "phonemes")  you do *not* pronounce them with a schwa right after the consonants.  I admit to cringing if I hear someone go through the alphabet "ah, buh, cuh, duh, eh, fuh, guh, etc."  That doesn't help them to blend sounds later.

And hey - don't knock American schools based on Madonna's choice!  (let's face it - her kids aren't in the local state comprehensives, are they).   Just as there are great American schools and some that fail, it happens in the UK as well.   I've heard many teachers make envious comments about facilities and resources in US schools.  I suppose there are pros and cons to both education systems!

Good luck on your certification!

Answer 5

Starting in August of each year, we start by learning each letter of the alphabet, not in order, just random letters, and teach 2 a week. We teach them the sound the letter makes, talk about words taht start with that letter and work on writing that letter. About every 4 weeks, we review the previous letters, then start the next week on 2 new letters. After we have completed each letter, we have begun teaching them 10 common sight words each week such as her, his, it, is, and, but, look, A, I and so on. We make up silly sentences using the words and throughout teh week play different games with the words, like searching for the words in a favorite song, stand up and sit down when you hear certain words, etc.

To challenge the children that catch on quickly, we form sentences are start allowing them to read sentences.

By the time the children get to Kindergarten, they are reading like champs or have an excellent start!