I teach at a pre-school & kindergarten, any idea of some activities relating to phonics??

Question

i have 2 groups. one is ages 3 to 4 and the other is 5 to 6. any suggestions??

Answer 1

We use a program called Jolly Phonics which is great for 2-4 year olds.

Answer 2

I used to play eye spy with my JK's.  I spy something that starts with "p".  This is very important:  Do not say the name of the letter but the sound that it makes.  (ie:  do not say "I spy something that starts with tee, but, rather, I spy something that starts with 't' ( make the sound of 't')  

This can have lots of variations, I spy something that rhymes with 'bat', 'fish' or whatever.  

An important prelearning skill for phonics is the ability to hear similarities and differences.  For example , that cat and hat rhyme and that church and children start with the same sound.   If they don't have that, you will have lots of trouble teaching them phonics.  

Children don't actually learn to hear differences, they learn to hear similarities.  They learn this through rhyme.  All cultures, (or at least all the one's I've studied which are Western ones) have early reading poems throughout their history.  (Think Mother Goose and all those little poems chanted on Mommy's knee).  These were very good for language development.  Unfortunately, today, Mother Goose is falling by the wayside for non-rhyming books. (Clifford, Dora, etc) While children would have been exposed to hundreds of hours of poetry before learning to read before, nowadays they get very little.  You should read at least one poem per day to them (Mother Goose, which you can ask them to learn, too, A.A. Milne, Robert Frost, Shel Silverstein's A Crack in the Sidewalk, Dennis Lee etc. are all good resources).  Get them to chant along with you or after you if the poem seems suited to it; that helps the awareness of same sounds develop.  

Another game is having them react to a given sound.  For example "When I say a word that starts with 'M' (again say the sound, not the name of the letter) clap your hands.  (Or jump up or hop on one foot or whatever they are doing that game).  Then say a list of words at a moderate pace:

mud,  today, Monday, hop, milk, monkey etc.  

Some will react, some will mostly react, some will be completely clueless.  You will easily be able to do a quick mental assessment even while playing the game.  Those who are lost will have to be taken in a small group for extra help while others are at activity time.  

You can vary this game a lot, have them react to words that end with a sound: ends with 't' .  Then you can give a list like:

hit,  spend, lost, whistle (very tricky, that one as the sound is in the middle, not the end) tree, etc.  

You  can also do this with rhyming words:

Jump up when I say a word that rhymes with 'cat'.  

House, mat, car (tricky again because it starts with the same sound but doesn't rhyme.)  If the class isn't up to this say the rhyming word and other word in pairs each time:  'cat' 'house'   'mat - cat'   'car  - cat'.  

You can also say them this way for immediate clarification and reinforcement should a particular word give them trouble.  If playing the game with a remedial/ beginning group you may have to play it this way also.  

If you have some really sharp 5 and six year olds you can try this:  Have them with little blackboards or white boards at their places.  Let them write a word down: perhaps 'cat'.  

They go through intial, middle and final letter changes to get new words:  

For example:  Write 'cat'   (then put in on the board in case they are getting frustrated)

Change it now to make 'hat'  (you can do the same on yours after a minute)

Change it now to make 'fat',   Keep going for other rhymes.  

As the groups advance you can have them change final sounds "hat' 'ham' and  middle sounds "hat - hit" etc.   Introduce each one carefully and do it for many days before moving on to a new one.  Then you can mix them up

"cat, hat, hit, hip" etc.  

You may only want to do this with small groups as some students may not be ready for this.  Be very careful not to frustrate them at this age.  They are very sensitive and developing their self image.  We must not teach them that they are 'dumb' (their words) along with teaching them curriculum.  Many boys become frustrated with reading when introduced very early.  Make sure you give each one an activity or questions at which they can succeed each day, especially to wrap up a session.

These games can be played for as little as 30 seconds at a time (and often are) and can be played spontaneously anywhere (the gym, the carpet, in line etc. )

Good Luck.

Answer 3

All age groups at the school I worked had a day set aside each week for that week's alphabet letter.  They would bring something from home that started with that letter and all would share.  And they each took home an alphabet page beginning with 'A' of course, and would cut and paste any items from books or their own photos corresponding with the letter.  They loved it and at the end of the year we presented their parents with the child's alphabet book all bounded.  A life-long keepsake. The first page had their beginning weight, height, and them trying to print their name and then the same at the end of the year.  Was a big hit.

Answer 4

Didn't you learn this and where to get resources from in college ?

Follow the school's curriculum.

Answer 5

Zoo phonics and The letter people are two pre-set curriculum's that are good for teaching phonics that come with a lot of activities and music. Kids learn best through a multi-modal approach so think of hearing, speaking, moving, touching etc. Music and movement is a great way Ala Zoo phonics.

Starfall.com has lots of activity sheets and stuff on line or kids can do activities on line also if you have computer access. Pick a letter a week and do lots of activities around that sounds so they hear lots o different "b" words (for example) for show and tell have them bring items that begin with the letter "B". Tracing, coloring, gluing, painting B words and the letter B.

I really do recommend using a curriculum it will save you a lot of time and give you a structure to follow and will make things easier and more systematic.

Answer 6

Have the kids go home and discuss with their parents items that start with the letter you're studying. You could even have them bring the items. Put the items on cardboard paper under the letter on the wall.