learning letters
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- learning letters
30/8/08 02:03
27/8/08 21:10
Hi I have been to the early learning centre today and have got some good bits on letters one that will go on the wall with the sounds but also got a snap game but using it for the letters first and then snap when he is older. Got a number one as well it has the number, the amount in pictures and the number in writting upto 10.
27/8/08 14:07
Sorry welshbabe345, forgot to respond to your question. Do you lipread? You may find your child's teacher would be willing to help you in saying the sounds correctly yourself. If you pm me, I can also send you a link to a site where all the sounds are enunciated correctly, and show a close-up of the mouth as the speaker is saying each sound - would this be helpful to you?
Share your queries with your child's teacher - revision time at home really benefits children after they have learnt a new sound in school, but if you would find it difficult and there is no-one else at home that could do it, you may find the teacher or teaching assistant would be willing to give your child a little 1-to1 practise at school. I have done this in the past for a child with deaf parents, and for other children whose parents couldn't support the process at home for whatever reason.
Hope that helps x
27/8/08 14:01
The actions the previous poster is describing are those used with Jolly Phonics, and again I would say think very carefully before doing this, as a) you don't want to spoil the fun of them learning it at school and b) you would have to very confident that you were enunciating the sounds correctly (e.g. 'mmmmmm' not 'muh' - the 'uh' bit is called a schwa, and very confusing for children when they begin trying to use the sounds to read) - it is very difficult to unlearn something that has been taught incorrectly
27/8/08 09:54
hun for doing letters the best thing is doing phonics this is wheere you do sounds for letters as this is hw they learn at school and do actions to go with letters
Aa is aaa and you wiggle fingers above elbow as if ants crawling
s weave hand like snake making s shapes saying sssss
p hold up index finger as if itis a lit candle and imagine puffing it out saying p
you can just say the letters but you also have to think how do they learn in school lower case or upper case
im sure you can get the phonics stuff on internet somewhere if not ill try find you a link as jade came home with a book full of sounds etc and wehad to do them everyweek with her(one page a week each page has a sound
hth
27/8/08 00:13
hiya, i was just reading your posts, and i was just curious what u woudl recommend to me as it has been on my mind for whille...
i have started introducing my son to letters as he has mastered most numbers now. however i know they teach phonics in schools now. i never learned phonics and i am deaf so dont know how to sound them properly. how would i teach my son the alphabet? i am teaching him the letter sounds at the moment but just wondered what was available for me and my son for when i needed to help him at home? like homework or reading books with him when he comes home.
he is nearly 3 now and i know i got a while to go yet but its been worrying me!
26/8/08 22:46
It's funny, I'm a teacher and agree with what people have said about not spoiling the fun of learning in the reception class. DS loved coming home in reception telling me he'd learned a new sound / letter etc. BUT .... DD is 3 and is absolutely dying for me to tell her about letters! I bought her a leap pad fishing pond from home bargains. It was only £3.99 and I bought it to keep her quiet on a long journey one day, but she sits for hours with it, asking me what all the letters say! She knows m, k , j, c and s - because are the sounds for Mum, Katie, Joe, cat and snake and these are all words that are personal to her. She's not really interested in the rest so I just go with what she wants and try to promote an entusiasm and eagerness to learn xx
26/8/08 21:04
Bumped for lady who started 'teaching too early' thread - sorry, it has taken me so long to find this that I have forgotten your name!
14/8/08 09:54
totally agree with mummymonkey about not spoiling the school experience for them by teaching them what will be done in school.some things are better left to the teachers,there's enough disruptive behaviour in classrooms nowadays without adding to it by children being bored as their parents have already taught them everthing,also if they are taught it in a different way at home then they are likely to turn round and tell the teacher they are wrong etc,as they will always believe their parents know best iyswim.
13/8/08 21:50
Yes, Jolly Phonics IS great, but is also used by a lot of Reception classes, so you have to weigh up whether it will spoil the fun of learning it in school by using the same materials.
In one Reception class I taught, there was a little boy who had the Jolly Phonics videos at home. Each day I would introduce a new sound in an exciting way (a present to unwrap with an object starting with the sound inside, a letter from the Borrowers with the new sound in, a puppet to tell us a story which would give us clues to the sound) and every bl***y day this boy would shout out the sound halfway through my and spoil the fun for everyone else!! I wanted to gag him, lol. At that point I didn't care that he was missing out on the excitement, but was annoyed that no-one else could have the magical impact as well.
It's fab when children are enthusiastic, and would not withhold information about letter sounds from my dd if she asked, but will certainly not set about teaching her before she goes to school, despite my knowledge and love of phonics.
Like I said in my previous post, phonics is not just about learning letter sounds. Good phonics teaching recognises that letter sounds are a means to an end, ie reading and writing, and children have to be taught the skills of using the sounds at the same time as learning them in their own right iyswim.
Hth x
13/8/08 21:35
My ds had always been very interested in learning and knew all his letters at 20 months (capital and lower case), then after that we introduced phonics which he knew all of them at 2 years - as he already knew the letters, phonics came much easier - not the way it is taught in schools I know, but my ds learned better this way. He is now 3yrs old and can read very very well - he he learnt how to sound out the letter sounds to make a word.
My best advice is watch out for some toys that 'claim' to teach phonics as they are wrong - teaching each individual letter sound just confuses them when they have to read as 'ch' is not 'c' 'h' (If that makes sense) The 'Jolly phonics' range is GREAT and teach you how to teach them aswell using 'groups' of letters.
7/8/08 10:36
My DS has always been an inquizative child, and from the age of 18 months hed constantly ask whats that,,,, i used to tell him the sounds of the letters, yet this is not what he has picked up, he know some some sound like when he spells his name he well say jeee oo sssss 'ache'
he recognises all of his letters but uses a mix and match of phinics and letter names., he is 2 yrs 8 months, i am trying to teach him the letter sounds, but it is hard as elsewhere he has been taught letter name!
6/8/08 22:28
HI I bought my little man a fridge phonics set from ebay it goes on the fridge and is magnetic and letters stay on the fridge too and you insert the letters into it - great for keeping him occupied when I am doing the tea it also sings the alphabet too - he is two and a half - he has only had it since last week and already he is starting to sing parts of the alphabet. he loves it as he can switch it on and use it on his own - I just put it there and left it for him to figure out. I think its in the new argos catalogue as found it in there just after I bought it.
4/8/08 21:52
Hiya,
I have a dd who is 2yrs, 9mnths. Until April I was a Reception teacher, but am now working at our local university as a lecturer, training student teachers. I specialise in English, especially in Early Years and Phonics, so know the latest research and advice in this area.
If your child actively asks about letters, it is vital to use letter sounds, not names at this stage. Lots of children learn to sing the alphabet, which is fine, and in that case you can explain that letters have a name but they also make a sound (like a dog that makes a woof sound!); focus on sounds.
All pre-school settings are told not to 'teach' letters; they can talk about sounds and begin to develop some of the skills e.g. listening for sounds at the beginning of words, orally blending sounds (e.g. you say a sentence and sound out the last word, c-a-t, then blend the sounds by saying the full word, cat) - but none of this should be done by showing the corresponding letters. As I have said, if a child asks about letters, staff in pre-schools wouldn't say 'Sorry, I can't tell you what that says', obviously they would answer, but wouldn't specifically plan to teach letters.
Parents can support their children's learning more effectively by encouraging a love of listening to stories, enjoying and learning rhymes (research has shown that children who can rhyme learn to read far more quickly), playing with sounds (e.g. copying sounds loudly, quietly, sadly etc; making up strings of words that all start with the same letter e.g. lions like licking lollipops), discriminating between heard sounds (e.g. identfying different instruments, animal sounds etc.)
There are a variety of reasons why pre-school settings are discouraged from teaching letters:
- Learning phonics (using sounds and letters for reading and writing)in the way that it is done in most Reception classes is tremendous fun, and really engaging - children that have already been 'taught' some/all letters don't enjoy these sessions as much
- When phonics is taught in Reception, the children are also taught to apply their skills to reading and writing, so they can see the point of learning; children in pre-schools are generally not ready for reading and writing
Whoever teaches letters must ensure that they enunciate the sounds correctly (e.g. short 'b', not 'buh'), otherwise children can't make the link to reading and writing, as words don't come out right when they sound them out.
Some children have a natural affinity for phonics, and will cope even if taught letter names first, but these children tend to be the exception!
I'm really sorry if this sounds like a sermon, I hope it is helpful - phonics teaching is an area that I am really passionate about!! If anyone wants any further information, I'd be pleased to help.
xx
4/8/08 21:16
Hi
I work in a private day nursery and from Sept this year when the curriculum changes a new way of teaching letters and sounds is being introduced.
We cater for children aged up to school age and we are only meant to be teaching them rhyming in the form of songs, rhymes and old fashioned games e.g. kims game. We have also been told to focus on sounds things make e.g. animal noises and to imitate the noise instruments and objects make.
Don't know if this helps - hope it does.
4/8/08 20:16
Hi, dd has just finished Recption and they did both at the same time, they taught them the sound and the name (the sound being the phonic and the name being the Capital letter as far as I can explain it lol), however I always did ABC with dd and it didnt hold her back in anyway learning the sounds and the letter names once she started school so I guess its up to you how you do it, too cute when they get to reception and within 6 months they are writing you little notes litterally as they hear it 'mumy I lurv ewe' lol amd then you watch them progress throughout the year until they just click, these teachers are genius in my opinon!
4/8/08 19:46
I'm a teacher and yes we do teach phonics - the sounds of the letter but I also think it's good to know the names of the letter. I don't think it should confuse them. With animals we tell them the name, e.g. cow and the sound it makes, moo so why not teach the names of letters and the sounds they make? Just my opinion though! x
4/8/08 15:19
Hi - DEFINATELY teach him sounds not letter names- this is how they learn to read - by building blocks of sound and hearing sounds in words- the names are fairly irrelevant and in school they will not teach these for a long time- usually kids pick them up anyway but it is the sounds that are the important part-and they can learn tnames after easil;y enough - often they pick them up alongside anyway but to not confuse them teach sounds first. have fun!
4/8/08 13:56
The letter sounds are much more important than letter names when you learn to read. I have heard people say that you should only teach them the sounds or it will confuse them when they start reading. I taught my girls the letter names first as I think it is important to know them once they totally mastered that I did the letter sounds. My 3 and 2 year old know them both ways. It certainly hasn't confused my 3 year as she can now read really well by sounding the words out.
4/8/08 12:25
theres a program on nick jnr at 6:30pm every evening that aiden loves, called super why. it always shows letters, and sounds etc etc... he learns alot from that see if your lo likes it xx
hi mummymonkey, yes i do lipread and that website could be helpful. i will ask the school when he starts about this as i would like them to help him with it. me and my partner are both deaf so he has no1 at home to help him. i know it prob seems like a silly thing to worry about but i cant help it. i want to help my son as best as i can and i hate the thought of him missing out bec of me! i gt a while to go yet but was just curious on what could be done. thanks for ur advice