“Phun” with Phonics

Sara NewtonAngela Rush

November 17, 2005

What IS Phonics anyway?

• Understanding how letters and speech match

• Connecting graphemes and phonemes

• Sound to symbol• Speech to print • Alphabetic principle

What is Phonics NOT?

• Instructed in isolation

• Phonemic awareness

• Taught on Fridays• Used in place of

vocabulary, comprehension, or fluency

Can you read this?

CMDUKSMRNOTOSAR

CMWANGSLIB

SMRMRDUKS

WHY should we teach phonics?

• Letter-sound knowledge is prerequisite to effective word identification. (Juel, 1991)

• Good readers must have a strategy to phonologically recode words. (Ehri, 1999, NRP, 2000)

• Because our language is alphabetic, decoding is an essential and primary means of recognizing words. There are simply too many words in the English language to rely on memorization…(Bay Area Reading Task Force, 1996)

How do phonics and comprehension relate?

HOW do I teach phonics?Should I take the synthetic

approach?

Or should I take an analytic approach?

“Sound” phonics instruction should be…

• ACTIVE

• SOCIAL

• CONNECTED

• REFLECTIVE

When do you teach what????

• Teach short vowel sound combinations first and early

• Be sure that the majority of consonants taught first are continuous sounds (f, l, m, n, r, or s) because these cannot be distorted in blending

• Teach sounds earliest in which lots of words can be generated

• Progress from simple to complex spellings• INSTRUCTION SHOULD BE SYSTEMATIC

How does a good phonics lesson look?

• Very explicit• Brief and fast-paced• Focused• Begin with what the children know• Provide built-in review• Encourage word curiosity• Link phonics to spelling• Make learning public• Provide reflection time

ACTIVITIES

The Grasshopper Who Lost His G

I once did see a grasshopperWith glasses on his head.He said “Hello”, he sat right

down,And this is what he said,“Have you seen a great big

golf ball,A goldfish or some grass?

I'm on a search for g thingsLike gloves or geese or

glass.”I stared at Mr. GrasshopperAnd suddenly I said,"Did you ever think to lookFor the glasses on your

head?"

Green Light, Go!

As an adaptation of the old “Red Light, Green Light!” game, students play “Green Light, GO!” Students line up on one side of the room with teacher on the other side. Students take one step closer to teacher if they hear a word called that begins with “G”.

Another Way to teach “G”!

Palm Tree Pose

In the park,

The palm trees pose

Politely in a pair;

But on this pitter-patter day,

They haven’t combed their hair.

Adapted from Betsy R. Rosenthal, 1998

Word Toss

Tape several plastic foam or paper cups to the floor close together. Inside each cup, write a letter. Have each child toss a button into the mass of cups. The child should state a word that contains the sound the word (begins, ends, etc.) with.

Alphabet Puppets

Teacher or students can write consonant letters on puppets. As you say selected words, the child holding the letter puppet should wiggle it if the word starts with the letter sound that the student has.

This activity could be adapted for ending sounds, medial, clusters, etc.

Sound Hopscotch

Place three hula hoops on the floor, designating their

position (initial, medial, final). In each hoop,

place a letter/sound card at the top that you are

reviewing. Call out one-syllable words to the

students, having them hop to the hoop in which the sound occurs in that

word.

Sounds Swat!

Students team up and take turns to swat words on posters that rhyme with words the teacher calls out. Keep points and encourage enthusiastic participation!

CHALK TALK

Musical Match

Write word parts on note cards. Make enough

cards so that each student can receive one and every card can be combined with at least

one other to form a word. Play music while students

search for their match. When they do, let them

share and challenge them to find other matches.

“Who Let the Animals Out?”This activity/energizer is done to the

tune of “Who Let the Dogs Out?”.• Give out letter cards to students.• The teacher will show a picture of an

animal, and the class will sing the following:“ Who let the turtle out?- /t/, /t/, /t/. Who let the turtle out?- /t/, /t/, /t/.”

• The student with the letter t on his/her card will come to the front of the class.

• The class will continue singing the following while the student holds up his/her letter: “ Sam let the turtle out-/t/, /t/, /t/. Sam let the turtle out-/t/, /t/, /t/.

• Variation: You can focus on initial diagraphs or blends. “ Who let the chipmunk out?-/ch/, /ch/, /ch/.”“ Who let the sheep out?- /sh/, /sh/, /sh/.”

Letter Actions

• The teacher will generate a list of actions for each consonant letter.

• Examples: b- bounce the ball; c-cough; d-dig; f-fall; g-gobble; h-hop; j-jog; k-kick; l-laugh; m-model; n-nod; p-pop; q-question; r-run; s-sit, t-type; v-vote; w-wave; x-x-ray; z-zip.

• The teacher will model and teach the actions to the students.

• The teacher will hold up a letter card. The students will do the action that goes with the letter. Helpful Hint: The letter s is a great one to do last.

Parts is PartsUse a large body shape

cut-out for this activity. Tape the shape to the wall. Make body part name Post-its with one sound omitted in each one. Students take turns posting notes in appropriate places while identifying missing letters.

The Big Split

After the students can identify most of the “i” words in “The Big Split”, give each child a large piece of newspaper. Have them listen to read the poem “in slow motion” and each time they hear an “i” word, they rip their paper a tiny bit.

Ugs!

Using the rime “ug”, have students add onsets of blends or consonants to make new words for make-believe creepy crawlies. Then give students a jar pattern to draw, label, and describe their creepy crawly. Encourage the

use of the five senses

in their writing.

The Flug

The flug is a cross between a flea and a bug. It jumps high and is covered in purple spots. It is only a centimeter long, and it smells like grape Kool-aid. I wish I had one for a pet!

Roll a Rime!

Cover a square box with paper. Write a different rime on each side. Seat students in a circle on the floor. Students will gently toss the cube and name a word that contains the rime. Pass the cube to the right, continuing around the circle until everyone has had a turn.

Once Upon a Fairy Tale

Start telling a fairy tale, but segment it by onsets and rimes. For example, you might say, ”Once upon a t-ime, there was a g-irl named Sn-ow Wh-ite.”

This activity can be varied many ways. Students could hold up connected word cards that you prepared as you say the segmented word, for example.

Scavenger Hunt

Today we are going to look for words! Each word will have a special color that gives a clue as to what long vowel sound we will hear when we say the word. Words are hidden all over the room. Each box has a long vowel sound written on the side of the box. 2 minute search!

A=red I=blue E=purpleU=green O=orange

Word Maker Cups

This is great independent practice. Take two large styrofoam cups. On the lip of one, write consonants that have already been studied on the side (so that they can be seen sideways). On the second cup, write one rime that has been studied. Fit the second cup inside the first. Now the students can rotate the second cup to make words. Students should say and write the words they make.

Tongue Twisters

Introduce lessons with consonant clusters by saying a tongue twister. Students will repeat it, saying it faster and faster. Let them watch you write it on the chart. Students can highlight the clusters with tape. Later students could publish their own tongue twister books with illustrations.

Examples: “Flexible Floyd flips flat flapjacks.”

“Brandy’s brother brought brown bread for brunch.”

Digraph Hangman

This is a twist on the old “Hangman” game. Students play Hangman, except the game will start by using a word that already has a digraph filled in by the teacher or a student.

Giant Tic-Tac-Toe

Select 9 students and arrange the chairs in tic-tac-toe formation. Provide 9 sheets of construction paper with giant X’s on one side and O’s on the other. The remaining students form 2 teams, X’s and O’s. Alternate saying ar words to each team. The player must spell the word. Write the word on the board to verify. The team directs a child to hold up an X or an O. Play until there is a “winner”.

Small Group Activity

• Select the book from your table.

• Work with your group for 20 minutes to create a phonics activity using the literature.

• Elect a spokesperson.

• Share with the large group for about 3 minutes.

Internet resources

• www.tea.state.tx.us/reading/products/essential/pdf

• www.teach-nology.com• www.manatee.k12.fl.us• www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/

publications/reading_first1phonics.html• www.adrianbruce.com/reading/posters/• www.readwritethink.org/materials/

picturematch/

Bibliography• Fox, Barbara. Word Identification Strategies. (2004). Columbus, Ohio,

Pearson.• 101 Ways to Make Your Students Better Decoders and Readers. (2006).

Rigby Press.• Word Family Fun. (2000). The Mailbox.• Phonics and Reading (1998). The Mailbox.• Rasinsky, Timothy and Padak, Nancy. From Phonics to Fluency. (2001).

New York, Addison Wesley.• Hajdusiewicz, Babs. Phonics Through Poetry. (1998). Glenview, Illinois,

Good Year Books.• Blevins, Wiley. Phonics A-Z. (1998). New York. Scholastic.• www.fcrr.com• www.manateemiddle.org/phonics/scavenge.htm• www5.unitedstreaming.com• www.glc.k12.ga.us• www.findmidis.com