Phonics involves the relationship between sounds and their spellings. The goal of phonics instruction is to teach students the most common sound-spelling relationships so that they can decode, or sound out, words. This decoding ability is a crucial element in reading success. The first step in phonics study is to be able to identify the sound(s) each letter can make. As we begin to “read” our letter Jj books, we are also taking part in correctly orienting books for reading and turning pages one at a time. Children also begin to demonstrate an understanding that print carries meaning. All of these are the first steps in the process of early reading.
Before your child begins to read, he/she is learning about the way letters and sounds work together to form words. Phonemic awareness and phonics are the first steps a child makes in their journey to becoming readers. By listening to and playing around with the sounds in language, your child is building an important foundation for reading. These playful processes are a part of phonemic awareness, which research has found to be the best predictor of reading success in young children.
If your child has phonemic awareness, he or she understands that words are made up of sounds (phonemes) and that those sounds can be grouped together, moved, and changed. Throughout the day there are many opportunities to point out words that begin or end with the same sound. Just making your child aware of sounds in words is one of the first steps in reading. Click on the first picture below for an online game called Dog’s Letter Pit that your child can play to practice building phonemic awareness. Have fun!
We started our adventure in reading today! We discovered that all of the letter sounds that the children worked so hard to master during preschool, when put together, make words! After reading the book, The Alphabet Tree by Leo Lionni, we began to build simple words in the -at family…C-A-T, H-A-T, B-A-T, R-A-T, then we sounded each of them out. The children then worked independently on building their own -at family word and an illustration (good writers always illustrate their work with a picture that matches!) For a fun way to practice sounding out words…visit Starfall and use their “Word Machine.” This is a website that you will need to purchase a membership for a minimal fee. This site is worth every penny. You will be able to use it through first and second grade. A fun, interactive way to practice essential skills. LET’S HAVE FUN LEARNING!
Letters by themselves are just letters
But when they are grouped together...Presto! It's a word!
Creative Tots has specialized in the private education of both toddlers and preschool age children for over 15 years. We began in the heart of Madeira and now also have a new Mason location. We are specifically designed to focus on early childhood development for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
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