Montessori Phonics - Introduction To Single Letter Sounds

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi Buds,


1. May i know how to help a 4yo to understand the differences on some words that sound the same.

Eg: Bat Bet
Pan Pen

2. When i teach him words ended G eg: BIG, BAG. I taught him B- IG, B-AG with ending sound of G. He said Bag with clear G sound. How do i correct it? If he says it quick, i don’t hear ‘G’ sound.

3. May i know where i can get DVD or CD to pratise on 4 letters eg: brat, this and long vowels? Every program has a bit difference in sounding out certain letters. I have Leapfrog and word machine as brief introduction of phonics. Not comprehensive enough. Therefore looking one that can help me to blend.

4. Buds, my child has finished short vowel a & i. I revised short vowel a with him after he has completed short vowel i. He seems confused,read am as im. When pointed on words for short vowel a, he could recognised 70% of them. He needs a lot of pratise. We pratise 4-5 times a week. How do i make it easy for him?

Appreciate your guidance.

Thank you.

[buds]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi Buds,

Heyya Charmaine!

Charmaine_chong:

1. May i know how to help a 4yo to understand the differences on some words that sound the same.

Eg: Bat Bet
Pan Pen

The foundation skills have to be right, Charmaine. From the point
that the child begins his first introduction to Single Letter Sounds
they have been taught to know the difference. This is why i never
fail to emphasize that children must know all single letter sounds
before proceeding to 3 letters onwards. It's the same as not
insisting a crawling baby to walk.

Knowing how to say or pronounce the sounds is only one thing,
the need to know the corresponding letter each sound represents
and how it is written is of equal importance which are often overlooked
in the race of simply getting a child to know how to read... and fast too.

Concrete foundation is the key to ensuring the children will not have to
go back to basics to re-learn the skills. Foundation make take longer time
to produce results but the results are everlasting.

For me (personally), firstly /e/ sounds and /a/ sounds are not to be taught
together. 3 letter words (word families) consisting vowel sounds /e/ and
/a/ are also not taught together to avoid confusion.

Next, for me (personally), the sound /a/ i get my children to pronounce
open-mouthed and also drag the sound a little longer. Mebbe 3 seconds.

The /e/ sound would be brief and abrupt sounding. 1 second.

So, in the case of the word bat... can stretch a lil' longer and open
mouthed. As for the word bet... say it in one quick breath. Likewise
for pan and pen and other words in relevance.

Charmaine_chong:

2. When i teach him words ended G eg: BIG, BAG. I taught him B- IG, B-AG with ending sound of G. He said Bag with clear G sound. How do i correct it? If he says it quick, i don't hear 'G' sound.

But there is a /g/ sound in bag, dear... tho not an obvious and strong g-uh
kinda sound but there is a /g/ sound when you say out the word bag.

This is where many teachers have overlooked, even Montessorian ones.
Blending of words should not begin prior to word-building. Word building
is frankly the key to reading all phonetic words. Children who have done
word building do not need to have letters grouped together to be able to
read efficiently especially if they have been exposed to reading a lot.

Word building is the pre-reading stage where children are guided to listen
to sounds in words. In my classes, we have word building games to help
children use their listening skills and put them to good use. For example,

Teacher : What's this i have here?

Children : A bag!

Teacher : Now... what sounds can you hear in the word b....a.....g.... (drag the sounds)

From the many years i've done this, children always give the first and
last consonant letter before the middle vowel sound.

Children : We can hear the sound /b/.

Teacher : Good. Now what other sounds are there in the word b....a....g....

Children : We can hear the sound /g/.

Teacher : Good. Now we only have the sounds /b/ and /g/... and that is
not enough to form a proper word. I think we need a vowel. Now what
vowel can you hear in the word.... b.....aaaaa....g.... (this time drag the
/a/ sound) to make it seem more obvious. :lol:

Children : /a/!!!

Teacher : Good. Now, let's sort the sounds out. What is the first sound in
the word bag?

Children : (saying to themselves) b... a... g. /b/ should be the first sound
in the word bag.

Teacher : Good, what do you think comes next?

Children : (repeating the word to themselves again) b... aaaa... g.

(From the teacher's obvious sounding hint, the children will repeat the
same sounds to themselves, hence providing indirect reinforcement for
the children to grasp it all on their own. It's fine if you sound like a broken
record, just make it a happy though broken one)

If the children are stuck here, you may guide the process by offering...
\"I think it's a vowel sound next... what do you think...?\"

Most times, children with an already concrete foundation in single letter
sounds will get it almost automatically. Cos through the lessons during
foundation, children have been reinforced with the sounds regularly. Many
fun repetitive activities would have been carried out as well to ensure that
while having fun the children retain the essence of the lesson objective,
the sounds.

Children : /a/....?

Teacher : Yes, an /a/... now what would the last letter be then?

Children : (repeating the sounds to themselves one last time) b... a... g.

Children : /g/ is the last sound!

Teacher : Well done everyone, now let's build this word and see if we
get the word bag. Slowly now... /b/.... /a/... (buh.... aaaaaa.....) then...
put those two together.... it wud make /ba/ = baaaahh.... and lastly fit
in the /g/ in a brief sounding second. Hence making it sound /ba/.... /g/.
Bag. Let's try that again.. (repeat)

Note : This word building process goes through 3 steps.

1. Say first letter sound. (/b/)

2. Say second letter sound. (/a/)

3. Combine sounds (/b/ and /a/) and roll in the /g/ sound at the end.

Lastly, read the word as a whole. Don't break it up.
So, just say... bag to sum up that built up word.

Gosh. Do hope this helps give an idea, Charmaine.
I'm trying my best to provide the sounds and techniques
just typing words out here.. not an easy task when you can't
hear me sounding them out. :lol: Sweating now..

Most teachers just like to go right into the 3-letter stage.
So children miss out on word building opportunities which
is really really really helpful moving on from the single letter
sounds stage. The reason why some children may get stuck
at 3-letters can be due to that reason. Other kids who grasp
the concept of blending word families faster do eventually get
it anyhow. Word family blending is simply giving them the combi
(conbination) of sounds for example : /an/... and then get children
to read words that comes under that family like...

ban can fan man pan ran tan van

Though that method works, i just prefer to better layer my children's
foundation skills with word building. I prefer to make it concrete.

Charmaine_chong:

3. May i know where i can get DVD or CD to pratise on 4 letters eg: brat, this and long vowels? Every program has a bit difference in sounding out certain letters. I have Leapfrog and word machine as brief introduction of phonics. Not comprehensive enough. Therefore looking one that can help me to blend.

Where else but my favourite kampong bookstore? Popular lah. :lol:
There are many hidden gems in Popular if one would only care to look.
No need to dig also sometimes.

You can try My Preschool World series of Phonics Books.
You have my word of thumbs up on that series.
Here's how it looks like.


http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=TscpuhJ


And it comes with a VCD to complement the activities
or lessons in the books. Comes in separate packs &
also whole packs.

For your son... you may consider getting the ones indicated
below. Select the pack with the accompanied VCD since you
need it... cos there are separates and also packs that do not
come with it.

- Phonics Readers 1 and 2
- Phonics Activity Books 1 and 2
- Phonics Enrichment Book A with stickers

Charmaine_chong:

4. Buds, my child has finished short vowel a & i. I revised short vowel a with him after he has completed short vowel i. He seems confused,read am as im.

He shouldn't be confused. /a/ and /i/ are two very different vowel sounds
and they look stark different in print too. Did he know ALL his single letter
sounds before he embarked on the 3-letters stage?

Charmaine_chong:

When pointed on words for short vowel a, he could recognised 70% of them.

Phonics should not be about recognizing. It should be putting sounds
together to form words... and eventually reading by print. Never
recognizing like learning sight words.

Charmaine_chong:

He needs a lot of pratise. We pratise 4-5 times a week. How do i make it easy for him?

4 to 5 times a week is a bit much and may put unnecessary pressure on
him to learn how to read, if you dun mind me saying. There is no quick
easy way that i can offer you with right now, cos i honestly need to
assess your son to gauge where his weakness reali lies...

For now i guess, make it less. Read to him more. To entice..
And already you're making it fun. That you definitely got it, girl.
There are many other skills he can undertake other than reading
that he can pick up too for his age. It's a fantastic time to learn a
lotta stuff at 4yrs of age. If you do really wanna go into fun stuff
directed at learning to read, then try puzzles. Word puzzles. I'll
see if i can get you the link to my puzzle material.

Charmaine_chong:

Appreciate your guidance.

We learn together okie?

Charmaine_chong:

Thank you.

You are always welcome.

[buds]

I found it Charmaine.


Here's the link. Hope it helps.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1927&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=10.

It costs less than SGD$ 10.00. Can buy at Popular or Kiddy Palace.
Carrefour has the Creatives series too. Near the entrance, just aft
the piano and keyboard areas. It also comes with a small activity
book to complement what the child has worked with. (puzzles)

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi BUDS,


Is a blessing to have YOU in the forum. Thank you.

My Preschool World series of Phonics Books
I saw this long ago but i didn't know it is good till you let me know. I bought it yesterday and played for my child. The pronounciation is so clear and the sounds make sense.
When i first learnt it from Starfall website and Leapfrog DVD, i was confused with certain sounds eg: a, o, u. These sound the same to me and i couldn't relate the sound to the words.
Eg: in Leapfrog DVD
1.letter a sounds as /ah/ not /ae/, I don't see the connection for words like apple, aeroplane...
2.Letter o sounds as /ah/ not o as in octopus. I was totally lost and wondering how to blend.

I discovered that lettersounds differs for each phonics programme when i sent my child to Montessori. Prior than that, i thought all letters shared the same sound for all phonics programme.
[quote]The foundation skills have to be right[/quote]Buds, i knew the importance now. The teacher advised that it would be great if my child can finished up pink book 1 fast enough. He did pink book 1 and pink book 2 (short vowel a e i o u) together. I ever feedback that my child seem couldn't figure out the first, middle and last sound. She advised that usually children stuck at pink book 2 and some may take a long time. The supervisor said that i am too eager to see result. ASked me not to expect immediate result, he may show only later or in primary school. Honestly, i wasn't pleased with the answer.

Every step my child goes through, i feedback immediately to the teacher, but seems like they have overlooked the importance of laying foundation right. I see that they pay more attention on speed rather than my child's learning appetite. Everything fast, fast,fast.

Firt, middle and last sound
I understand your message perfectly as i learnt the sound personally from the MMI teacher. Failing which, i am sure i would have difficulty digesting your message.

4-5 times is a lot, Buds? I would take your advise. Reading to him lots of great books. He enjoys it a lot. We didn't read much recently as i spent most of my time helping him on phonics and reciting chinese classic. Need to tune it back.

Short vowel i and a
Buds, he knows his lettersound. I told him to follow Montessori lettersounds instead of Leapfrog.

When i get him to read graded reader, he would read out from memory the page he read yesterday. I got to correct him. For phonics the same.

Not to recognise the words but more on the ability to blend. I need little time to brush him up on this area.

Will read your threads for more ideas and to pick up some hidden skills.

Cheers

[buds]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi BUDS,


Is a blessing to have YOU in the forum. Thank you.

Geesh... :oops:

I just hoped i helped.
Niwae, i told you before that i am HERE for you and i WILL be here for you.

Charmaine_chong:

My Preschool World series of Phonics Books
I saw this long ago but i didn't know it is good till you let me know. I bought it yesterday and played for my child. The pronounciation is so clear and the sounds make sense.

Fantastic! :celebrate:

I'm happy you like it. I like it too. Hehee..

Charmaine_chong:

I discovered that lettersounds differs for each phonics programme when i sent my child to Montessori. Prior than that, i thought all letters shared the same sound for all phonics programme.

Good observation. It is indeed different all across the board/globe.
We just fine-tune it to suit our level..
[quote]The foundation skills have to be right[/quote]

Charmaine_chong:

Buds, i knew the importance now. The teacher advised that it would be great if my child can finished up pink book 1 fast enough. He did pink book 1 and pink book 2 (short vowel a e i o u) together. I ever feedback that my child seem couldn't figure out the first, middle and last sound. She advised that usually children stuck at pink book 2 and some may take a long time. The supervisor said that i am too eager to see result. ASked me not to expect immediate result, he may show only later or in primary school. Honestly, i wasn't pleased with the answer.

I know watcha mean.. :hugs:

Charmaine_chong:

Every step my child goes through, i feedback immediately to the teacher, but seems like they have overlooked the importance of laying foundation right. I see that they pay more attention on speed rather than my child's learning appetite. Everything fast, fast,fast.

YES Charmaine! You are very right! It is really not about going fast but
really going steady.

Charmaine_chong:

First, middle and last sound
I understand your message perfectly as i learnt the sound personally from the MMI teacher. Failing which, i am sure i would have difficulty digesting your message.

Fantastic! Phew! :celebrate:

Charmaine_chong:

4-5 times is a lot, Buds? I would take your advise. Reading to him lots of great books. He enjoys it a lot. We didn't read much recently as i spent most of my time helping him on phonics and reciting chinese classic. Need to tune it back.

Bearing in mind this is highly subjective to the individual... i personally
think it is. Especially since your son is trying his best and still can't get
it all right as yet. I only did once a week for my 2 dds last time, max
twice. The rest they wud pick up the materials on their own from my
shelves to self-enforce. That's how i know that their learning
came from their own desire to learn. Self exploration.

Charmaine_chong:

Short vowel i and a
Buds, he knows his lettersound. I told him to follow Montessori lettersounds instead of Leapfrog.

Okie. Roget that. Different ppl will say the sounds differently too.
Due to the racial diversity amongst our teachers, each would carry
their own accent / twang / slang.. As long as it doesn't sound too way
off, it generally should be quite fine.

Charmaine_chong:

When i get him to read graded reader, he would read out from memory the page he read yesterday. I got to correct him. For phonics the same.

Not to recognise the words but more on the ability to blend. I need little time to brush him up on this area.

Yes, you take time to digest information. Try it out on your own first then
you'd feel more confident delivering the lesson out to him.

Charmaine_chong:

Will read your threads for more ideas and to pick up some hidden skills.

Cheers

No hidden skills lah dear.. Where got? :lol:

[buds]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi BUDS,


Is a blessing to have YOU in the forum. Thank you.

Geesh... :oops:

I just hoped i helped.
Niwae, i told you before that i am HERE for you and i WILL be here for you.

Charmaine_chong:

My Preschool World series of Phonics Books
I saw this long ago but i didn't know it is good till you let me know. I bought it yesterday and played for my child. The pronounciation is so clear and the sounds make sense.

Fantastic! :celebrate:

I'm happy you like it. I like it too. Hehee..

Charmaine_chong:

I discovered that lettersounds differs for each phonics programme when i sent my child to Montessori. Prior than that, i thought all letters shared the same sound for all phonics programme.

Good observation. It is indeed different all across the board/globe.
We just fine-tune it to suit our level..
[quote]The foundation skills have to be right[/quote]

Charmaine_chong:

Buds, i knew the importance now. The teacher advised that it would be great if my child can finished up pink book 1 fast enough. He did pink book 1 and pink book 2 (short vowel a e i o u) together. I ever feedback that my child seem couldn't figure out the first, middle and last sound. She advised that usually children stuck at pink book 2 and some may take a long time. The supervisor said that i am too eager to see result. ASked me not to expect immediate result, he may show only later or in primary school. Honestly, i wasn't pleased with the answer.

I know watcha mean.. :hugs:

Charmaine_chong:

Every step my child goes through, i feedback immediately to the teacher, but seems like they have overlooked the importance of laying foundation right. I see that they pay more attention on speed rather than my child's learning appetite. Everything fast, fast,fast.

YES Charmaine! You are very right! It is really not about going fast but
really going steady.

Charmaine_chong:

First, middle and last sound
I understand your message perfectly as i learnt the sound personally from the MMI teacher. Failing which, i am sure i would have difficulty digesting your message.

Fantastic! Phew! :celebrate:

Charmaine_chong:

4-5 times is a lot, Buds? I would take your advise. Reading to him lots of great books. He enjoys it a lot. We didn't read much recently as i spent most of my time helping him on phonics and reciting chinese classic. Need to tune it back.

Bearing in mind this is highly subjective to the individual... i personally
think it is. Especially since your son is trying his best and still can't get
it all right as yet. I only did once a week for my 2 dds last time, max
twice. The rest they wud pick up the materials on their own from my
shelves to self-enforce. That's how i know that their learning
came from their own desire to learn. Self exploration.

Charmaine_chong:

Short vowel i and a
Buds, he knows his lettersound. I told him to follow Montessori lettersounds instead of Leapfrog.

Okie. Roget that. Different ppl will say the sounds differently too.
Due to the racial diversity amongst our teachers, each would carry
their own accent / twang / slang.. As long as it doesn't sound too way
off, it generally should be quite fine.

Charmaine_chong:

When i get him to read graded reader, he would read out from memory the page he read yesterday. I got to correct him. For phonics the same.

Not to recognise the words but more on the ability to blend. I need little time to brush him up on this area.

Yes, you take time to digest information. Try it out on your own first then
you'd feel more confident delivering the lesson out to him.

Charmaine_chong:

Will read your threads for more ideas and to pick up some hidden skills.

Cheers

No hidden skills lah dear.. Where got? :lol:

[buds]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi BUDS,


Is a blessing to have YOU in the forum. Thank you.

Geesh... :oops:

I just hoped i helped.
Niwae, i told you before that i am HERE for you and i WILL be here for you.

Charmaine_chong:

My Preschool World series of Phonics Books
I saw this long ago but i didn't know it is good till you let me know. I bought it yesterday and played for my child. The pronounciation is so clear and the sounds make sense.

Fantastic! :celebrate:

I'm happy you like it. I like it too. Hehee..

Charmaine_chong:

I discovered that lettersounds differs for each phonics programme when i sent my child to Montessori. Prior than that, i thought all letters shared the same sound for all phonics programme.

Good observation. It is indeed different all across the board/globe.
We just fine-tune it to suit our level..
[quote]The foundation skills have to be right[/quote]

Charmaine_chong:

Buds, i knew the importance now. The teacher advised that it would be great if my child can finished up pink book 1 fast enough. He did pink book 1 and pink book 2 (short vowel a e i o u) together. I ever feedback that my child seem couldn't figure out the first, middle and last sound. She advised that usually children stuck at pink book 2 and some may take a long time. The supervisor said that i am too eager to see result. ASked me not to expect immediate result, he may show only later or in primary school. Honestly, i wasn't pleased with the answer.

I know watcha mean.. :hugs:

Charmaine_chong:

Every step my child goes through, i feedback immediately to the teacher, but seems like they have overlooked the importance of laying foundation right. I see that they pay more attention on speed rather than my child's learning appetite. Everything fast, fast,fast.

YES Charmaine! You are very right! It is really not about going fast but
really going steady.

Charmaine_chong:

First, middle and last sound
I understand your message perfectly as i learnt the sound personally from the MMI teacher. Failing which, i am sure i would have difficulty digesting your message.

Fantastic! Phew! :celebrate:

Charmaine_chong:

4-5 times is a lot, Buds? I would take your advise. Reading to him lots of great books. He enjoys it a lot. We didn't read much recently as i spent most of my time helping him on phonics and reciting chinese classic. Need to tune it back.

Bearing in mind this is highly subjective to the individual... i personally
think it is. Especially since your son is trying his best and still can't get
it all right as yet. I only did once a week for my 2 dds last time, max
twice. The rest they wud pick up the materials on their own from my
shelves to self-enforce. That's how i know that their learning
came from their own desire to learn. Self exploration.

Charmaine_chong:

Short vowel i and a
Buds, he knows his lettersound. I told him to follow Montessori lettersounds instead of Leapfrog.

Okie. Roget that. Different ppl will say the sounds differently too.
Due to the racial diversity amongst our teachers, each would carry
their own accent / twang / slang.. As long as it doesn't sound too way
off, it generally should be quite fine.

Charmaine_chong:

When i get him to read graded reader, he would read out from memory the page he read yesterday. I got to correct him. For phonics the same.

Not to recognise the words but more on the ability to blend. I need little time to brush him up on this area.

Yes, you take time to digest information. Try it out on your own first then
you'd feel more confident delivering the lesson out to him.

Charmaine_chong:

Will read your threads for more ideas and to pick up some hidden skills.

Cheers

No hidden skills lah dear.. Where got? :lol:

[sean wife]

Hi Buds,


Like Starz, I am also not sure how to teach the difference in certain sounds, like a/u/e and c/k etc. I also have the set which you recommended and they pronounced ‘a’ differently from that in Leapfrog….the way it is pronounced in the VCD sounds like the sound for ‘e’. While it seems to makes sense in words such as ‘ant’ and ‘ambulance’, how can we teach the difference between the sounds for ‘a’ and ‘e’ if we teach based on these sounds? (Is this correct – when we teach ‘a’, we should open our mouth wider than when we teach ‘e’?)

And if we follow the sounds in Leapfrog, the sounds for ‘a’ and ‘u’ sounds the same to me….Same goes for c and k.

Sometimes, I am worried that it may make more harm to teach the wrong things than to teach at all. My kids just started attending MMI (workgroup for 2.5-4 yrs old) and they are teaching letter sounds too. Which set of sounds (leapfrog or the VCD) should I use to reinforce at home in order not to cause them too much confusion?

My kids CC is using Jolly Phonics. Although I think they only start the letter sounds in N2, do you think being on Montessori phonics and Jolly Phonics are the same time will cause confusion to the kids?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[buds]

The sounds used by the many different Phonics programmes

usually vary mostly along the vowels as it would adopt the
twang of the creator. The ones using Queens wud vary
from the Aussies for example but relatively in here where
we live, it shouldn't pose as a significant problem tho'
we all live by different Mother Tongues and twangs/
slangs. I would think it will be fine as long as the
teachers in either centres do not mind it for
there will be the one or two sounds that
may sound a lil different. But its all
aligned to how each method
actually works with the
sounds they use.

JMO.

[buds]

sean wife:

Is this correct – when we teach ‘a’, we should open our mouth wider than when we teach ‘e’?

Yep. Note that only the lower lip is moving downwards when allowing the
mouth to sound out the /a/ sound like in words... aaaeroplane.... aaaapple...

It shouldn't sound like aaauntie... (un-tee) or sound like .... aaaanal.... (ay-nle). :lol:

sean wife:

Sometimes, I am worried that it may make more harm to teach the wrong things than to teach at all.

This can happen when parents aren't very pro-active in researching the
stuff to teach their ownchildren. It will definitely help if ya know the right
skills or even just the simple skills to ensure that you won't just teach it all
wrong to the point where the child has to re-learn everything all over again.
Especially for the introduction to single letter sounds itself. If the introduction
is incorrect or not concrete, it may fall flat on ya when you try to advance
to word families' stage.

sean wife:

My kids just started attending MMI (workgroup for 2.5-4 yrs old) and they are teaching letter sounds too.

You should have no problem here, sweetie. Do approach any of the staff to
help guide you with the letter sounds you're in doubt of.

sean wife:

Which set of sounds (leapfrog or the VCD) should I use to reinforce at home in order not to cause them too much confusion?

I do not use Leapfrog at all. So i do not know what to recommend you.
From some of the Leapfrog gifts we've received for the childrens' b'days...
I didn't quite fancy it much since it may cause confusion to what i was
teaching. When the children use it though, i am always careful to highlight
to them on the sounds which do not sound that clear on the Leapfrog toys.
So, when the sounds come on they'll sound out mine over the Leapfrog voice.

sean wife:

My kids CC is using Jolly Phonics.

Nice.

Your kids will have fun learning Jolly.
Hope your kids' teacher is a good one cos
Jolly is a fun way to learn Phonics.

sean wife:

Thanks in advance for your advice.

You're always welcome!