All About Teaching and Learning Phonics
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Dear all,
I received 2 PMs over the past few days asking me about Montessori phonics class at Jurong West.
I cannot remember where I wrote that this phonics class is good.
I want to clarify that this class is not suitable for all children. Someone has complained in this thread that her son did not like that class.
That phonics class, which is one hour a week, requires kids to sit down for one hour to do worksheets. It is not suitable for children who cannot sit still and expects to learn in a fun environment. That is why I did not send my boy there. My older girl is able to sit still to write for long periods of time since she was 3 years old, so she did not mind attending this phonics class because she did not like to run around aimlessly. So please make sure that your child can sit still to do worksheet for one hour before signing him up for the class.
Also, since this thread is about teaching phonics at home, I want to emphasize that parents do not need to become experts in phonics in order to teach your kids. Remember that the aim is to teach your kids to read fluently. Phonics is only part of the teaching scheme, the other parts are teaching sight words and reading from books. It is quite easy for parents (who are English educated) to learn and teach phonics by using the resources in my blog :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-teach-phonics.html
How difficult can phonics be if it is taught to kids between 3 to 6 years old ?
I know that many other parents have taught their kids to read at home without attending any classes -
Hi Tamarind,
My gals are able to read out 90% of the 3 letter words...I just printed out each word family on A4 size paper and ask them to read out one by one...instead of I say one word and ask them to find the correct one as somehow I find that when I try to play games, they can get so carried away that it becomes really just a game between themselves... :x
Will try with the 4-letter words next week...However I think that's still a big gap between knowing how to read all these words and being able to tell me the sounds/letters that made up these words. I did try to guide them along with the spelling of 3-letters words before, as in I breakup the first, middle and last sound and they paste the corresponding letters to from the word....but if I dun prompt them, they seem lost leh... :? -
sean wife:
Hi Tamarind,
My gals are able to read out 90% of the 3 letter words...I just printed out each word family on A4 size paper and ask them to read out one by one...instead of I say one word and ask them to find the correct one as somehow I find that when I try to play games, they can get so carried away that it becomes really just a game between themselves... :x
Will try with the 4-letter words next week...However I think that's still a big gap between knowing how to read all these words and being able to tell me the sounds/letters that made up these words. I did try to guide them along with the spelling of 3-letters words before, as in I breakup the first, middle and last sound and they paste the corresponding letters to from the word....but if I dun prompt them, they seem lost leh... :?
Hi sean wife,
When I read each 3 letter word, I break them out into the individual sounds, for example : c - a - t, I say the \"c\" sound, \"a\" sound, then \"t\" sound.
When you ask them to spell, you can also break the words up into the letter sounds first. If your kids know the letter sounds very well, they should be able to tell you the letters that made up the word. Otherwise, you may want to reinforce the letter sounds again. That is, if you say the \"a\" sound (as in apple), can they point to the letter \"a\" ?
You can also let them play the games at :
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f -
Hi Tamarind,
After I say the word ‘cat’, I will ask them what’s the beginning sound…they are usually able to tell me the beginning sound and choose the correct letter, then i move on to the middle sound and I will tell them the sound and they can also choose the correct letter. After spelling out the first 2 letters, I will read out the word again, emphasizing on the ending sound and they can usually choose the correct letter also. Do you think I am doing the right thing?
As for starfall blending game, somehow they don’t like. Don’t know why…they did enjoy the sightwords matching game in the past though… -
Hi Tamarind,
I search for the Winnie the Pooh book that you recommend and found several similar ones in Amazon...can you advise which is the one you recommend?
http://www.amazon.com/Winnie-Pooh-Pooh-Original-Milne/dp/0140361219/ref=pd_cp_b_3_img
http://www.amazon.com/Winnie-Pooh-Milne/dp/B00375LM0W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282441627&sr=1-1
Thanks! -
Hey Tamarind! It's been a long time since I visited this thread
Just want to keep you updated on my 3.5yo boy
My boy can read on his own already!
He is now reading those Ladybird phonics readers on his own without help.
He can read P&J up to Level 5 (I think). Plus he loves his Clifford phonic readers! He is also reading Pelangi's readers (those small squarish books).
And the best part: He can read and spell many many words (without us teaching him)!
One morning, when I woke him up, he opened his eyes and burst out saying,\"W-H-A-L-E! Whale! A whale has a big mouth and it can eat many fishes! Mummy's mouth is small so Mummy can eat small fishes. Auntie's (my maid) mouth is big so Auntie can eat big fishes! Fish is F-I-S-H! I love fish! Oh yes! I want to eat fish! Eat is E-A-T!\"
I think he was dreaming about words
I was shocked (and it was hilarious) cos we've not taught him how to spell. He learnt it on his own. & during 'moments of inspiration', he will take my marker, stand on the chair and write words on my whiteboard.
It really pays to spend some time with him everyday to read!
Ok, I'm a lazy mummy, sometimes I just throw him some flashcards and ask him to try reading them to me. & when I'm really busy, I will pass him my iPhone (I downloaded some flashcards apps which will read the words to him with accurate pronunciation).
I think it's also good if parents can do their own reading with their kids. I love reading and my boy often sees me with a book. He loves to crawl into my lap and attempt to 'read' my book. He will point and read the words he knows, then look at me for 'answers' for those that he does not know. -
Hi Tamarind
I bought my son a phonics reader book and he could read out a complete sentence by pointing out the word and picture. however, when i cover up the picture, he took a long time to read out the sentence… is he on the correct track?
He could read out 3 alphabets sounds and join them together even though he might not understand the meaning, does that mean he has sucessfully acquired the basic phonics skills? -
sean wife:
Yes these are the original. I advise you to get the book in the second link. The printing of the first book is quite bad. I know this because I bought both books amazon.Hi Tamarind,
I search for the Winnie the Pooh book that you recommend and found several similar ones in Amazon...can you advise which is the one you recommend?
http://www.amazon.com/Winnie-Pooh-Pooh-Original-Milne/dp/0140361219/ref=pd_cp_b_3_img
http://www.amazon.com/Winnie-Pooh-Milne/dp/B00375LM0W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282441627&sr=1-1
Thanks!
You can try to look for the original versions of Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh corner at Popular bookshops.
Kinokuniya is also selling the book :
https://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/guest/cgi-bin/bookseaohb.cgi?ISBN=0525477683&AREA=04&LANG=E
But quite expensive compared to amazon. -
mrswongtuition:
mrswongtuition,Hey Tamarind! It's been a long time since I visited this thread
Just want to keep you updated on my 3.5yo boy
My boy can read on his own already!
He is now reading those Ladybird phonics readers on his own without help.
He can read P&J up to Level 5 (I think). Plus he loves his Clifford phonic readers! He is also reading Pelangi's readers (those small squarish books).
And the best part: He can read and spell many many words (without us teaching him)!
One morning, when I woke him up, he opened his eyes and burst out saying,\"W-H-A-L-E! Whale! A whale has a big mouth and it can eat many fishes! Mummy's mouth is small so Mummy can eat small fishes. Auntie's (my maid) mouth is big so Auntie can eat big fishes! Fish is F-I-S-H! I love fish! Oh yes! I want to eat fish! Eat is E-A-T!\"
I think he was dreaming about words
I was shocked (and it was hilarious) cos we've not taught him how to spell. He learnt it on his own. & during 'moments of inspiration', he will take my marker, stand on the chair and write words on my whiteboard.
It really pays to spend some time with him everyday to read!
Ok, I'm a lazy mummy, sometimes I just throw him some flashcards and ask him to try reading them to me. & when I'm really busy, I will pass him my iPhone (I downloaded some flashcards apps which will read the words to him with accurate pronunciation).
I think it's also good if parents can do their own reading with their kids. I love reading and my boy often sees me with a book. He loves to crawl into my lap and attempt to 'read' my book. He will point and read the words he knows, then look at me for 'answers' for those that he does not know.
Your boy is doing very well ! Yes if we use the correct methods (phonics and reading regularly) to teach a child, he will be able to spell many words without the need for us to teach him, or to make him practice writing the same words many times.
You are absolutely right that reading everyday is essential, not only for spelling, later you will find that your boy will also learn grammar and vocabulary effortlessly.
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sunset_dae:
Hi sunset_dae,Hi Tamarind
I bought my son a phonics reader book and he could read out a complete sentence by pointing out the word and picture. however, when i cover up the picture, he took a long time to read out the sentence.. is he on the correct track?
He could read out 3 alphabets sounds and join them together even though he might not understand the meaning, does that mean he has sucessfully acquired the basic phonics skills?
I am not sure what phonics reader you are using, so I cannot comment on whether he is on the correct track.
For the Peter and Jane books, so long as we point to every word, and the child is able to read the words out loud without any help from us, then he is doing fine. It does not matter whether he looks at the picture or not, because the words are repeated throughout the book in different sentences.
For phonics, it is also important that you say a 3 letter word, for example, \"log\", and make sure that he can pick out the correct letters. A child who has a good foundation in phonics is able to spell any 3 letter word just by listening to the sounds.
After the 3 letter words, he also need to practice the 4 letter words :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/bl-cl-gl-fl-pl.html
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