Montessori Phonics - Introduction To Single Letter Sounds

[buds]

Heyya viviling, you can start off with these reads.

All titles available at the library.

http://www.amazon.com/Montessori-Read-Write-Literacy-Children/dp/0609803352/ref=pd_sim_b_21

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Montessori-Learning-Activities-Under-Fives/dp/0312018649/ref=pd_sim_b_5

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Montessori-Home-Pre-School-Years/dp/0452279097/ref=pd_sim_b_2

PS. Gimme some time to reply to your PM, okie? :please:

[buds]

mamii:

Hi Buds, how are you? have not been to the forum for a couple of months and so glad i manage to see your thread again. Hope you can help me with DS .

Heyya there, mamii! :imanisland: Ya, our last conversation was via PM a few months back but that was for Math, right? Niwaes, this thread will always be here or for easier access can just bookmark, if u want.

mamii:

before DS started his phonics enrichment he was very good with all the 26 basic sounds (leapfrog dvd). but after started learning word building and blending i think he got confused.

I have never believed that children can learn from watching DVDs alone. Children need that connection with concrete learning experiences to really understand concepts. DVDs are fast moving animations that may not be able to help children capture the much needed concept retention all on its own. They are embedded in the child's mind as very colourful, fun, musical adventures not directly related to actual learning of concepts. As supplements (to actual concrete learnng).. I suppose it is fine but as a sole teaching tool, nope. But that's just me.

mamii:

he can blend the words individually but often have difficulty reading them in a sentence. But if i let him read the words individually FIRST then let him read the short sentences containing all the words he is able to do it. WHY ???

I'm guessing what you're trying to say here is...
1. He can sound out single letter sounds
2. He can form/blend three-letter-phonetic words
3. He can read formed words as a whole word instead of via phonics blending
4. he can read short sentences via sight reading

Can I first double confirm if that's what you meant to say?

mamii:

he knows the letters sounds well but when it is put into words he could not read it eg.

\"in\" he may read as \"it\"
\" fog\" he may read as \"frog\"
\"pan\" he may read as \"plan\"

basically he is a reluctant reader, though he loves me to read him stories.

All children love being read to. Reading is a calming hobby and a sound one to start children as young as infants to. I'm thinking I may understand why he has problems making connections with the sound combinations... I read on first the rest of your sharings okie?

mamii:

he may not be focusing as well as he does not like to go through the phonics revision, he will say he is tired. you know when he looks at the words but his mind is somewhere else !

Bingo. You just answered your own doubts.

Children need to look at the print to relate to the sounds taught to make sense of how blending is done. Meaning to say that if he cannot focus well or disinterested during his sessions, he will continue to guess the sounds to blend or any other sound combinations, based on his knowledge of single letter sounds.

Can u share where he is attending lessons and how many children in the class? How about the class duration.. 1hr or 1.5hrs? What material does he bring home for so-called phonics revision?

mamii:

by the way how many \"word families\" are there ? is there any website where i can get the complete list of the blends ?

Many. They have different families at every stage. You can hear how they sound like at http://www.starfall.com/ webbie. Your DS' phonics teacher should be handing out the complete word lists as they move up levels. Different centres may have different lists and in which order the lists are to be covered.

mamii:

i am considering to stop his enrichment and teach him myself at home till he is better and continue when he is in K2.

If you are equipped with the knowledge to teach him and the capacity to keep him engaged with 1-to-1 guidance from you, yes! Go ahead! As it is now, he already has issues focussing in class which can be due to various factors. So you gotta be able to grab his attention to help him at home.

What do u mean when he's better? Better at focussing.. better attention span.. more mature (older).. or when he can cross that blending hurdle, before you let him resume the same course again? Children should ideally already finish reading programmes by end of K1 so they can move on to learning other P1 preparatory items like grammar.. simple writing.. journal writing.. show and tell.. and so much more! Latest can be by mid-K2 laa..

Find out how his phonics teacher addresses his lack of focus in class.
Inquire with his teacher how you can help ds with your concerns.
A good teacher can always offer alternatives or suggestions to
help children improve or accelerate. A good teacher is able
to appreciate a parent's genuine offer to be involved for
the benefit of the child / children.

There is little value in going for classes every week if no trouble-shooting is done to help children who seem to lag behind or lack understanding..

It is very good that you are quite the observant mom here! Early intervention can help prevent time wastage and also help a child retain interest long enough to finish what was started cause we can evaluate the gaps and how to address them before it's too late.

I dunno how the above info helps so u lemme know if u require further clarification, ya? :hugs:

[viviling]

hi buds,


i have the basic montessori. managed to find it after buying it for 3 yrs. meant to start for my #1 but has been very slag and now he is already 6 yrs old

thanks for the recommendations and looking forward to your pm

[buds]

Hi viviling… oh i thought it was for our younger 20 mth old?

6 years old already got to chiong ok, babe? Cos going to P1
already. I’ve replied to your PM.

[viviling]

buds,


me not going to chiong for my #1 but will let him do it along with his brothers

me wanna start for my 21 mths old (just turn 21 mths today) and my 6 mths old when he turn 18mths ,

thanks!

[buds]

Okay! :celebrate:


Enjoy the process! :love:

[enzoelize]

Hi everyone,


I am new to the forum and have been spending the past 2 days reading up on Montessori related postings. Managed to finish reading the posts from this thread.

Buds,
I am very appreciate of your sharing in the forums. Have been trying to digest them.

I have a 14mo daughter and trying to do some learning with her at home (Im a FTWM). I have been doing flash cards (though not very consistent) and will like to start on phonics. I have attended a trial phonics class and have been singing the phonics song to her. Although she cant speak yet, she can do some of the actions related to the song. I have learnt that the phonics lesson here is for 18months and up. Does that mean I should not intro phonics to her and teach her to recognise the letters and their names first?

Thank you.

[buds]

Heyya enzoelize.. yup, alphabet/letter names first!


Sounds later!

[enzoelize]

Thanks Buds!


I guess I have abt 4 months to prepare my resources for teaching her phonics when she hit 18 months.

[mamii]

buds:

Heyya there, mamii! :imanisland: Ya, our last conversation was via PM a few months back but that was for Math, right? Niwaes, this thread will always be here or for easier access can just bookmark, if u want.

Hi Buds, yes that's me ! gosh, I did not know you replied as I relied on the email notification but this time there was none, wondered what happened. Just checking the thread and saw your reply. Thanks for such detailed reply, and here goes mine. By the way i can't figure out how to use the \"quote\" function for different part of the message so hope you don't mind my reply as it is.

I meant, he learnt his 26 letters sounds from Leapfrog, but not the blending. He attends ICL. So I will revise the lesson with him daily. Yes, I agree concrete and hands-on learning are the way to go.

1. yes he can single out all the letter sounds very well when i got him the Letter Factory.
2. yes, he can do the 3 letter words, but not all the time, but he is getting better
3. formed words ? you mean sight reading as in memory ? he does not automatically do blending when he sees a word, I have to cover part of the word like “park” – I will cover “p” and ask him to sound “ark” then show him “p” then ask him to sound “p” then ask him what is the whole word – at this point, sometimes he get the word sometimes he will mis-blend the word – instead of “park” he may say is “pr-ark” or “pl-ark” or “ pn-ark”.
I have noticed that he will sound out the “letter” that is not in the word like in the case of “park” he may add “l” or “n” etc. or vice versa, not sounding out the letter in the word.
He also has this problem with “s” at the end of the word eg. “sits” he can read “sit” but he cannot read “sits” when the extra “s” is added to the end of the word
4. I am not sure if he is doing sight reading. How can I confirm this ? I have a Pink set of Montessori 3 letter word phonic. I will do 1 set of words at a time After the cards I will ask him to read the short story with the same letter sounds. He is able to read the cards and the story without problem. Is this what you mean by sight reading

He attends full day childcare. Once a week he goes to ICL, 6 per class. 1.5 hours. He will bring the worksheet from class like if they are doing blending of 5 or 6 blends we will have the worksheet for revision eg. “bam, clam – back, black – flap, clap” there are between 3 to 5 words for each blend, word family. There is a short story for him to practise reading (eg. Gus has a bus – phonics story)

both cc and enrichment does not provide the list. I am looking for the information on the internet. Yes sometimes he asked for starfall.com as he like to see the animation.

I am not familiar with phonic so I can only do simple phonic with him like blending. You hit the nail – grabbing his attention is an issue and he does not like to repeat the same learning process for too many days so I need to think of different techniques
These 2 days I used the wall chart and word bits card. He likes it but will ask, what else is new ? do we have new things ? I need to keep it “fresh” for him to engage him. I can recycle the techniques but I need to change it every few days.
So basically i am still doing the boring way of showing him the word cards and asking him to read each of them. sometimes we take turns, sometimes i show him pictures after reading the words or if getting him to look for a \"door\" in the room etc. nothing much and i know he finds it boring. What kind of games can i use for language ?
For math i can still get materials from Growing Fun and I DIY the word cards and also write simple sentences for him to read. I know he can read these words. I want to show him that he is learning and he can do it and also to boost his confidence. He used to get angry when he can't read a word, but after reinforcing it is ok to try again and again, he does not get angry now.

Sam has a plan
The plan has sand
The sand is big
The big sand has crab, fish and clam.

Each sentence is on a page and each page I would make a simple drawing.

What do you mean by reading program ?
By better I mean crossing the blending hurdle – after reading your reply I started to think maybe it is the way I did the revision. I concentrated only to get him to read the words provided by phonic teacher, I should include more words for him to try – I will start doing that, I will also focus on 1 or 2 blends only instead of learning all the blends.
He is getting better at focusing, if he wants to ! He is an active boy, I do not expect that to happen within a short period of time I will have to learn to manage that.

The phonic teacher said he is ok in class with focus, maybe cos there are other kids there. He will refuse to go to cc and enrichment, sometimes will cry and pretend to be sick, but after lesson starts he is ok and also happy when we pick him up.
I have raised my questions to her but I am disappointed at her reply. She said he may not be ready to read yet (that was about 2 months ago I think). She did not give any suggestions just said read more to him. I am looking for alternative teacher under the same course. Maybe she is not suitable for DS. I have spoken to a few parents and they are satisfied with their kids progress with her.

I want my kids to love reading not end up hating it. There will be term break for June holidays so I am going to try to maximize those time with DS. Any suggestions how I should engage him as I need “fresh” ideas to keep him interested.

you have been a great help, thanks so much !

ps : sorry for such long post, let me know if i should post shorter ones.