All About Teaching and Learning Phonics
-
I want to emphasize that mommies should try to understand the abilities of their kids, and just let them progress at their own rate.
Some kids may be capable of joining 3 letters to form words at 15 months old (not my kids)
No school is going to teach her that at this age. That is why I always think that mommy is the best teacher for her kids.
My boy cannot even recognize all 26 letters at 3 years 3 months old.
I think as a rough guide, most kids should be capable of learning letter sounds at 3 years old, 3 letter words at 4 years old, and the more complex phonics rules from 5 to 6 years old. But then again it depends on the ability of the child, some kids can progress much faster. Some kids may be able to learn the complex rules only from 7 to 9 years old.
In the case of my boy, I taught him 3 letter and 4 letter words between 3 to 4 years old. However, because I also let him read the Peter and Jane series, his progress was very fast and he was able to finish reading book 11 at 4 years 9 months old, then I decided to skip book 12 and move on to Roald Dahl and other books. http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2009/09/books-they-love.html
My boy is only of average learning ability. He takes many repetitions to learn new things. He cannot even add and subtract very well now at 5 years 4 months old. But he is able to read very fluently and spell very easily. That is why I believe that teaching phonics and sight reading (using Peter and Jane series) will work for most kids of average and above abilities.
I have heard some parents in this forum saying that their kids don't need to learn phonics and are able to read very well at the age of 2 or 3. One parent even told me that his child just know how to read, and that he never taught him at all. But the fact is that most of us do not have kids in that category. Those parents with such bright kids will not know what methods can work best for average kids. Some parents even said that we should just leave kids alone, and that they will learn by themselves sooner or later. In my case, without knowledge of phonics and parental guidance, I was able to read English books fluently only at about 16 years old.
As parents we should understand the abilities of our kids, and find the best ways to make learning easier for them.
BTW, this is not my own theory. Do visit the website of the UK government department for children, schools and families
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/
Search for topics relating to phonics. There is a report that concludes that phonics will help normal kids to learn to read and spell better. The department advises all schools to teach phonics.
My advise to parents is that phonics is essential for most normal kids, not only for reading, but for spelling as well.
BTW, there are parents who do not believe in spelling as well But the fact is that our kids are going to primary schools, and they are going to have spelling. My girl has English, Maths and hanyu pinyin spelling. Thanks to her good foundation in phonics, she does not feel stressful at all. -
Thanks Tamarind
-
Dear all parents,
Check out my blog about the activities that I have done with my boy to help him understand the story better, and more importantly, to develop a love for reading !
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2010/02/developing-love-for-reading.html
In fact, everyday when I take out the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the first thing that he will ask is : \"Can we play ?\" He has associated reading to fun and games -
Hi Tamarind
I just start to teach my boy how to link the 3 letters together after he had c leap frog factory phonics. He is very familiar with all the letter sounds.
In yr blog u mention, to teach alphabet A lst as in" AP, AT AND AN"
I taught him to read out, however im not very sure as in if i show him a card with the word C A P, shld i teach him to read out the alphabet individually, or to teach him to read out C and AP (READ AP TOGETHER).
Pls advise
Thanks! -
sunset_dae:
Hi sunset_dae,Hi Tamarind
I just start to teach my boy how to link the 3 letters together after he had c leap frog factory phonics. He is very familiar with all the letter sounds.
In yr blog u mention, to teach alphabet A lst as in\" AP, AT AND AN\"
I taught him to read out, however im not very sure as in if i show him a card with the word C A P, shld i teach him to read out the alphabet individually, or to teach him to read out C and AP (READ AP TOGETHER).
Pls advise
Thanks!
You can first teach \"A-P\" = \"AP\". Sound out A and P separately, then join them and say \"AP\". Teach this a few times to let your boy understand the technique. Then when you teach \"CAP\", teach him to read \"C\" first, then just \"AP\", don't need to separate A and P. This is the same as method used in Montessori and the Leapfrog DVDs.
I usually teach 2 to 3 groups at the same time, for example, \"AN, \"\"AT\" and \"AP\". Then I let my boy arrange the 3 letter word cards in the correct groups, as shown in my blog :
http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-teach-phonics.html
Note that in my word cards, the first letter is in red, the second and third letters are in black, this is to help kids separate the word into parts.
Also note that the cards are used for this matching/grouping game, not as flash cards. -
UNDERSTOOD! THANKS!
-
hi all!
my dd is 18 mths n she knows most of the letters n some phonics sound. Must she knows the letters sequence 1st? I have yet to test her on that though. She learnt her phonics from leapfrog dvd but seems lost interest in it.
-
wyou:
Hi wyou,hi all!
my dd is 18 mths n she knows most of the letters n some phonics sound. Must she knows the letters sequence 1st? I have yet to test her on that though. She learnt her phonics from leapfrog dvd but seems lost interest in it.
There is no need to know the letters in sequence, as in A, B, C, etc.
But you should make sure that she can recognize the individual letters and know the phonics sounds before carrying on to 3 letter words. You can try pointing to letters in newspapers, magazines and see if she can read out the sound. -
Hi tamarind,
I m more confident in teaching 3 letters words than 4 letter words cos i am not too sure how to pronounce 4 letter words blending.
Since now my child is still at PJ series level 4a. Wondering wat is e rough time frame to reach book 10 to 11a so that we can process other books?
My child is 3yrs 8 mths now.
Thanks for ur suggestions. i have tried ur spelling methods and my girl seems to be fine with forming words ending with -at and can spelling using letters to spell them out.
btw do u hv any comments on I can read program?
like is it good and etc? btw focusing on phonics is important. how abt other areas like compo, compreh n etc? wondering can all these teach at home or need attend enrichment? -
starz:
starz,Hi tamarind,
I m more confident in teaching 3 letters words than 4 letter words cos i am not too sure how to pronounce 4 letter words blending.
Since now my child is still at PJ series level 4a. Wondering wat is e rough time frame to reach book 10 to 11a so that we can process other books?
My child is 3yrs 8 mths now.
Thanks for ur suggestions. i have tried ur spelling methods and my girl seems to be fine with forming words ending with -at and can spelling using letters to spell them out.
btw do u hv any comments on I can read program?
like is it good and etc? btw focusing on phonics is important. how abt other areas like compo, compreh n etc? wondering can all these teach at home or need attend enrichment?
There is no need to wait until book 10a in order to read other books. You should start to let your child read other books now. Just choose books that have the same number of words as level 4a will do.
My kids have never attended any English enrichment class, except for my girl who attended Montessori phonics for 11 months, a few years ago. I cannot comment on any enrichment classes.
My P1 girl is doing very well in composition and comprehension, no enrichment classes needed, and no assessment books at all. All I have done is to let her read as many good story books as possible
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better š
Register Login
