Starting with phonics

 Develop an action plan

 

NAME: Paloma Heras Serrano

AGE GROUP/S YOU TEACH: infants / lower primary / upper primary (the three age groups)  I teach 4 year olds, first grade and fourth grade.

SUBJECT/S YOU TEACH: English, Natural Science, Social Science and Art.

 

1.    The plan I would like to implement in the very near future is to gradually introduce activities that help my first  and fourth grade students build  a phonemic and phonological awareness.

I find this a necessary and motivating tool to help my students acquire correct pronunciation patterns.

 

I have been thinking about the necessity for me to design  an activity that is visual and easy to use in class on a daily basis, to teach and revise vowel diagraphs and blends using the words that appear in our Science lessons.

 

I entirely agree with Tracey ´s suggestion that the first thing for any non-native teacher who wants to teach phonics should be to study English vowel sounds more in depth, therefore that will be my very first step.

 

After that,  I am going to make a display with pockets  for the Science corner in each one of my classes. Each pocket will show on the outside  a given vowel diagraph, for example  ee ,  ow…

We will gradually add more words in each pocket as they come up in our lessons:

 

ee                                                       ow                                      

feet (body unit)                                  low (relief of Spain)       

sleet (climate unit)                            snow  (climate)             

 

I believe it will be quick, easy and fun for the teacher or students  to write words on paper cards with the different diagraphs that will be classified and then kept in the pockets of the display.

The teacher can choose to read a set of cards from one of the pockets in the display every day for three-five minutes.

 

The displays can be used by all English language teachers and the Science teachers at school.

 

It will benefit my learners in many  ways.

They will have fun writing the vocabulary with the same vowel diagraphs on the little cards and they will become more confident readers when practising diagraphs they already know.

 

 If it is done regularly, it will definitely  raise  the student´s phonemic and phonological awareness that it is necessary to  become a competent English language speaker.

 

                      Image from: https://www.socialstudiessuccess.com/2015/01/word-walls.html