Guest Posted August 27, 2003 Posted August 27, 2003 I've been following the threads here and those on the TES (sorry, I believe that's a naughty word on this forum!). I have a few questions. Do you teach the letter names only after the chn have learned all the 40+ sounds, or do you teach them at the same time? If a ch cannot identify phonemes do you continue showing them the letter cards when you teach the phoneme or do you teach them just the phonemes without the grapheme recognition? I'm not sure that makes sense to anyone but me!!! When you teach JP do you also teach the Pips games? I found that the chn loved the JP stories and actions and we could cover more phonemes and recap phonemes easily, whereas the Pips games seemed to take up a lot of time and resources. I found it difficult to find enough objects beginning with whatever phoneme I was teaching for games like circle swap shop etc. I'd love to get some feedback on what others do.
Guest Posted August 29, 2003 Posted August 29, 2003 Hi Poppy, Just thought I'd add the things we do at the school I teach at. The following isn't something I've read as a recommended way of teaching, just a combination of things that work well with the children I teach! Obviously, when teaching any class the starting points of the children are very diverse, particularly at this end of education! I receive some children that know all the letter sounds and names and can sing the alphabet standing on their head, and some children who attribute their whole name to the initial letter it starts with, and think I'm potty when i say the squiggle on the white board means something! Therefore, just teaching the jolly phonics sounds, or just playing the pips games wouldn't get us very far!! So I teach one JP focus sound every week - we don't actually use anything other than the actions and the pictures that link directly to that sound. Whilst introducing the letter sound we also say that the letter also has a name. We actually say that the graphemes are like children - they have a name and make a sound. For the rest of the week, as a whole class there will be activities linked to that sound - whether it be hunting them down in the pages of the big book, or printing patterns with the grapheme. This continues throughout the year as a way of supporting the least able children, and also the January intake on their arrival. We than run pips activities (or my own versions - when struggling for props!) along side the jolly phonics to move their learning on. The Pips activities follow the pace of the more able children, and are adapted to be more inclusive as appropriate. We follow the initial block of letters as suggested by JP, as it includes vowels the more able children can then work at word building where appropriate. I could go on for longer, but I am aware that this is just one way in many. Hope you find the best way for you and your class.
Guest Posted August 30, 2003 Posted August 30, 2003 Thanks Christine - this helps to put a larger picture together. I too taught a letter per week alongside Pips and JP. My problem was that I didn't feel as though I had a good structure to what I was teaching. I used just Pips at first but felt the chn weren't moving on as they should. I then introduced the JP and the chn really enjoyed the actions/stories and came on leaps and bounds. By this time (as an NQT) I wasn't really sure whether to follow JP or Pips or use both! I'd be interest to know whether you have resources for each of the phonemes. I was thinking of getting some small tupperware boxes (one for each phoneme) and filling them with appropriate objects. Any other tips/advice would be welcome.
Guest Posted August 31, 2003 Posted August 31, 2003 HI Poppy, Last Summer i thought of filling shoe boxes with objects for each phoneme but then decided to make small fabric bags (or should i say i roped my mum into doing the sewing machine part!!) instead wiith the letter of each of the front in upper and lower case. these are much easier for the children to use, they can't see what is in the bag which is great fun and they are much much easier to store!!!! they are definitely a good idea to have every thing together instead of spending ages looking around the classroom on a Monday morning!!!
Guest Posted September 1, 2003 Posted September 1, 2003 Hi Sarah - I like your idea - just need a volunteer for sewing!!! Only joking - I could do the sewing if I get myself organised. How big are your bags? Are they like pump bags?
Guest Posted September 1, 2003 Posted September 1, 2003 Hi I don't really have a lot of storage space in my classroom so I only have 3 trays of objects. The objects are organised into sections of the alphabet. The objects in the trays are there as emergency objects, and tend to be odd 'plastic' things that I've acquired out of cereal packets or christmas crakers, as well as an old tooth brush and odd sock etc...... I then add to these as appropriate. I also have lots of pictures to match each phoneme. That collection started as laminated clip art, and has gradually been added to with magazine cut outs etc. I also have a drawer for ch, sh and th related things, and another for initial clusters. I am also gradually building a collection of resources for on set and rime, and word building whole class activities. My school have just bought some great dice. They are large foam dice with clear pockets on each face. Great for word building activities! If you have space for a weekly table top display you could always ask the children to bring in objects beginning with a certain letter sound. This is quite a popular activity. As the year progresses you can then ask the children to have a go at writing their own labels. If you do ask parents though it is usually a good idea to emphasise the sound, giving an example of 'sock-not ship' for 's' week! Right must get back to my lettering! Have a good first week!
Guest Posted September 2, 2003 Posted September 2, 2003 There are some great ideas in this thread! We do use Jolly phonics at our school in nursery and reception alongside the PiPs activities. I continue to use the actions through into Year 1 for those children who benefit from that kind of multi-sensory reinforcement, and also because I love them! In answer to your questions Poppy, in Year 1 we tnd to use the PiPs games mpore than the JP activities. I have a big stacking box full of objects that I have begged borrowed and stolen, a few for each phoneme. A quick way to gather these is to make a simple chart listing possible ideas for each letter of the alphabet - so under f I might have frog, flower, fish, and so on. I then copied the list and gave them to my family and friends (how cheeky am i? ) and asked if they had anything lurking in their cupboards or if they saw anything in a charity shop or jumble sale to get it for me. In no time I had a big box full Regarding teaching letter names, I find that many of my children have already learned alot of the names from parents, but as a rule I begin to ask children to answer me with the letter names rather than the sound once I am sure they have a solid grasp on the phonemes. One of the biggest problems we have to "undo" every year is that children come to school think a - says the sound and A says the name - by that I mean lower case letters read as sounds and upper case read as names. Very frustrating!
Guest Posted September 3, 2003 Posted September 3, 2003 Hi Poppy Yes the are about the size of shoe bags - in fact our school has just recieved a load of PE sized drawstring bags from the local cinema advertising some film or another and we are using these to make our poetry pouches so it may be an idea to try and contact a cinema and see if they have any spares???/ Sarah
Guest Posted September 7, 2003 Posted September 7, 2003 I've taught Reception and Nursery classes for a long time, and now have a Foundation stage class (N+R) for a second year. I inherited Jolly Phonics but really don't like it (understatement!), and am about to start using the "Code-breakers" scheme from Hamilton trust plans. This seems to concentrate on hearing and sequencing all sorts of sounds and pictures at first, then teaching phonics for a purpose, rather than "We're learning this sound now because I say so!" You can buy the package from them, or just download the weekly lesson plans (detailed 10 minute lesson plan per day, from Reception up to Y2). Hamilton's CLL lesson plans are good too (NO, I'm not on a commission and have no links with them!). Worth a look at www.hamilton-trust.org.uk Jane H
Guest Posted September 9, 2003 Posted September 9, 2003 Jane - I've seen the 'Code-Breakers' before but haven't read anything about anyone who has used it, whereas lots of people who have used Jolly Phonics have written about their successes. At the moment I'm working in the Nursery but will probably be moving back to Reception in January (long story!). I'm trying to get as much info as I can before Jan. When you teach phonics to the nursery children how do you do it? Do you teach just the older/more abled children or do you include the younger ones as well? Sarah - I certainly must do a bit of research around the local cinemas! Do you know which one it was or which film they were promoting?
Recommended Posts