Life Without "Sounding Out"

We all remember in elementary school when the teacher would make the classroom sound out a difficult word aloud.  It was boring, it was monotone, and can not keep a child's full attention. In today's classroom, teachers are learning more and more ways to teach students how to understand and analyze the syllables used in complicated words.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

 This word has a pronunciation that most students will not be able to master at a young age.Words such as these will also create a lot of stress for a child.  However, a word such as:

MISUNDERSTANDING

can be broken down so the students can understand how to pronounce the word as well as what the word means.  As a teacher you can ask the students to pull out pieces of the word that the will understand.  For starters, understand can be pointed out and most students will recognize that the word means a person realizes and comprehend what is going on. The students will next pull out mis which is similar to miss which means failure to come in contact with something.  The students will then notice the ing. Now the students can make a meaning of the word and also be able to pronounce it with some practice.

With practice of this way to learn words, students will soon be able to master pronunciation of  words they don't know without even realizing it.  One day your students will be able to pronounce Czechoslovakia without hesitation.

 Do you think that this tool will help children with pronunciation as well as with the words meaning? How would you make this task a little bit more fun for your students?

 

Creating Good Readers and Writers

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It is important as a teacher of young children to empower your children and make them believe that they are able to read and write.  As a teacher, you should always be encouraging of a student's attempts at reading a magazine or writing a thank you card even if they are not quite "perfect".  Your children need to be motivated to learn more and to believe that you have faith in them to do it.  The example of a teacher asking the children if they could read and then proving that they can by showing them common names such as McDonald's would provide the child with the idea that they are already succeeding in your classroom.   A nurturing relationship with the class can allow them to be better secure in their abilities and to succeed.

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Symbols such as these can help the child realize that literature is already present in their every day lives and they are already skilled readers!!

As a teacher, one of the most important fundamentals to teach your children is phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize phonemes and other sounds in the English language.  If a child develops phonemic awareness, he/she has developed the ability to differentiate between the sounds used in language and will therefore allow the child to have a better understanding when it comes to reading and writing.  A great tool to use to teach your child phonemic awareness is using rhyme. Whether it be your favorite child's song or a silly book, rhyme can help a child gain phonemic awareness.

What tricks would you use to make your students feel as though they are already successful readers and writers? What tricks will you use in your classroom to teach phonemic awareness?