Fun Materials, Books & Games For Phonics!

[buds]

chamonix:

There is also a wealth of free and great resources on phonics on the internet. Here's an example that was once shared by a parent in another forum - http://progressivephonics.com/ .

Thanks Charmaine...
But this has been discussed much earlier here...
On Page 4 of this thread.. hee.. But still, thanks
for re-sharing..

[metz]

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[Charmaine_chong]

Hello Buds,


Very sorry.

I had just discovered this fun thread last week and really hope that whoever interested in progressive phonics will not missed out.

It is really fun and good to read!

[buds]

No apologies needed. KiasuParents is a

great place to share the good stuff!

Aniwae, there are some online Read & Write
Games here in > http://www.scholastic.com/clifford/read/index.htm

Enjoy!
:celebrate:

[sphinx]

Hi buds

it's me again I have problems getting son to remember the silent 'e' and the long vowels...do you have any ideas on how to reinforce this...any games? I have to constantly remind him...'there's a silent 'e' at the end and blah blah for every silent 'e' word... So not sure if he remembers it or worse don't understand what I have taught him at all.

Thanks

[buds]

Wuaah... :idea: How come you go so far there oredi?

Long vowels and split vowels are usually taught last,
so as not to confuse the child with letter sounds and
letter names. How old is your child again?

[sphinx]

Ehmmm!!! Hehe maybe this kanchiong mummy go too fast … I think…must press the ‘slow down’ button… I was going through with him as he reads to me d Peter and Jane books… There were quite a number of silent ‘e’ and ‘long’ vowels… So I thought I could just go ahead and teach him the mechanics of it…do I just teach those words as sight words first and proceed with the mechanics later on when he is more mature and ready ?

[buds]

sphinx:

Ehmmm!!! Hehe maybe this kanchiong mummy go too fast ... I think...must press the 'slow down' button... I was going through with him as he reads to me d Peter and Jane books... There were quite a number of silent 'e' and 'long' vowels.. So I thought I could just go ahead and teach him the mechanics of it...do I just teach those words as sight words first and proceed with the mechanics later on when he is more mature and ready ?

Which book are you at now?

Yes, yes.. don't confuse sight reading
with Phonics for now especially if your
son has not reached that advanced part
of the Phonics syllabus yet. Does he attend
a Phonics programme?

You may resume the P & J books as sight
reading, the way it was intended to. Though
children with Phonics background can read that
more efficiently, those readers are meant more as
graded sight readers more than anything else. Then
again, children with Phonics knowledge can read beyond
P & J books actually. Heyya sphinx, you didn't say how old
your child was again? I always ask for age cos i believe in age
appropriate introduction and systematic/gradual progression esp
for reading, Phonics, Math... This way we will understand our child's
pace better and introduce new things when he/she shows capability
of doing one level or few levels up. Lemme noe yeah...

[sean wife]

Hi buds,


I have a pair of 26 months twins and although they know most of their letter sounds, I find it difficult to progress them to simple blending. Do you think there is a minimum physical age when kids are ready to move to blending. For now, I have been trying to play sight word games with them, but it’s not easy too, as their attention span is pretty short and a new game (e.g. playing peekaboo) which keeps them engaged for a few days doesn’t seem to work a few days later…. Any tips for me?? I have been doing the activities somewhat like you have described in the thread on introducing letter sounds to 3-yrs old, but other than that, most other materials and games you have introduced seem more suited for older kids??

They are currently in LSH and saw your post on the other thread on your visit to the school. What do you think of their curriculum? From what I understand, they start to teach letter sound only in N2, is that the norm in CC or most start at N1?

Many thanks for your advice….

[buds]

sean wife:

Hi buds,


I have a pair of 26 months twins and although they know most of their letter sounds, I find it difficult to progress them to simple blending. Do you think there is a minimum physical age when kids are ready to move to blending.

Hi too, sean wife.

I think you are going too fast.

Knowing \"most\" letter sounds does not seem to me that they really DO know all the letter sounds. Yes, it can be difficult to progress when the single letter sounds aren't concretely embedded in them. Knowing letter sounds alone is not enough. Do they know which letter corresponds to which sounds? If you have objects beginning with the single letter sounds that they have learnt, would they know how to match to the letter? It is as important to ensure children know how to associate sound with letter.

As i have mentioned before, i do not encourage teaching letter sounds over introduction to alphabets. Introducing children to alphabets should come first... at least in my book. Followed by knowing how each letter is formed ie. top to bottom and left to right (reading sweep-glance)... then continuation to letter sounds. If you go by this order, once they know how to do blending, you can simultaneously run through simple phonetic words' spelling activities with them. Pre-writing exercises are important to help children develop their finger muscles, pincer grip and also preparation to tidy handwriting.

Maturity plays some part of it as well, if not enrichment centres can teach all children Phonics of any age and not conform to a certain age-group to start lessons. Teach children age-appropriately so one can monitor their progress and development gradually and know when to move up one level or even a few levels when the children seem to be on the right track or beyond.

If you really insist on introducing blending, go with wordbuilding exercises first, so that the children are encouraged to listen to sounds in words. I think i posted something on this sometime back in this thread > http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=906&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=135 for a brief account on pre-blending phase. ie. word building.

sean wife:

For now, I have been trying to play sight word games with them, but it’s not easy too, as their attention span is pretty short and a new game (e.g. playing peekaboo) which keeps them engaged for a few days doesn’t seem to work a few days later…. Any tips for me?? I have been doing the activities somewhat like you have described in the thread on introducing letter sounds to 3-yrs old, but other than that, most other materials and games you have introduced seem more suited for older kids??

This is a good game too. But again the effectiveness will not be 100% due to age-appropriateness. That's why they cannot be engaged more than the desired amount of time we prefer. Children at these age need more hands-on to get their hands busy so as to also indirectly train their attention span. If you're keen on language games, play mystery bag game and i spy games ( provide binoculars or make your own with toilet roll, coloured paper and cellophane )..... and you can also consider getting audio CDs with rhymes. Rhyming books, rhyming games and rhyming songs are catchy ( since they rhyme : have same ending sounds ) and will also help children acquire the listening skills needed for word building when they are ready.

Click the blue link for > http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4143&highlight=wrong+method

sean wife:

They are currently in LSH and saw your post on the other thread on your visit to the school. What do you think of their curriculum? From what I understand, they start to teach letter sound only in N2, is that the norm in CC or most start at N1?

I did not manage to ask extensively with regards to the curriculum cause the administrator does not know enough to explain to me and principal was extremely busy with other visiting parents.

sean wife:

Many thanks for your advice….

You're welcome. I just hope you don't mind my honest opinions.