Supporting Learning in the Classroom
Supporting Diverse Learners through
Oral Language, Numeracy, Literacy and Phonics
Oral Language, Numeracy, Literacy and Phonics
Literacy development in the early years, is important when recognizing the long-term success of a student in school. Early literacy experiences are linked to academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life (Strickland, D. & Riley-Ayers, S., n.d.). All areas of a child's development are interrelated and interdependent-- meaning that everything depends on the other. Gentry and Peha (2013) state, “teach kids to read by writing.” Reading and writing are interconnected, as both are based on a system phonemic awareness along with segmenting and blending, which are parts of the foundation of both skills. “Early writing helps children crack the reading code” (Gentry & Peha, 2013), which in turn helps students to apply the skills they are learning and build confidence in writing and reading (Gentry, 2005). The phonics skills and the ability to link sounds together to construct words are reinforced when a child reads or writes the same words. By providing the reading and writing tools and encouraging students to use them (Gentry & Peha, 2013), early literacy skills are being developed as a foundation for them to use in life. The skills being learned to write, are those that are used for reading—teaching these skills benefits and develops the other. What can you do in the classroom?Provide access to reading By providing access to reading, such as a cozy reading book and library, students are being exposed to literacy from the very beginning. As children get oder, have them predict what will happen in the story. "Read it again!" is a common saying from students when they really like a book and connect with it. Have read-alouds in your classroom! Read aloud to your students! This not only promotes literacy development, but can also connect with all other areas of the curriculum. Try re-reading books as a class, what else do your students notice? What new vocabulary do they hear and wonder about? Provide writing materials for your students By providing writing materials (pens, pencils, paper, notebooks) students are exposed to, and free interact with language. Here they are able to practice printing, using inventive spelling and share stories. What this can do is provide a welcoming environment, where students are able to develop literacy skills at their own pace. Try having a writing centre as part of your centre time, with different types of pens (maybe glitter gel pens!), letter stamps and ink, as well as newspapers for students to cut up and make words out of! Change things up! Students will also be building a concept of phonological awareness from both teacher-led (whole group lessons) and child-directed (phonics centres such as sorting, bingo, partner reading, etc.) activities that promote letter and sound correspondence. Provide a variety of activities and instructional methods to meet the needs of your learners. Use a Morning Calendar routine During our morning calendar routine, there will be phonetics incorporated into this routine. Students will be able to identify a rhyming word ("what rhymes with cat? Is it Bat or Sun?"), counting syllables ("How many syllables are in the word "long"), recognizing beginning, ending and middle sounds and recognizing which two words have the same sounds, blending sounds together to create a word, as well as segmenting words and their sounds. A Kindergarten teacher friend of mine recently introduced me to a product from Teachers Pay Teachers that covers these topics. This friend has been teaching for over 25 years in Kindergarten, and has found that this has been a wonderful addition to her classroom and her phonics program. (I am NOT affiliated or associated with this product, I am just spreading the advice/guidance that other teacher have shared with me!) “Early writing helps children crack the reading code” (Gentry & Peha, 2013), which helps students apply to the skills they are learning and build confidence when writing and reading (Gentry, 2005). To support this inquiry for students, we will be writing in journals, creating stories with loose parts and then writing sentences to describe pictures that are drawn. As a form of assessment, I will be watching and collecting samples of student work with literacy. Giving students the freedom to write on what interests them will support student inquiry and development of literacy. How do you promote literacy in your classroom? How do you assess literacy? Let me know in the comments below!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |