Level 0
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Top Teaching Tips!
Have everything for the lesson ready.
Keep the lesson short.
Be aware of your child's temperament each day and be sensitive - not pushing something if the time isn't right.
Keep the lesson short.
Be aware of your child's temperament each day and be sensitive - not pushing something if the time isn't right.
Lessons for sounds /b/ to /t/
1. Warm Up Activity
Every day, go through the flashcards of the initial sounds taught and say the ALPHABET RHYME, stopping at the letter that was last taught, ready to learn a new one.
Teaching notes:
- It is quite alright if you say the letter name and your child supplies the sound - even to the end of the alphabet and beyond. The sound is the main thing the child MUST learn. At this stage we are only making the children aware of letter names with no emphasis on them. The child may well learn more names in time as the rhyme is repeated daily.
- Similarly, with lower and upper case letters. We teach both, but put the main emphasis on the lower case letters as these will be the letters we use to spell in the the next section. So if you only manage to do lower case - that is fine as you can work on upper case letters as they are needed from Level 1 onwards.
2. Learn the new letter sound
Look at the pictures in the alphabet book to find things that begin with the new sound, as for lesson one.
Use an action if that is helpful.
Note these things as you teach the following letters:
Use an action if that is helpful.
Note these things as you teach the following letters:
Q never appears without 'u' in words. 'qu'. Some phonic schemes say 'The queen never goes anywhere without her umbrella'. This is good to teach and to help your pupil to remember.
Always write 'q' as 'qu'. It makes life easier for the child later on.
Always write 'q' as 'qu'. It makes life easier for the child later on.
Teaching notes:
- Do not worry too much if your pupil takes a while to hear the initial sounds of words. Keep working through, teaching the letter sounds and persevering to help the child hear the initial sound. What can we see that begins with _____? What sound does _____ begin with? Can you find the right letter that makes that sound? Focus to start with on the child remembering the sound for the letter you show, while patiently working on hearing the initial sounds of words. Once the child has the concept of hearing the initial sounds, all that will matter is being able to write/give the letter that makes that sound.
- Keep watching for that moment when your student begins to consistently hear the initial sounds of words for him/herself, for when they can do this accurately all the time, s/he is ready to start working towards Stage 2 oral blending while you finish the alphabet. See this post here for help with oral blending - it is not just for pupils with special needs, but for all!
- Some phonic programmes jump about the alphabet, but I always find that children like to follow their progress through the alphabet, which they cannot do so easily if one jumps around from letter to letter. Some days though, it is good to muddle up the sound flashcards and see how many the child knows! Keep testing, testing, testing - but do not tell the child it is a test - it a game!
3. Write
Follow the same procedure as for lesson one.
You can use our First Handwriting Book for this purpose.
The formal lesson is over.
You can use our First Handwriting Book for this purpose.
The formal lesson is over.
This method works well, it is cheap, and we have used it extensively with classes of up to 30 children (aged 5 to 6) and with a 2 yr old, with exceptional results. Just keep adding a new sound and repeating the Alphabet Rhyme. If you really feel your child is not making progress, you can try going a little slower. But don’t do one a week if you can go faster as it causes unnecessary boredom. Pass through the alphabet as fast you can, but always at your pupil's pace, not yours! Build in success, not failure; confidence not lack of confidence. We do not wait until the child knows each sound securely before moving on as they will be practiced every day.
You know your child best. Do whatever you think will help him/her to get the understanding needed. We provide the structure, but there are thousands of helpful resources on the internet if you get stuck helping your child to learn these initial sounds. Use them, but keep to the RMS structure of teaching the sounds in alphabetic order and saying the Alphabet Rhyme daily. Do use print/paper and pencil activities rather than online ones if you want your child to excel in reading and writing.
If you have to stick letters on cars and let the child drive them into the garage while saying the correct sound, then do it. Or have some letters placed on quickly drawn/cut out flower shapes and give your child a 'bee' to buzz to the correct flower as you say the sound and vice-versa.
You can become an expert in knowing what your child needs in order to succeed. Do whatever is necessary. Be imaginative! Remember, I have only given you the 'road map' programme. Use it to guide you to the destination of having a reader, but the number of ways to use it are as unlimited as there are children.
Any programme needs tailoring to the individual child as no two children are the same. You as parent/teacher are in the best position to provide that tailored approach. You CAN do it!
You know your child best. Do whatever you think will help him/her to get the understanding needed. We provide the structure, but there are thousands of helpful resources on the internet if you get stuck helping your child to learn these initial sounds. Use them, but keep to the RMS structure of teaching the sounds in alphabetic order and saying the Alphabet Rhyme daily. Do use print/paper and pencil activities rather than online ones if you want your child to excel in reading and writing.
If you have to stick letters on cars and let the child drive them into the garage while saying the correct sound, then do it. Or have some letters placed on quickly drawn/cut out flower shapes and give your child a 'bee' to buzz to the correct flower as you say the sound and vice-versa.
You can become an expert in knowing what your child needs in order to succeed. Do whatever is necessary. Be imaginative! Remember, I have only given you the 'road map' programme. Use it to guide you to the destination of having a reader, but the number of ways to use it are as unlimited as there are children.
Any programme needs tailoring to the individual child as no two children are the same. You as parent/teacher are in the best position to provide that tailored approach. You CAN do it!