Teacher Prerequisites for Teaching Letter Sounds
If you are a kindergarten or preschool teacher, chances are you are gearing up for the beginning of the year. This means, you are preparing to teach letters and sounds right? Did you know that there are a few prerequisites you need before you actually start the process with your kiddos? I am going to share these three easy strategies to ensure that the activities and lessons you work so hard to prepare, are executed in the best way possible.
Prerequisite #1
Check Your Visuals
Take time to look at your alphabet visuals, I mean, REALLY look at them. Ask yourself:
What picture cues do you have for each?
Are they consistent throughout your classroom?
Do the pictures TRULY align with the sound?
Tips:
1. You want to avoid words like grape, glad, glove, etc for the letter /g/ because the blend masks the true sound of /g/. Choosing an image such as goat or go would be a better option.
2. The letter X also creates a new set of challenges. Many alphabet visuals use a picture of a xylophone for the letter /x/. While /x/ does make the /z/ sound (usually at the beginning of a word) it is not the MOST common sound and is certainly not the sound we teach our students first. The first sound for /x/ that we explicitly teach is that it makes the /ks/ sound. For this reason, /x/ should be taught using the ending sound position first as in box, ax, fox, etc.
Prerequisite #2
Learn the Appropriate Pronunciation for each Sound
What do you mean there is a right and wrong way to pronounce letters?
Young readers sometimes add a vowel (shwa) sound to the end of a consonant sound. They might say /buh/ rather than /b/. Sometimes, even as teachers, we can do this without even realizing it.
It is super important to make sure that we “clip” the sounds that need to be clipped and “extend” the sounds that should be extended. To help myself and my students remember, I call them POP and SLOW sounds.
POP SOUNDS:
These are the sounds that POP right out of your mouth and stop. (/b/ /d/ /c/ /f/ /t/ /p/ etc.)
When introducing POP sounds, I draw a “popcorn” shape around it and we discuss how those sounds pop and stop.
SLOW SOUNDS:
These are the sounds that you hold. I tell my students they are sounds that you could say forever or until you run out of breath. (/m/ /n/ /s/ /v/ /l/ etc.)
When introducing slow sounds, I write the letter and then draw an arrow underneath to indicate it’s a slow sound.
Watch the video below to see how to pronounce each letter.
Prerequisite #3
Create letter formation chants
You may be thinking, “why do I need letter chants?” Having a set system for how your students form each letter is crucial! In fact, best practice is for an entire school to utilize the same handwriting cues for letter formation. Research indicates that there are many benefits to providing students with explicit and specific handwriting routines.
Just like we want to be sure that students learn the letter, its shape, name, and sound, we want to be sure they know how to write the letter as well.
When we teach our students how to form letters correctly, we are providing them a road map for their writing. Once they are able to form letters correctly, they can focus their energy on things like spelling, sentence structure, and the content of their piece.
You can watch the video below as I walk you through the letter chants that I use for my students.
If you would like to snag my letter formation chants and beginning writing booklet, you can click the button below.
Let’s Recap! Before we begin teaching letter recognition and sounds, we need to answer the following questions:
Are my visuals are consistent?
Do I understand the best way to pronounce the sounds?
Do I have a consistent letter formation system?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you are ready to rock and roll. If you still have questions, email me! I am happy to help!
