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chinasyndrome · Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2003 12:45 pm Post subject:

Try digging around in here. Alphabet bingo works well with smaller groups.
http://www.eslkidstuff.com/alphabetgamesframe.htm

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

If they are elementary students or preschoolers, then why not give them a lesson a week on a letter, A, a as in Ant, animal, etc. Each letter comes in "mama" size and in "baby" size.
Teach these letters with animals, and your pupils will love it. Draw with your class pictures of animals and letters so they can better remember.

killian

as you know, our alphabet has pictographic origins. do a little free-thinking of how today's letters still mimic alliterative objects in form.
BIG A
ok...draw an arrow, with a big ol' arrowhead pointing up...if you get hit by an arrow what do you say? "AAAAAAAAAA".

so, in teaching big A you have the triangular form of the arrow head as well as the "AAAAAA" of someone getting pierced. kids eat this up. use one of those rubber class room pointers and make a cardboard A/Arrowhead. a great song that meshes well is"ten little indians". they all get to shoot you with their imaginary arrows.

little a.
does your school want the "newspaper" little "a" or the "free hand"? i prefer to teach the oldstyle newspaper "a" first. why? because it correlates yet to the 4000 year old "a" of egypt. the top of the "a" is the head and beak. the belly of the "a" is the belly of the eagle/albatross and the tail of the "a" is the tail of the bird. draw and eagle or albatross on the board. get the kids to imitate the cry of the bird(avian!) "aaaaaaaa" let em fly around a bit. draw the small "a" directly next to the bird. do some more "aaaaaaaa" calls. trace the form of the bird for all to see: "toutou...weiba...duzi(head...tail...weiba). perform the strokes as you say the name of the bird and the corresponding small "a".

kids aren't stupid, they are just new.

Big B: bumblebee or butterfly (stress shape of wings)
little b: boot

the rest you can parse out. PM if you have further Qs. Wink

WinstonSmith2003hk · Joined: 17 Oct 2003 Posts: 15

I would start with 'a', then move onto 'b', followed rapidly by 'c'. Sorry, couldn't resist that!

PM for links to some (IMHO) useful resources.

AKA · Joined: 04 Jul 2003 Posts: 184 Location: China

Oh, Winston wonderlust Bertrand Russell 1984, you're so funny! Or are you stealing the glory from your one year old sister [sorry, one of your old lines].

Michael T. Richter · Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 77 Location: Wuhan, Hubei, PRC

You could always try Edward Gorey's "The Gashleycrumb Tinies":

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.
B is for Basil, assaulted by bears.
C is for Clara who wasted away.
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.
E is for Earnest who choked on a peach.
F is for Fanny, sucked dry by a leech.
G is for George smothered under a rug.
H is for Hector done in by a thug.
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake.
J is for James who took lye by mistake.
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks.
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea.
N is for Neville who died of ennui.
O is for Olive, run through with an awl.
P is for Prue, trampled flat in a brawl.
Q is for Quentin who sank in a mire.
R is for Rhoda, consumed in a fire.
S is for Susan who perished of fits.
T is for Titus who flew into bits.
U is for Una who slipped down a drain.
V is for Victor, squashed under a train.
W is for Winnie, embedded in ice.
X is for Xerces, devoured by mice.
Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in.
Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.

The 'tinies themselves are gorgeously illustrated. You can't go wrong teaching young children the alphabet using the Gashlycrumb Tinies.

Laughing

Just a guy · Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 267 Location: Guangxi

Would it be wrong to ask

If they don�t know the alphabet yet�

How are they going to understand what fell down the stairs means..?

`serious, wouldn�t all those extra words cause confusion..?

Michael T. Richter · Joined: 17 Jun 2003 Posts: 77 Location: Wuhan, Hubei, PRC

Just a guy · Joined: 06 Oct 2003 Posts: 267 Location: Guangxi

Maybe you could use the S tinny..?

Oh yea��.

S is for Susan who perished of fits.

My 3rd graders might be too confused if I tried explaining to them that S stood not only for perishing but also for Shaking sadly.
Not only that, in their class taught by the Chinese teacher, their only to the letter G
`for Greatly Gratifying Grins.

I guess asking a seemingly uncomplicated question was wrong after all�.. Embarassed