Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Smee]

Hello, I've been given a class of 2nd graders. They are beginners, and don't know much beyond "hello." They really want me to teach phonics, but I've never taught phonics to beginner children before. What's a good way to go about it?

I have a few books here that have pictures for each letter, and I came across www.starfall.com, which has some nice animation. The class is supposed to be fun and educational, and since they are 2nd graders, they aren't going to sit still through much. (Oh, and they can't read either.)

I guess my main questions are these:
How many sounds do you get through in each class? Do you devote entire periods to phonics, or do you work them into your lessons? Do you teach reading and writing as well? (I found a book with a page of illustrations for each letter, but it also incorporates writing single letters, which I'm afraid will confuse the kids.)

I see them two hours a week, and right now since there's so much to teach them it seems impossible to fit it all in. Any tips you all could give me would be appreciated. Thanks.

[kat2]

I looked all over google and the internet, but couldn't find the correct name. Anyway I really like the Phonics K (then moves to Phonics A)for beginners. (It's purple and has pigs on the front). Its about 200 pages, but its made or kindergarten kids, so not much on a page. Someone out there must know what I'm talking about. If you go to any english book store, it should be there.

I used it with a Kindy class four times a week for 20 minutes (usually one letter a week). You could move faster with 2nd graders. Reading is all about repetition. Think how long it takes for native english speakers to read correctly. It can't be taught in a month or two.


I focus on one letter for at least two class periods. Go with the easy ones first and leave V,Z, F for later. Introduce short vowels as you go. Once the kids have a few letters- T, M, S, G, B for example, you can introduce short a. Have them use what they know to sounds out MAT, SAT, BAT, BAG, etc.

It will take kids about 3 months to really start to show progress. Don't get discouraged.

A typical lesson plan:

1. Write the letter on the board. Solicit letter name and sound from kids. Practice name and sound until they can say it correclty
2. Solicit words with this sound (maybe a kids name from the class, etc)
3. Show some flashcards with this initial sound. Play a few games to get kids comfortable with the sound and flashcards.
4. If the kids know a few other sounds, put some flashcards with three different letter sounds onthe board. Make a sound, have kids tell you which flashcard matches.

I usually do a variation of the above lesson every day. If you spend 3 lessons on each letter, one for recognition/sound, one for writing/sound practice, one for application.

I'll keep trying to find the book i'm talking about.

[buymybook]

I would like a picture(inside the mouth) of how the tongue moves when making the "L" and "R" sounds.

[Smee]

Thanks for the replies. I'm gonna have to poke around for some information and really find something that'll work. I just had my first class with them this afternoon, and boy they made me crazy. I'm not used to teaching such beginners at all, and I've got to find a way to both slow it down enough so they can recognize patterns and not feel overwhelmed, but to keep it varied enough to hold their interest.

[huffdaddy]

[Qinella]

I would recommend three letters per class period. Children can handle three letters easily.

But you have to bear in mind that they will not instantly recognize letters right away like you can, so here are some game ideas for recognition:

1. Go fish. Once they have about 6 or more letters learned, you can create a deck of cards by cutting up thick paper into squares and putting one letter on each (be sure to make them in pairs). Deal the cards, and the kids must try to make pairs by asking another student, 'Do you have.. A?' If the answer is no, they draw a card from the deck. Go fish!라고^^

2. Memory. Same idea as above, and you can actually use the same cards, or you can use standard letter flashcards if you have those available. Put them all face-down in a grid on the table. They can flip two letters in one turn, and the goal is to get pairs.

3. Listen and sit. Have all the kids stand up. Each kid gets a letter. Then you start saying random letters from the alphabet and they have to sit when they hear theirs.

4. Clap and chant. Sit in a circle and pat a rhythm on your legs. It should be like this: pat, pat, pat, clap. On the clap, whoever's turn it is has to say a letter (word for later on when they learn some). If they are late with the delivery due to hesitation, or if they otherwise mess up, they are out and you start over until it's only one person left. You gotta increase speed as the game progresses. (To set the pace for the patting, you can start it with '시 시 시 작!' They love it.)

(5.) Not for phonics, but teaching verbs and nouns. It requires TPR. You demonstrate what a verb means, then have the students (maybe one at a time, depending on class size) obey your commands. Run to the door! Jump to the chair! Point to the window! Touch your nose! It's really fun for the kids and it combats their inevitable sugar highs. Also, you can have them give commands, too.


You don't want it to be all fun and games, though, right? Some basic exercises for beginners:

1. Dictation. My favorite! Fairly simple, right? Once they learn a few letters, dictate words by spelling them, and then teach them to read the words. Later in the exercise, you can dictate just the word without spelling it.

2. Writing practice. Make sure they are writing the letters accurately so as not to form bad habits in the future. Like, some kids will write G as a C with a ㄱ next to it. That ain't cool, even if you personally can read it.

3. Pronunciation. It's easy to teach consonants. F and V are your teeth resting on your bottom lip. Z is S with sound. Don't stress pronunciation too much, though, because it will come later. Some kids simply won't be able to get it, no matter what you do.


Anyway, good luck. Hope those ideas are helpful for you.

[ChopChaeJoe]

I think one letter a class at first, after 4 classes, go to 2 letters a class, after 8 classes, go to four letters. Circulate the letters, review, review, review. Lots of games, like sorting pictures by letter.

[tomato]

Qinella gave a good smorgasbord.
I can think of just two more ideas:

SVO

Make a deck of cards.
In the corner of each card, write an S for Subject, a V for Verb, or an O for Object.
Then write an appropriate word.
Be sure that the subjects are all singular or all plural.
Also, be sure that all the verbs are transitive verbs.
You can add illustrations.



To play the game, shuffle and spread the cards on the table face-down.
The game is played like concentration, except that the object is to win SVO combinations rather than matches.
Any SVO combination will be a grammatically correct sentence.

phonics songs

Show the children the word CAT.

Then, to the tune of "Oh, Susannah!" sing:

O the C says /k/, the C says /k/,
The C says /k/ /k/ /k/.
O the C says /k/, the C says /k/,
The C says /k/ /k/ /k/.

Then do the same for the A and the T.

There are two other possibilities.
To the tune of "Old MacDonald," you can sing:

Old MacDonald had a word, E-I-E-I-O.
And in that word he had a C, E-I-E-I-O
With a /k/ /k/ here and a /k/ /k/ there,
Here a /k/, there a /k/, ev'rywhere a /k/ /k/,
Old MacDonald had a word, E-I-E-I-O.

To the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell," you can sing:

The C says /k/, the C says /k/,
Ev'ry letter has its sound, the C says /k/.

The first option is the one which I have been most comfortable with.