STUDY AND ANALYSIS - TEACHING ENGLISH

LANGUAGE FOR THE KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

INTRODUCTION

The first step in teaching a child to read is to teach the alphabet letters
that can be done easily by teaching the alphabet song or poem.

The next step is to teach the child the sounds the letters stand for. The
child doesn't have to know the alphabet perfectly before going on to the
second step, for he or she will continue to master the alphabet while learning
the letter sounds.

Alphabet letters, of course, are sound symbols. They don't represent

apples or elephants. They represent the irreducible sounds of our language.

The invention of alphabetic writing is the result of a great discovery

made by someone about 2000 B.C. That individual discovered that...

English and other modern Western languages are predominantly

phonetic languages. Unfortunately, they have been corrupted over time by
the importation of foreign spellings and sounds in ways that significantly
defeat the originally simple correlation between letters and sounds. Today,
for example, of the 26 letters in the normal English alphabet only one (v) has
a-unique sound (i.e. a letter that is always pronounced the same). These
inconsistencies create learning barriers for children and adults.
 Learning to read using phonics is clearly superior to the sight-
word reading touted by some during the last few decades. Disputes remain,
however, in how to teach phonics effectively. Scholars generally agree on
the first step of associating sounds with characters, but then the opinions
immediately diverge. One strategy is to teach ordinary Western lettering (A-
Z) in combination with a series of rules that specify the circumstances under
which the same letters are spoken with different sounds. Such "rules based
phonics" can be effective, especially where the rules are incorporated into
card and board games.

Unfortunately, rules based phonics has a large number of rules and an

even larger number of exceptions to those rules. To circumvent that problem
several scholars have adopted a second strategy that uses an initial teaching
alphabet (ITA). An ITA is a substantially pure phonemic alphabet, in which
each letter or character always represents the same sound.

Numerous advantages have been attributed to the use of initial

teaching alphabets. Proponents claim that the use of an ITA makes reading
easier and more enjoyable for beginners, and that users rapidly progress to
more varied and more difficult text sources. Proponents also claim that ITAs
provide increased comprehension, reduced incidence of dyslexia, as well as
improved writing and spelling. Still other claimed benefits are ready
acceptance and even enthusiasm by teachers.
Detractors argue that the use of an initial teaching alphabet requires users to
learn to read twice; once with the ITA and once with a standard alphabet.
Certainly there is a dearth of reading materials published in any of the ITAs,
so that readers may experience considerable frustration in their inability to
read many comics, newspapers and other printed materials. Parents often
find it difficult to teach reading to their children using an ITA, and there are,
of course, significant problems when a child moves from a school system
that uses an ITA to a system that uses a standard alphabet.

These problems are all exacerbated in proportion to the extent of

the differences between the ITA being used and a standard alphabet. Thus,
someone learning to read using the Deseret or Quick script alphabets can be
expected to have a much more difficult time transitioning to a standard
alphabet than would the same person using the Pitman or the Training
Wheels alphabets.

There are some ITAs that rely entirely, or almost entirely, on the
letters of a standard alphabet. In those cases each of the letters is given a
specific, unvarying sound, which distinguishes the ITA from the ordinary
alphabet, in which letters have varying sounds in different words. FIG. 5
shows the same text in six different ITAs, using substantially only the 26
characters of the English alphabet.

The problem there, of course, is that the spelling of the words is

inconsistent with the ordinary spelling. The closest appears to be Rite Spell,
but even there the spelling of almost every word is inconsistent with
ordinary spelling. Thus, even the use of ITAs that correspond closely to a
standard alphabet requires the user to mentally relearn a great many
spellings when moving on to use of the standard alphabet.
 Thus, there is still a need to provide systems and methods for
teaching reading that utilize an ITA that consists primarily or entirely of the
letters of a standard alphabet, while still depicting words with their ordinary
spellings.
How long does it take for children to learn English?
There is a commonly held belief that young children can learn to
speak English in just a few months, unlike adults, who may take years.
Research shows that this is not true; young children learning English can
take years to become as competent in English as their peers whose first
language is English.
It takes approximately three to four years in school for young children
learning English to accumulate an English vocabulary size comparable to
their English-speaking peers, and even longer for them to produce sentences
free of grammatical errors.
It can take from five to seven years in school for young children
learning English to master complex academic English skills, both spoken
and written, that are the same as their peers who speak English as their first
language.
This common misconception most likely comes from our low
conversational expectations for children. When adults speak to young
children, they often ask questions requiring yes or no answers refer to things
in the child’s immediate environment and compensate for any
communication problems. This means that a young child can know very
little English and may still appear competent because she or he can easily
guess how to respond.
Why do some children learn English faster than others?

Individual children vary in how quickly they acquire English, even

when they are in the same learning setting. These individual differences can
be due to such things as the following.
Language aptitude: Language aptitude is a kind of learning skill, a
set of verbal and memory abilities that varies between individuals. Children
and adults with high language aptitude tend to be faster second language
learners. Language aptitude is thought to be an inherent characteristic.We
cannot increase a child’s language aptitude.
Working with Young Children who are Learning English as a New
Language © Government of Alberta 3Working with Young Children who
are Learning English as a New Language © Government of Alberta 4

Age of acquisition: Starting to learn English early—before the ages

of six to eight years old—is better for developing pronunciation and
grammar. Starting to learn English a little later—after six to eight years of
age—results in faster vocabulary growth and development of skills such as
storytelling. There is no age within the childhood years when it is ‘too early’
or ‘too late’ to learn another language.

Socio-economic status: A family’s socio-economic status is

measured primarily through the parents’ levels of education and income.
Children from newcomer families where the parents have post-secondary
education tend to learn English faster because these parents often have
higher language and literacy skills in their home language.
 Quality and quantity of English exposure: English language
learning children vary in the English they experience outside the classroom,
and this has a measurable impact on a child’s development. For example, the
more books read in English and the more English-speaking friends they
have, the more practice children have with English, and the more English
vocabulary they will build.

Philosophy for Children

Sometimes our movement that aims to teach reasoning and

argumentative skills to children. There are also related methods sometimes
called "Philosophy for Young People" or "Philosophy for Kids". Often the
hope is that this will be a key influence in the eventual move towards a more
democratic democracy. However, there is also a long tradition within higher
education of developing alternative methods for teaching philosophy both in
schools and colleges.

Although the noted developmental psychologist Jean Piaget was of

the impression that children were not capable of critical thinking until age 11
or 12, the experience of many philosophers and teachers with young children
gives reason to believe that children benefit from philosophical inquiry even
in early primary school. Furthermore, there is empirical evidence that
teaching children reasoning skills early in life greatly improves other
cognitive and academic skills and greatly assists learning in general.
Children learn in lots of different ways

Learning styles research tells us that children learn in many ways.

Visual learners watch closely when you demonstrate an activity and like to
draw and play with shapes and puzzles. Auditory learners understand ideas
and concepts because they remember information they have heard, follow
spoken directions well and remember songs easily.

Although all children learn through touch, some learn especially well
through touch and movement (tactile/kinetic learners). Some children like
structure and some learn more easily in an unstructured environment.

When teaching kindergarten be aware of learning differences and offer a

variety of activities and experiences. If you want your children busy, happy
and on task, give them lessons that offer a variety of kindergarten teaching
ideas, different opportunities to learn, and things to touch and discover.

When you understand how young children learn, kindergarten

teaching is interesting and enjoyable. Children who are involved in their
own learning, who can link new ideas to their prior knowledge and share
what they've learned are well on their way to becoming successful learners.

Picture four to six-year-old children peeking under rocks at the beach.

They are curious, exploring, experimenting,
discovering, touching, asking questions, and
motivated to learn. To them it’s all play, they
don't need adults praising them for their efforts,
and it’s their choice.
So how do we teach in a manner that hooks into this natural desire to learn
and use kindergarten teaching methods that encourage, rather than dampen
children's enthusiasm? Read on for ideas for weaving engaging kindergarten
lesson plans into your daily classroom activities.

Contents

• 1 Notable proponents and their styles

• 2 Programs, competitions, and publications

2.1 Journals

2.2 Books

• 3 See also
• 4 References
• 5 Further reading
• 6 External links

Notable proponents and their styles

When works with a variety of students, but primarily with students in

late primary school (5th grade and thereabouts). This method is to get the
students to actively create philosophical settings, to “make the philosophical
problem their own.” One of most well-known techniques is to provide the
beginning of a philosophically provocative story. He then records/transcribes
student comments, puts them in the mouths of characters in the story, and
then brings the story continuation in to the next class session for further
discussion. Such interactions are compiled in the book ‘Dialogues with
Children’.
By contrast, this is much more guided and topical open-ended interaction
with students. We believe that we must start teaching philosophy early lest
older teens and young adults permanently lose their native curiosity and
philosophical skills. It is especially clear that college is too late for anyone's
first introduction to critical thinking because by then, education is tasked
with countering 18+ years of what may well be bad habits. For this reason,
integration of philosophy into the new curriculum,nationwide. Perhaps
because we intend to work with very young children,chosen a style that
constrains debate to certain topics within the framework of pre-defined
narratives. This provides complete stories which address clearly defined
philosophical problems wherein character dialogue reveals the main
philosophical issues and stories are used as a basis for discussion. Stories
are published and used as texts for formal classes and at-home work by
parents interested in augmenting their child's education. Because books have
companion teacher’s manuals, they can be a good starting point for teachers.

Programs, competitions, and publications

There are a number of college-level academic philosophy programs in

the United States that do outreach to public schools, most notably at
California State University Long Beach, Mount Holyoke College, Montclair
State University, Michigan State University, and University of Hawai`i at
Manoa. In addition, several independent centers have arisen to perform
similar tasks, including the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children in
Seattle, Washington.The Northwest Center has expanded from work in the
Seattle area to running workshops throughout Washington state on how to
integrate philosophy education into K-12 education.
Before the Department of Education cut funding for such programs in the
early 1990s, there were over 5,000 programs in K-12 schools nationwide
which engaged young people in philosophical reflection or critical thinking,
more generally. This number has dropped substantially.

There is an annual Philosophy Slam competition for kids in grades K-12.

Younger children are encouraged to submit artwork which illustrates their
philosophical reflections while older children submit increasingly
sophisticated written work.

In the UK the University of Leeds now offers a student into schools

programme called the Big Think.

Also in the UK social enterprise company The Philosophy Shop trains

philosophy graduates to do philosophy with primary and secondary school
children, and places them in schools nationwide. They also train teachers in
the transferable skills of philosophy (questioning, thinking skills and
discourse skills), and are encouraging an enquiry based approach to
education at all levels, including tertiary.

SAPERE - a UK charity - trains teachers in P4C nationwide.

UK organizations such as Thinking Space offer consultation and project

design and delivery for schools interested in philosophy for children.
Organizations such as Cap-a-Pie take a creative approach, fusing P4C
(Philosophy for Children) and Drama-in-Learning to create learning
experiences that make philosophical thought visible.
Journals

There are two refereed journals devoted to publishing work regarding

philosophy for/with children. Thinking: the Journal of Philosophy for
Children contains some work by young philosophers but consists primarily
of work by adults about their work doing philosophy for children including
lesson plans, developmental psychology, and work from the emerging field
called "hermeneutics of childhood" which is a multi-disciplinary approach to
considering the intellectual and emotional life of children. By contrast,
Questions: Philosophy for Young People has as its mission the publication
of work that features the philosophical reflections of children, themselves.
Thus, it contains essays authored by children, transcripts of classroom
dialogues with some commentary by moderators, artwork by children, and
so forth. It also publishes the winners of the Philosophy Slam competition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods in which

words are represented using ordinary spelling, and adjacently positioned
clarifying symbols that consist primarily or entirely of the letters of a
standard alphabet are used to assist in sounding out the words.

In preferred embodiments, single ones of the vowel letters are

used to represent corresponding short vowel sounds, and combinations of the
vowel letters are used to represent long vowel sounds. Clarifying symbols
need not be used for every letter of every word, and indeed in preferred
embodiments many words are written without any clarifying symbols at all.
 In the most preferred embodiments the clarifying symbols
comprise an Initial Teaching Alphabet consisting of the standard 26 letters
of the English alphabet (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v,
w, x, y, z). Contemplated ITA preferably has less than 44 phonograms, more
preferably less than 40 phonograms, and still more preferably 36
phonograms. To retain the relatively low number of phonograms, differences
in case of the letters are not used to represent differences in sound. Thus, the
26 letters identified above include the corresponding upper case letters.
As used herein adjacent positioning means that the clarifying symbols are at
least as close as, as and preferably closer, to the corresponding letters in the
written word than to other letters of the word. This excludes phonetic
spelling aids found in dictionaries, in which an entire word is followed by an
entire phonetic spelling of the word. In especially preferred embodiments the
clarifying symbols are written directly below the corresponding letters of the
word.
The teaching of reading using the inventive systems and methods
can be advantageously facilitated using various prompts, such as underlining
to highlight a plurality of the letters that form a blended sound, and
coloration to show that certain letters are either silent or are sounded
according to the adjacent phonetic symbol. The prompts are thus distinct
from the symbols of the ITA because they merely highlight differences in
pronunciation as an aid to reading. They do not control the pronunciation.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present

invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description
of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying
drawings in which like numerals represent like components.
Teaching the alphabet for the first time?

Parents know the value of learning the alphabet. They recognize that
early experiences with letters are an important step toward reading. Still,
many parents have questions about taking that step.

When introducing your child to the alphabet, begin with familiar

things. Start with your child's name. This builds upon her sense of self-
confidence. As she gets better at recognizing her name, encourage her to see
the likeness between letters in his name and letters in other names and
words. Find other words that start with the same letter as her name, like
Sharon and stop.

Create a situation in which your child can understand how the

alphabet works, and how it relates to reading and writing. Books can
introduce the alphabet. They show the alphabet is made up of a group of
letters with different names and shapes. Your child can see and hear all the
letters and their different names.

Magazine or catalog pictures can also help your child learn the
alphabet. They help him connect letters to what she sees in the pictures.
Your child can make an alphabet together. The contents should be about one
idea such as plants and seeds (the A page features apples, the B pages shows
beans, etc.) Making connections between concepts and letters in the alphabet
will help your child make the connections between ideas and words.

Writing is one important aspect of teaching the alphabet. Provide

opportunities for your child to express herself through writing. For young
children, writing can be as simple as scribble marks, a drawing, or some
marks that look like a letter. It does not mean handwriting or copying letters
from other print.

Children make connections between print and the spoken word

when writing. This allows your child to recreate what was experienced in a
story or other print. By using print to communicate thoughts and ideas,
children will see the purpose of writing. They learn how print, letters and
reading are related.

Give your child opportunities to write or trace letters using his

sense of touch. Side by side, look and trace the shapes of letters in alphabet
books. Paper and a variety of writing tools make it fun. Try using crayons,
pencils, markers, or pens. Individual alphabet shapes in puzzles allows the
fingers to feel the shape of letters. Finger-painting is another fun way to
form letters.

There are many ways to help young children learn the alphabet.
Parents should choose ways the child finds enjoyable. This will help to make
the child comfortable with the activity. Try touching letters in alphabet
books, reading short story books, or find letters in other print. These all help
expose your child to print. Just talking about the meanings of words can
create a setting for presenting the alphabet. Be sure to adopt a playful
approach that builds on your child's interest.

Here are some thoughts that might prove handy

As with many things in life, there is no one correct way to teach

the alphabet and no set age to begin teaching it. Both of these depend on you
and your child. Some children are able to recognize all the letters at 4 or 5.
Some children are still struggling to remember "w" at age six or seven. And
the time it takes to learn the alphabet varies as well. Some children master
recognition of the letters quickly and with seemingly little help from you.
This tends to be especially true when there are older children who have been
taught in the presence of a younger sibling. Other children take several years
to fully recognize all letters.

We cannot offer a sure fire, proven method for quickly and easily
teaching the alphabet. However, if you are embarking on the journey of
teaching the alphabet (or planning to do so in the future), here are some
things you may want to consider when preparing to teach those 26 little (and
big) letters.

What is the ideal age to introduce alphabet letters?

This really does depend on the child. I would love to give a definite
answer, like - 'when the child is 3yrs and 45 days may begin.' people know
as well as I do that life just isn't like that! Some children will be ready at
2yrs while others are happy to wait until 5 or 6yrs. What I can say, is that if
they follow the advice about what to teach BEFORE the alphabet, then it
will happen naturally - instinctively know when they have 'reached the ideal'
time to begin the formal introduction of alphabet letters. The decision
ultimately lies with the child! Just immerse the child in books, rhymes and
phonemic awareness activities and the progression will be a seamless one.
Most typically, a child is able to begin learning the alphabet around the age
of 3 or 4yrs.

Phonemic Awareness

Writing in kindergarten is an activity that promotes letter knowledge

and phonemic awareness (Gentry, 2005). The ability to hear and manipulate
sounds in spoken words is an important phonemic awareness component.
This capacity facilitates writing development since children must hear
sounds in order to represent them with letters (Wagstaff, 1998). Phonemic
awareness is conscious attention to phonemes, which are units of sound that
speakers and listeners unconsciously combine and contrast to produce and
perceive words in spoken language (Richgels, Poremba & McGee 1996).
When children read and write they go beyond the unconscious use of
phonemes to pay attention to sounds they isolate in words. Children have to
learn phonics to write because they are using letter-sound symbols to convey
their written message. It takes explicit instruction in phonological awareness
to move to the phonetic stage of spelling and writing, it is not enough to
know just letter-sound correspondence (Edwards, 2003). It is more effective
and authentic to teach phonics through writing than to teach phonics in
isolation without a purpose at an inappropriate time (Johnson, 1999).
Richgels et al. (1996) believed that phonemic awareness could develop in
the same holistic contexts, as do other aspects of children’s written language
knowledge. “The entire process of becoming literate can originate in
children’s meaningful and functional encounters with print, especially when
there is guidance from more literate others” (Richgels et al, 1996, p.634).
Routman 2005 shared that teachers can teach phonemic awareness
through writing when demonstrating in shared writing, interactive writing,
and language experience stories when they stretch out the sounds in words,
so students hear the individual phonemes. She also stated that children gain
more phonemic awareness when the concept is presented together with the
naming of letter sounds as in sounding out words in writing a language
experience story. Routman then went on to say teaching phonics in context
with a language experience story is beneficial because the children’s writing
offers personal, meaningful, and effective opportunities for phonics
instruction and is able to engage students the first day of school. Students are
more willing to put in the time to learn and sustain work with sounds if they
have some ownership in the texts they are using (Calkins, 1983).
If students invent their own spelling, it increases their understanding
of letter-sound symbols. In order for children to understand something, they
must construct it themselves – they must reinvent it (Johnson, 1999).
Invented spelling is part of phonemic awareness in kindergarten. Invented
spelling is when children are encouraged to listen for sounds in words and
use sound-symbol correspondence they know rather than monitoring correct
spelling (List, 1984). Parents and administrators often wonder if children are
learning accurately if they are spelling with invented spelling and they are
not corrected. Teachers need to make sure that they are educating parents
and administrators about invented spelling. Invented spelling is logical
letter-sound approximations and thoughtful strategies students use as they
write. Invented spelling should never be just any letter for any sound
(Routman, 2005). Teaching phonics by encouraging invented spelling is
faster and more effective than teaching letter sounds in isolation (Routman,
2005). Invented spelling gives students control of and responsibility for
print, which positively influences self-esteem and decision-making skills
because students feel competent (Johnson, 1999).
Even children who entered kindergarten with little reading knowledge
made greater gains in a well-implemented, literacy rich environment than
students in a phonics-in-isolation classroom (Routman, 2005). Craig (2003)
reported that the results from her study on an interactive writing intervention
on kindergarten children’s phonological awareness showed that a more
contextualized approach allowed teachers to differentiate instruction that
advanced children to new levels of competence in phonological awareness,
spelling and reading. It appears that writing instruction that encourages
phonemic segmentation and invented spelling provided a rich context for
developing the phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge children
require for early reading.

Do I teach capital or lower case first?

I have met teachers who swear by teaching capital letters first and yet
others who insist on teaching lower case and then another group who insist
on teaching both at the same time! Personally - I advise on teaching lower
case first. Why? Because capital letters only account for about 5% of all
letters in the written word and so it seams to make sense to pay more
attention to the teaching of the lower case letters as these are the ones
children will be introduced to first in their environment. After that we have
taught child to recognize lower case letters, I would put up an alphabet frieze
with both capital and lower case letters and talk about them. Let the child see
them and compare them, play games of matching up lower case with their
capital letters. Notice the importance of fun here - always make learning fun!
While teaching children - use games to discreetly assess if they had grasped
a phonics principle - there was no pressure of 'tests' so it was a win win
situation. Children particularly enjoyed looking at the Letter land books.

Do I teach letters sounds or letter names?

Teach both at the same time. Remind children that animals are called
by different names, such as a 'pig' or 'cow' but that they all make different
sounds eg, 'oink' and 'moo'. So it is with alphabet letters, each has a name
but also a sound. Say "this is the letter 'S' it says the /sssssss/ sound as in
sssun." Model the sound to copy and use words that are meaningful to the
child. For a quick reminder of letter sounds here is a quick check list in the
box to right - some words end in the sound to help isolate the sound will be
modeling for the child. Some letters have more than one sound, but at this
stage we just introduce the first sound of a letter.

What letters do you teach first?

Here are some examples of how others teach letter order:

Alphabetical Order: Although knowing letters 'in' and 'out' of order is

important, the main disadvantage of this method, is that a child is waiting a
long time before they can start to read words with the letters they have
learnt. We really can't read or write many words with the letter a,b,c,d,e

Random Order: For example, choosing letters of a child's name or family

members can help give meaning to letters
Vowels: These are the letters, 'a,e,i,o,u and sometimes y'. Vowels are
considered important because every word contains a vowel

Mixture of vowels and consonants: Consonants are all the letters

which are not vowels. This way is often taught by phonic reading programs,
such as Jolly Phonics. For example they start with the letters’s, a, t, i, n, p'.
One of the benefits of this method is that a child is quickly able to 'read' and
spell three letter words. These 6 alphabet letters make the following words:

Sat, tin, pin, pat, tap, tip, pit, sit, nit, nip, nap, pan

Choose to introduce a mixture of vowels and consonants, alongside

teaching the alphabet song, so that they can see 'where in the alphabet' the
letter they are learning fits into.
Help the Child be Successful in Kindergarten

Child’s first year of school should be a fun and exciting time.

Children who are comfortable with and prepared for this first school
experience are more likely to have rewarding and productive years, and
therefore associate positive feelings with education. Since parents are
children’s first and most important teachers, We have to can play a key role
in preparing your children for a successful school experience by pre-
exposing them to key concepts they will experience in school. This can be
done in a fun, enjoyable manner by making everyday play experiences
learning experiences as well.

New learning builds on prior knowledge, therefore the more exposure

or background a child has with a concept the easier it is for new learning and
deeper comprehension to occur. Providing your child with pre-exposure to
concepts such as the alphabet, numbers, following directions, listening,
reading, cutting, tracing, etc. will help them feel more comfortable and
confident when they experience these similar concepts in school, thus better
enabling learning to occur. Schools are becoming more academic, dependent
on standardized tests, and fast-paced. Giving your children some familiarity
with concepts they will encounter can help lessen the anxiety and stress that
often accompany these experiences. Children who are overly stressed or
uncomfortable are less likely to be able to concentrate and learn.

Children have a natural motivation to learn and a curiosity about the

world. We can enhance and nurture this natural motivation by making
enjoyable play experiences learning experiences as well.

For example, children’s games are great resources for combining

learning with physical activity. Duck, Duck, Goose can be a way of
reinforcing concepts such as the alphabet by having children say the name of
a letter in place of the word, duck, and a word that begins with that letter in
place of the word, goose.

Hide and Seek can become a learning experience by hiding numbers,

letters, colors, your child’s name, phone number, address, etc. around the
house and asking your child to find them.

Simon Says is a great game to practice following directions and positional

words such as on, above, below, etc.
Bingo can be used to reinforce number recognition, letter recognition, the
difference between upper case and lower case letters, letter sounds, colors,
etc.

Treasure hunt - while shopping, driving, or at home by seeing how many

letters, numbers, colors, or shapes your child can find.

Playing I Spy where we state, “I spy with my little eye something that is…”
and you describe a letter, number, shape, color, etc. that you can plainly see.
Children then try to guess what we are describing. Child can also take a turn
describing something (this helps develop verbal skills).

Children’s individual interests can also be incorporated into learning

experiences.

Blocks or Lego’s can be used to teach patterns (have them build towers with
alternating colors), counting, sorting (separate the blocks by colors, shapes,
size), etc.

If child likes to color, have them create rainbow tracings of letters or

numbers by tracing them with as many colors as possible.

Play dough can be made into shapes, letters, and numbers.

An interest in cars and trucks can be used when learning how to trace by
telling your child to keep his car (crayon or pencil) on the road (whatever is
being traced).

An interest in animals or dinosaurs can be used when learning how to cut

with scissors by relating the opening and closing of the scissors to the
opening and closing of an animal’s mouth. We can pretend the animal is
“eating” the lines on the paper.

Child’s surroundings can also play a part in preparing them for school.
Providing a number and variety of books for your child and taking time to
read to them is one of the most important things can do for their education.
Reading to a child teaches those vocal skills, vocabulary, listening skills,
left-to-right orientation, cause and effect, knowledge about the world around
them, and pre-reading skills. Most importantly, it instills a love for reading
and books which will benefit them throughout their entire education. After
all, every subject (even math) requires reading.

Our brain absorbs information from our surroundings on a conscious and

unconscious level, and between 80-90% of all information absorbed by the
brain is visual. Therefore, providing visual displays in your child’s room or
elsewhere can actually aide in learning. Things such as the alphabet, colors,
numbers, etc. can be hung up or displayed in places where your child will
see them. Even magnetic letters on the refrigerator can aide in retention and
learning. This is why many schools have plenty of visuals displayed in the
halls and classrooms.

Young children can also learn many concepts through music. For example,
they usually learn their abc’s by the alphabet song. There are many
children’s tapes available that teach concepts through music. Playing these
while in the car or while your children play can aide them in learning. Even
though they might not be singing along or seem like they are even paying
attention, subconscious learning can be occurring.
We want to practice separating from child for short periods of time, such as
enrolling in a program or play group or having them spends time with a
babysitter. Separation anxiety can be traumatic for some children if they are
not used to being away from their parents, and this anxiety can inhibit their
ability to learn and relax while in school.

Lastly, no matter what methods you try with child, the most important thing
to remember is to make them enjoyable. Child wants to associate positive
feelings with learning. Take turns choosing activities; give to child some
choice sometimes. This makes them feel less dictated to and more willing to
learn. Also, offer them some variety in activities, do not always use the same
learning methods all of the time as this can create boredom and disinterest.
Choose the methods that work best with child .Children are like flowers,
they all bloom at different times. But, parents can help nurture them by
providing experiences that enable them to blossom into children who love
learning and school.

I. Which sequence should You teach the letters in?

Again, there is no right or wrong answer. Some educators will say

that it isn’t good to teach children the alphabet in order. Some will say that
you shouldn’t teach letters that sound or look the same too close together.
Some will present the letters in a way that you can only guess what their
reasoning is.

Here are a few examples of sequences that are taught:

Alphabetical order

When we first started homeschooling and read that many teachers did
not like to teach the children the alphabet in alphabetical order because they
felt that the children would not be able to recognize the letters out of order.
You think that part of this stemmed form the fact that children were taught
the alphabet song. So You started teaching the letters out of order. For me,
the problem with this was that You had two separate tasks now: teaching
the letters and then going back and teaching alphabetical order, which
would be an important skill later on. You now personally think that teaching
in alphabetical order is a good idea as in math; we teach children their
numerals in order, 1, 2, 3, not 3, 1, 6. You believe that teaching the alphabet
in alphabetical order and following it up with simple sequencing exercises
(i.e. put the letters in order: c a b) would make it easier for children later on.
My oldest still has trouble from time to time remembering the correct
alphabetical sequence.

An opposing view:

"Learning sequences is particularly hard for many dyslexics. Months

of the year, counting to 20 etc can be a real problem. When coupled with an
inability to read well, this difficulty with sequencing can be debilitating to
the dyslexic student’s confidence. You found that the best approach with
many students was to avoid the alphabet in sequence in any form. The
alphabet is little use to someone who can’t read. What’s the point in being
able to find something in a dictionary if you can’t read what it says? There’s
plenty of time for alphabetic organisation once you can read. Taking groups
of letter sounds and building these into words is the way to achieve reading
success.

Some other sequences/rationale:

"You usually teach a set of consonants: m,s,p,l,t. Then You teach the
vowel A. This way the kids have letter that we can start to put together into
words. Those who are ready can start to sound out words. You then teach
another set of consonants: b,c,n,f,h. Then comes the next vowel: O. Now the
kids have a lot of letters that they can write words with and begin to read.
You continue this pattern until all letters have been covered. You don’t think
it really matters what order you really teach the letters as long as you don’t
go in order. You really can’t read or write any words with the letter
a,b,c,d,e…. It would take too onlg before you get to the point where your
kids can read and wirte words."

"You use the McCracken order:

MSFBTCARLPODGNWIHJKVUZYQXE They recommend starting

with the ones that are easy to hear and say. You’m not sure why they end
with E except that it’s such a difficult sound to hear. It hasn’t occurred to me
before to change it but next year, You may put E more in the middle."

This of course brings up another topic: teaching just the letters or

teaching the letters and the sounds. You had always believed, more or less,
that it was too confusing to teach the letter and it’s sound at the same time.
The downside was that once we had finished letter recognition, You was
sick of the alphabet and had to turn around and teach the sounds, lol. It
really depends on what your student can handle.
AVKO has a rationale for sequencing:

ABCD (RST Y) EFGH (W) You J K L M N O P Q U V X Z.

Natural/Environmental

Environment plays a very important role in teaching. Sometimes

children will seem to be interested in a particular letter or certain word, like
pizza. So sometimes You stop your plans and focus on that letter or the
letters in a particular word: p-i-z-z-a. Another approach You have used is
to start with a child’s name and teach the letters in her name.

Environmental print is available to any child no matter their culture,

language, or economic status. It is a child’s initial encounter with written
language in their world (Hong Xu & Rutledge, 2003). Children rely on the
context clues of environmental print to assist them in understanding the use
and meaning of the print. Reading and writing in the classroom using
environmental print is not only developmentally appropriate, but also
meaningful to children because they have concrete and personal experience
with it (Hong Xu & Rutledge, 2003). While there are, great benefits to using
environmental print, researchers have found that it is not as effective if
children do not have a hand in developing it (Feldgus & Cardonick, 1999
and Hong Xu & Rutledge, 2003). Lamme, Fu, Johnson, & Savage (2002)
suggested working with children to label things in the room with sentences
that describe them, make signs and other environmental print to enhance
young children’s phonemic awareness and their spelling and writing
development.

II. How to Teach

Teaching your child the alphabet means giving them the building blocks
with which they learn to read. Giving meaning to the sounds and words is
hugely important. Learning letters and sounds by rote is boring and
meaningless to a child. Give color and life to the alphabet and that
enjoyment will help give them the enthusiasm they need to start reading.
 You personally feel it is better to employ a variety of methods in teaching
the alphabet. Sticking to a set process using the same activities can become
cumbersome for a child (and you) and lead to boredom and frustration for
the student and the teacher.

• Some teachers/parents teach a letter of the week. You have sometimes

done this. However, some letters come quicker than others and
working with the same letter all week becomes boring for the child. It
is, however, one of the most popular methods that You have seen used
and you can pick different activities with each letter to make the
learning varied. Some teachers use words that start with a particular
letter and base activities around those (i.e., M, mittens, so the students
make paper mittens, or make cookies for the letter c.)

• A quick drill that is usually popular around our way:

You write as word on the board/paper. You pronounce the word and
then ask my child to name the letters in that word (vowels if we gave
started identifying those as well. This is usually popular as You pick words
that are fun to them or around them(chair, masjid, pizza, candy). If the get
the letter wrong, You make sure to correct it. Sometimes they will want to
copy those words.

• Sometimes You make up drill sheets that have the letter they are
working on plus review letters arranged in several rows of a table.
You might draw or place a treat at the end of a drill row.

Keeping young children interested in learning about the alphabet can be

difficult. Here are some fun suggestions for teaching pre-reading skills
Children today are expected to know each letter of the alphabet and its sound
by the time they enter kindergarten. That means that the responsibility lies
on parents and caretakers to get young children ready for kindergarten by
teaching them basic pre-reading skills. You can create an engaging learning
environment by using the games and activities below.

Letter Hunt

Toddlers and preschoolers love playing “treasure hunt.” Why not put
a twist on it and make it a letter hunt? Buy or cut out a set of alphabet letters,
trace each letter's shape on a piece of poster board, and hide the letters for
your child to find. They’ll probably enjoy using additional props like
binoculars, flashlights, or nets. As they find each letter, help them glue it to
the poster board over the appropriate outline.

Letter Bingo
 Educational vendors sell letter bingo games, but it’s easy to make
your own. Focus on a handful of letters that you want your child to work on
mastering, and create a bingo card featuring those letters. A bingo card with
only four squares is fine for a very young child, but there can be as many or
as few as you think your child can handle. Call squares by drawing papers
marked with the letters until your child gets a bingo (or blackout); then
switch and let your child be the caller while you fill out the card. Either way,
they will be practicing naming and identifying the letters.

Letter of the Day Craft

Preschools and kindergartens often feature a letter of the day, and it’s
not hard to do at home. Devote ten minutes each night to preparing a simple
craft or activity featuring each letter of the alphabet for the next day. If
possible, your craft should include the capital and lowercase version of the
letter of the day printed on it. The child can hang the craft in their room
where they will see it every day.

Letter Food

Food is a great medium for teaching letters. Your child will enjoy
helping make and eat foods that he has formed into different letters of the
alphabet. Almost anything can be formed into letters, including soft pretzels
or pancakes.
Alphabet Song

Learning the ABC song is great for learning letters, but don’t be
fooled into thinking that a child who can sing the song knows the alphabet.
Kids can often “learn” a song but not really understand what they are
singing. To get the most out of the alphabet song, play games with it. Sing
the song but then stop and have your child shout out the next letter. Or sing
the song with a few “errors” and let your child catch the mistakes and
correct you.

Educational Media

Learning DVDs and educational TV are great when they're used as

part of a broader teaching technique. DVDs like Leapfrog’s Talking Letter
Factory or television shows like Sesame Street, Super Why, or Word World
can do a great deal of teaching, but only if you watch with your child and
engage him in what he’s seeing. Emphasize the points being made in the
show, sing along with the songs, and encourage your child to shout out the
answer when the character on screen asks, “What sound does the letter B
make?”

Read Together

Follow the words with your index finger as you read, so your child
knows you’re reading instead of just describing the pictures on the page.
Pause every now and then to ask your child if she can spot a specific letter.
Introduce the idea that letters go together to spell a word. Bookstores and
libraries carry many excellent alphabet books, like Chicka-Chicka, Boom-
Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. (1989).
Let Them Practice

When you write something – whether it’s a check, a grocery list, or a

letter to a friend – hand your child a piece of paper and encourage him to
scribble “letters” on it. In this digital world, it’s also a good idea to introduce
children to the computer and let them peck out some letters (gently) to send
in an e-mail to grandma.

Being creative and flexible when teaching the alphabet is key to

keeping young children engaged. Kids do their best learning when they think
they’re playing, so take advantage of opportunities to teach through games,
activities, crafts, and songs whenever possible
 In the Sunflower State, four Kansas State University graduate students
might actually be chastised for their parents because of a new product they
have created that actually encourages children to play with their food. The
product they have created, which is called Jumble Beef Jerky, is shaped in
the form of the 26 letters of the English alphabet. The backs of the vacuum
sealed packages in which the products come in contain word games that are
intended to encourage children to play with the letters, play with their food,
and spell words. Jumble Beef Jerker is targeted for a younger demographic
in flavor as well as styling. The sweet barbecue flavoring is less spicy than
what normally is associated with jerky products.

Alphabet biscuits
Using clay:

• Kids are given a ball of clay.

• They are advised that it is not an eatable.
• Teacher can give shape to the clay resembling alphabets.
• Kids will follow the teacher and learn alphabets easily.
• Different colors of clay balls can be used which makes kids more
interesting and also get know the colors too.
• Clay balls are not very expensive but teachers should be careful that
kids don’t eat the clay balls.
This study sought to find a way to help children from educationally
disadvantaged families to improve their cognitive and language abilities
and thus improve their achievement in school. Specifically the study
investigated the effectiveness of guided experiences with clay in
promoting cognitive, affective, and language growth of educationally
disadvantaged children in Columbus, Ohio schools. A total of 39 pre -
kindergarten and kindergarten teachers were trained to teach with clay.
Another 14 teachers served as controls. Teachers in the training condition
were divided into groups to receive training in three teaching methods.
An encouragement method, which focused on the affective domain,
addressed the student's self and provided sensory feedback. An
observation and discussion method, which focused on affective and
 cognitive domains, gave students a concept to model, addressed the self,
provided sensory feedback, and helped children check perceptions
against reality. A technique method, which addressed affective,
cognitive, and psychomotor domains, taught children basic techniques of
working with clay. A total of 326 children were randomly selected from
the 53 classrooms and were tested on the effects of working with clay
and of the three methods. Children were given clay to work with for 30
minutes twice a week for 16 weeks. All methods produced more
cognitive, affective, and language growth in treatment groups than
among controls. Children's growth increased as the number of domains
addressed by intervention increased. Teachers can be trained to use the
methods effectively. (RH)

Using color blocks:

• Kids are given color blocks.

• Teacher can arrange the blocks into alphabets.
• Kids also arrange the blocks following teacher and learn alphabets
easily.
• Colorful blocks attract the kids and the colors also get into their
minds.
Learn through games:

• Alphabets are written each in a chart and pinned on to some kids. Let
this be Group-I.
• Again the same is repeated and Group-II is formed.
• Now teacher can tell the kids to identify their pairs. i.e., kid with letter
‘A’ should find the kid with same letter.
• Also teacher can say a kid to find other kids also. i.e., ‘a’ to find ‘z’.
• This is a type of Hide and seeks game and kids will be very active and
learn easily.
• This can be repeated using chairs also. Chairs with alphabets on them
are arranged randomly and kids are made to run around the chairs.
• At a particular time, they are asked to fine their respective alphabets
on the chair and get seated.
Using balls:

• Alphabets are written on the big balls.

• Kids are made to stand around the teacher.
• Teacher can throw the ball to kids and make the kid to read out the
letter.
• Many balls with alphabets on them are kept in a room. Kids are sent
in and asked to find a particular alphabet.
• They will take the ball and hand over to teacher.
• Balls can be made hanging around the class.
 Knowing the alphabet is a vital precursor to learning how to read.
Children who know the alphabet before entering school have a natural
advantage over children who can’t identify the letters of the alphabet.
Learning the alphabet doesn’t have to be an arduous task. In fact, teaching
the alphabet is more effective when you make it fun. Different children find
different activities fun, so try different teaching techniques. Here are eight
tips you can try to teach your child the alphabet.

1. The Alphabet Song

It may sound very basic, but before you actively try to teach your
child the visual representation of letters, first teach them the letter names
with the alphabet song. After having sung this with your child several times,
then you can start pointing to letters as you sing the song to show your child
that the letter names actually match printed letters. Print out a sheet of large
letters and point to them as you sing. After doing this a few times, hold your
child’s hand and point their finger to the letters as you sing. Finally have the
child point to the letters on their own as you sing together.
2. Point to Letters on Everyday Objects
Every so often throughout the day point to a word you see and tell
your child the starting letter or ending letter. For example, if you’re out with
your child at Wal-Mart, as you’re walking towards the building say, “Look,
Wal-Mart starts with W.” At the breakfast table points to the cereal box at
talk about the first letter of the cereal name, or if there’s a logo on your
clothes, talk about the letters of the logo. There are countless opportunities
to point out letters here and there. Encourage your child to point out letters
that he/she knows and make a big deal about it when the child does this
independently.

3. Do a Letter Hunt.
Pick a letter as the theme letter for your letter hunt. Then go around
the house, or the shopping mall, or wherever you are, and find the letter you
are looking for in at least 10 places: signs, books, products, toys, etc. If you
are at home doing this you can actually pick up the items and collect the 10
things in a pile. Kids will enjoy collecting the items and then going around
helping you put the items away.

4. Alphabet Coloring Pages

Many children love coloring so much that they can spend several
hours every week coloring. Why not print off some coloring pages with the
letter prominently displayed and associated with a picture of something that
begins with the letter. Tell your child what the letter is and have the child
repeat it back to you. Then discuss the picture and explain that the picture
also starts with the letter.
 An alphabet printable material is an extension of Preschool Alphabet
Activities and Crafts. You will find free coloring pages, color posters, flash
cards, mini books and activity worksheets to present the alphabet, reinforce
letter recognition and writing skills. These are suitable for older toddlers,
preschool, kindergarten and first grade. Many of the printable materials
feature school compatible Standard Block Print Modern Block Print
handwriting guidelines, links to related lesson plans, crafts and related
resources.

The color poster version can be used as a/an:

educational display poster and teaching aid
homemade alphabet book, theme alphabet book or coloring book.
Decoration (for bulletin boards)
cut the poster into basic shapes or curved shapes to make homemade
puzzles (glue the page to thin cardboard from a cereal box or similar
material and laminate).

This is a labor of love in progress. I would love to hear your kind

comments and ideas to make this a better site.

Alphabet coloring pages for each letter. Each coloring page features
upper and lower case. These are suitable for older toddlers, preschool,
kindergarten and first grade.

This is a labor of love in progress. I would love to hear your kind

comments and ideas to make this a better site

View all alphabet printable activities for a letter

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
 Color, decorate with stickers, items or original small drawings. Print a
complimentary coloring page (links above) behind the template page or tape
next to it for a poster. Use the letter page as a front cover and print related
complementary coloring pages to assemble individual alphabet letter
coloring books.

5. Alphabet Mazes

Some children aren’t as interested in coloring but really enjoy finding

their way through a maze. While the child is working on the maze talk to
them about the letter and have them repeat the letter name. Talk to them
about words that begin with that letter. After they finish the maze have your
child try to draw the letter at the bottom of the page.
6. Letters of their Name
Often the first letters children learn are the letters of their name. Start
by just saying aloud the spelling of their name. If you can come up with a
little song for the letters of their name then the learning is usually much
faster. For example, if your child has a 5 letter name try replacing the letters
of the song BINGO with the letters of your child’s name. With a 3 letter
name you can replace the first 3 letters of BINGO with the letters of the
name and replace GO with “spells name”. For example, with the name Pat
you can sing “P-A-T spells Pat, P-A-T spells Pat, P-A-T spells Pat, and Pat
is your name.”

7. Tracing Their Name

After they can say aloud the spelling of their name then make or print
out some tracing pages of their name. This creates a direct association of the
shape of the letters with the letters of their name. This activity strongly
reinforces learning to recognize and print their name. Not only are they
learning letters, but also early printing skills.

8. Tracing the Letters of the Alphabet

Children can learn to trace and print letters, numbers,

shapes, and their name with these educational preschool
printable and kindergarten worksheets. Use the shape
tracing pintables as a precursor to printing letters and
numbers. The number and alphabet pintables are for preschoolers and
kindergarten kids to practice printing skills by tracing letters, tracing
numbers, tracing the alphabet and tracing their own name.
After your child can read and print their name, then he/she can start
tracing the rest of the alphabet. This will reinforce the oral learning of the
alphabet with early printing skills. Either create tracing pages of letters, or
print out some pre-made letter tracing pages. Repetitive tracing of each letter
will solidify their learning of the letter shapes.

The most important things to remember about teaching your child the
alphabet are to keep it fun and keep at it daily. You don’t have to work at it
for long stretches at a time. That will only frustrate a child. Teach the
alphabet in little bits at various times throughout each day and you’ll be
amazed at your child’s progress
 Learning the letters of the alphabet is done in two ways, by
naming the letter and by the letter sound. The latter is known as phonics and
it is the more useful method when preparing a child for reading. Imagine you
are a child looking at the word 'Dog' on a page. Saying the names of the
letters, D.O.G., gives you no clue what the word might be. Try saying the
letter sounds to yourself and you can instantly hear that the word is dog. This
is how it works for a child when they are learning to read.

How to teach phonics –

Consonants produce sounds that are more consistent and easier to

identify than vowels. Therefore, they make a good starting point for
learning to read.

Initially, work should be done on identifying beginning consonant

sounds (ex: t-t-t tulip).

After that, activities can focus on identifying final consonant sounds

(ex: cat ends with the t-t-t sound)

When children learn to recognize the sounds of consonants at the

beginning and end positions of words, they gain the ability to look at a word
and make a reasonable guess as to what it might be. Viewing the word in
the context of a picture will help reinforce this skill.(for example, a picture
of a dog with the word DOG underneath. The ability to sound out the D and
G letters will help the child identify that the word is DOG, not puppy or
dalmation)

Incorporating the alphabet into everyday life is the simplest way to teach
your child at home. Combine the two methods as often as possible and you
will teach your child letter name and sound together. For example, when you
are reading a favorite book to your child, point to the name of a character
and say "Oh look, Barney starts with B, buh for Barney.

A point needs to be made here. When teaching phonics you need to

avoid the 'grunt trap'. It is all too easy to say the sound of a letter and tack
'uh' onto the end of it. An example of the grunt trap is the letter 'P'. When
you sound out the letter it is simply a brief, almost puffing pronunciation
over pursed lips. It is not 'puh' or 'per'. Clip the ends of the sounds and don't
teach your child to add the grunt to the end. Common sounds that end up in
the grunt trap are:

C - Should be a short, sharp sound and not cur or cuh. Like the c at the
beginning of cookie.

H - Should be a huffing sound, like breathing out sharply.

M - Should be a lips together humming sound. This can be difficult to

achieve but practice makes perfect.

N - Very similar to m but the tongue is towards the roof of the mouth
and the lips are apart.

Another important note about teaching phonics is school. Eventually

your child will be attending school and you need to bear this in mind. It is
worth talking to the school your child will be attending to find out how they
teach phonics. A child can be very easily confused if they are taught with
one phonic style at home and another when they reach school. Try and use
the same system as the school if you can and save your child, the teacher and
yourself a lot of grief later on.

Phonic Games

Play is the best way to teach a child anything. A child needs to be

engaged in the project, must see the appeal and the reason for doing
something before they settle to it. Playing games is fun and education
combined. These are some ways to do this with your child.

Phonic object games are one of the most used methods for teaching
the alphabet. Create a set of phonic cards from things you have around the
house. Cut pictures from magazines or print them from the internet and do
two of everything. Finding suitable material for X can be difficult but X-ray
and Xylophone have served parents for years and most children will
recognize them. Put the picture and word on one side of the cards and an
upper and lower case (Aa) letter on the other side.

Now you are ready to play phonic snap. Play as you would
normally play snap and snap on the same picture but the child can only win
the hand when they have correctly identified the letter and sound. At first
you will have to allow some leeway or risk the child getting frustrated.
When they are still beginning you can give the answer and get them to
repeat it back. A correct repeat wins.
 Later, as their confidence grows, they can give the letter and sound
first. You can then get them to repeat the correct answer if they are wrong
before letting them take the hand. Once they are well versed in their
alphabet, you can make it harder by covering the pictures on the cards and
getting them to sound out the word instead.

Always be guided by your child. If they are struggling, help quickly,

praise and move down a level of difficulty if necessary. A child who feels
that they are failing is a child being programmed to dislike anything to do
with reading and the alphabet. The aim is to be happy and positive so adjust
your play accordingly.

Phonic basketball

This is another fun way to teach. You need 26 balls (any kind will do
as long as they fit comfortably into the child's hand) and a waste basket
(clean of course!). Write the letters of the alphabet onto the balls with a
permanent marker. You can write the vowels (aeiou) in different colors at
this stage and use the colors to help the child identify vowels as separate
from consonants. Now you're ready to go.

Parent stands (or kneels, depending on the skill and height of all
participating) and holds the waste basket in front of them as the 'hoop'. The
child stands or sits behind the pile of balls (use a basket to contain them if
you don't want them rolling all over the place and getting lost). The parent
calls out a letter, by name or sound and the child needs to find it and dunk it
in the 'hoop'. Appropriate clapping and cheering is a must for each correct
dunk.
 Later this game can be adapted for reading and spelling as the parent
can call out a word or hold up a word on a card for a short space of time and
get the child to spell it by picking the right balls and dunking them in order,
saying the sounds as they dunk.

Phonic crafting

There is probably no better combination than a child and food. Cut up

healthy sticks of carrot or use breadsticks. Put these in a bowl and place
them beside your child. The parent calls out a letter (use a card with the
letter on it until your child has a good grasp of the letters) and the child then
forms the letter from the snack treats and says the sound. Of course, the food
can be eaten for every correct answer.

Paint, draw and model the letters. Seeing, hearing and doing all
combine to reinforce what the child is learning, one method backing up
another and forming connections in the brain. Paint the letters and get your
child to copy them with you. Draw them and have a lot of fun trying to draw
matching pictures (S for snake and C for cat etc). Use pasta shapes and glue
them to card to form letters and say the sounds. Draw and sound out letters
in the sand pit or even in mud (if you are feeling particularly brave).

Modeling the alphabet can be a great way to help reinforce the letters.
Use playdough or salt dough to shape the letters and get your child to name
and sound out. Let them make the letters and give your child the chance to
feel very clever by sometimes pretending to get the letter wrong yourself.
They will love being able to correct you and displaying their knowledge.
 There are hundreds of variations of games that can be used to teach
phonics. Snakes and ladders can become letters and sounds. Redraw the
traditional board and put a letter on each square (if you make the board got
to 60 you can do each letter at least twice). When a child lands on a ladder
they can go up it if they get the letter and sound correct for that square. If
they land on a snake they don't have to go down it if they get the letter and
sound correct.

The internet is a valuable resource. Today, most children become

internet and computer literate at a very early age (even two year olds have
been known to play on a computer).

For example, Sound Sea is a simple game that allows you to choose
a letter, click on the cloud to hear the sound and then the child aims to
collect the correct cards that pop up from behind rocks on the ocean floor. A
cartoonish voice issues from a little fish telling the child if they are right or
wrong, the latter not sounding judgmental or disappointed which is
important.

Once your child has a solid grounding in the alphabet, in both recognizing
sounds and letter names they are well on their way to learning to read. Using
phonetics in reading will make it easier for them to get started in reading and
there is nothing quite as satisfying as watching your child sound out a word
and seeing the delight on their face as they realize they have read a word
correctly. Get the building blocks of the alphabet in place and they'll be
reading before you know it.
 Teaching Kindergarten requires a lot of patience, creativity and
caring. As children's first year in school, they will be excited and a little
nervous of new things. As a kindergarten teacher, it is your responsibility to
help them through and also teach them the skills that are needed in
Kindergarten.
Instructions to the teachers

Things you’ll need:

• Paper, Crayons, Scissors, Glue

• Books
• Digital Camera

Step 1

Prepare your room. So you have landed your dream job at a school
teaching kindergarten. Now what? The first step is to prepare your
classroom. You'll want it to be very clean (kids are germy), and very neat
and organized. The school year can be chaotic, so the more organized you
start out, the better.

Step 2

Plan lessons. Brainstorm before school begins lots of different lessons

for the children. Start a 3-ring binder with ideas. Make sure you have all
supplies needed for most of them. If you have extra time during the school
day, you can reach for the binder. Make sure to incorporate the curriculum,
which you will receive from your principal. This is crucial to teach
kindergarten.

Step 3

Welcome new students. Children will be nervous and so will parents,

so be prepared for dealing with both. Have some extra stuffed animals on
hand to console students the first week or so if they miss their parents.

Step 4

Take a photo of each during the first couple weeks of school. Save
them. At the end of the year, it is nice to make a project to take home
showing how the child has changed during the year. The children love this,
and so do the parents.

Step 5

Accept parent volunteers. In the beginning, you may think you don't
want volunteers in your classroom. But, volunteers can be a great addition to
your classroom. They can help you with some work, freeing you up to do
other things. It is also nice for them to work with kids in small groups, or
one on one.
• Why Children Learn Faster with English Language Games?

There is nothing that engages children more than teaching English

through play. Indeed a bored class will take in less than half of what a
teacher says and retain none of it. Whereas an attentive, interested and
involved class, learning through fun English Language games, will take in
100% of the lesson and retain up to 80% of it. Using language games in
class has got to be one of the most exciting ways to teach children English.

It is well documented that English language games enhance learning

and with children are one of the most effective classroom tools.

Learning Vocabulary through Games:

The Effectiveness of Learning through Games, report that 'The interviewed

teacher reported that their students seemed to learn new vocabulary more
quickly and retain it better when it was applied in a relaxed and comfortable
environment such as while playing games'. Words, as we all know, are the
very building blocks of language. If a child can rapidly
learn and retain significant amounts of new vocabulary using games, then no
wonder teachers are seeking to use English language games more and more
in their classrooms all over the world.
 That is why it is shocking to see comments on forums where teachers
suggesting that teaching with games are frivolous or not really productive.
This is an outdated perception and these teachers would benefit from being
shown some of the new language games used in English classrooms today.
These games are effective and are guaranteed to obtain better results than
traditional teaching methods.

Teachers will also ask 'Can one teach all the time with English
language games, or does one use them for a few minutes at the end of the
lesson as a reward?' Now if you think about this question its absurdity may
become apparent to you. Why would you deny children the learning
experience they prefer? Furthermore, why would you ration out the use of a
great learning tool to a few minutes at the end?

Would you not want, instead, to maximize your time using the most
effective teaching method, and the one which your students enjoy the most?
Do you think your pupils prefer to sit there passively while little Susie reads
stumblingly through paragraph one, or do you think the class would prefer to
be involved in an exciting language game where everyone has the chance to
use the words in paragraph one? Surely the method where the whole class is
actively involved in hearing and using English is going to be the winner as
far as capturing interest and encouraging language retention.

Importantly English language games give students a reason to

communicate, and a context for speaking practice. Repetition is the mother
of skill but constant, meaningless parrot-fashion repetition is not going to go
down well with your pupils. Therefore the repetition needed for language to
stick can be attractively packaged in a game and pass unnoticed as students
focus on the process of the game itself, all the while using the language in a
relaxed and above all fun environment.

Last but by no means is least the bond you will create with your pupils
when teaching with ESL games. This is surely the most fulfilling part of
being a teacher. Disseminating knowledge is a privilege, but to disseminate
love AND knowledge has got to be even better.

The results shows that 1000s of teachers be an inspiration to their pupils and
achieve results 2x as fast. Improve the effectiveness of your lessons by up to
80%.

How English Games Help Children Learn?

Games not only engage the children, but also teach through play – and
most of the time the children don’t even know they are learning until the
time comes to show their knowledge! It truly is possible (and almost
necessary) to create a classroom where the students not only learn but also
truly enjoy their time there.

• How to Teach a Child English One to One?

How to make one to one teaching fun, whether you are a teacher with
private pupils or a parent wanting to teach English to your child in a fun
way.
• Teaching English Tips to Stay in Control of a Large

Class:

This is good news, because children love to learn through games, and
become much more motivated students as a result. However games often
make children excited and if you have a large class you need a few things up
your sleeve to bring the class into line immediately if things get a little over-
heated. Here are some tips and ideas to help you.

• Motivating Young Children to Learn English: Keeping Their

Attention without Giving Them Gifts:

Young children are often eager, almost too eager. The problem arises
when they are eager to do things other than what you’re trying to teach them.
Here are six top tips to keep them interested in class and motivated to do
what you want them to do.

• Teaching Grammar with Fun Learning Games:

Why teach children English grammar with games? Research is

showing that this is an excellent way to do it. What kind of games work
best? This article answers those questions and is written for those teaching
English as a second language to children.
• How to Effectively use Games in the Preschool:

Things to consider and watch out for when teaching children with
games. Make sure the children are stimulated and learning without the chaos
games can sometimes cause.

• Making Learning Fun in the Pre-K or Preschool

Classroom:

Preschoolers are cute, funny and often eager to learn, but they are also
energetic, active and difficult to keep on any particular task for more than a
few minutes. Two of the best Pre-K teaching tools are stories and games.
Using games, stories and songs for young children will make your classroom
fun and exciting and your pupils will absorb and learn English quicker and
more efficiently than if you use traditional teaching methods.

• Using Stories in the Preschool Classroom:

Do you want to start using stories in the preschool classroom but don't
know where to start? There are many great pre-k activities for classrooms,
including games, but it's also very important to not discount the power of
stories. Whether you're reading a classic book, making up a story as you go
along or designing one specifically for a particular lesson, you'll want to be
sure to include a story in the preschool class each day.
• Learning Styles, How to Implement Them and Have Fun:

Understanding learning styles helps a teacher reach his or her students

more effectively as well as making lessons much more fun and varied. This
article describes different learning styles and gives concrete examples of
how to use them in class so teachers always have something up their sleeves
at the right time!

• Classroom Games for Different Learning Styles:

It can be a challenge making grammar and vocabulary fun. However

understanding learning styles opens up a new world of possibilities to the
teacher, helping him or her connect with the students better, teach them
more effectively and liven up the lessons significantly!

• Discover How To Appeal To Your Students' Learning

Styles:

Enrich your lessons with an understanding of learning styles and how

to implement activities that appeal to all styles. Traditional teaching methods
tend to neglect kinesthetic and tactile learning styles and are often dry. Find
out what you can do as a teacher to reach out to all your students and be a
more effective teacher, while massively enlivening your classes.
• Transform Your Teaching By Tapping Into Different

Learning Styles:

An exciting article on the benefits of tapping into different learning

styles and how this makes teaching more fun and effective. Teachers create a
closer bond with students and students are able to learn and retain language
better.
Use our alphabets in scrapbooks:

Use them to decorate your scrapbook pages, or spell out your child's
name on a school folder or workbook or file.

Make door signs:

Children love to mark their own territory with their name on their
bedroom door! Depending on age they can perhaps color and cut their own
sign, which can then be laminated for durability if you wish.

Make key rings, satchel tags:

Print and laminate your child's initial, make a hole and attach to a key
ring. Or use a ribbon or string to decorate a school bag or satchel so that
your child will easily identify it.

Decorate bulletin boards:

Teachers will come up with all sorts of ideas for using the alphabets
on bulletin boards and around the classroom.
Learning the alphabet:
Print out one of our alphabet strips and display it where little ones will
see it all the time! You may want to choose lower case letters for the UK, as
most children are introduced to these first. Go through the alphabet
regularly, pointing to the letters and saying the sounds they make; of course
you can also sing the alphabet song!

Alphabet flashcards:

Our alphabets make wonderful flashcards. Choose one which will

appeal to your child, and print onto colored card if you like. Laminate for
durability and you will be able to use it for all sorts of games in the future.

Play alphabet bingo:

If you print one of the alphabet strips and leave it in sections, each
section forms an easy alphabet bingo card for little children. Give each child
one or two sections. Print out a matching set of alphabet cards and put them
in the middle of the table. Take turns to choose an alphabet card and see if
you have the matching letter on your bingo section. If you do you could
cover it with the card, or with a counter. The first to fill their section
completely is the winner.

Upper and lower case bingo:

Both the penguin strip and the sweet heart strip have upper and lower
case letters. Print out a set of lower case sections as the bingo cards, and
print out the upper case letters onto individual alphabet cards. Play as above.
 These bingo games are great games for mixed aged
siblings to play together as the competitive element keeps the
game fun for all ages.

Alphabet race:

Print out one of the alphabet strips and use it as a game board. Have a
counter for each player and a dice. Put the counters at the beginning of the
board (that is, just before the "a") and let the youngest child roll and move
their counter the appropriate number of spaces. Depending on the age of the
child, you can adapt the game in many ways:

• when you land on a letter, you say the sound that the letter makes or
move back x number of spaces
• when you land on a letter, you say the name of that letter or move
back
• say a word which begins (or ends) with the letter you have landed on,
or move back
• say a noun, adjective, verb, adverb etc which begins with the letter
you have landed on, or move back

The winner is the first to reach "z"! This game is also very adaptable for
different ages, as you can assign each child a task appropriate to their age
and skill.
Alphabet files folder anagram game:

Cut out one of the alphabets and place them in a never-ending path or
circle, like a board game. You can place them in random or alphabetical
order. Provide each child with a counter and a piece of paper and pencil. The
children choose a letter and place their counter on it, writing the letter on
their piece of paper. Now take it turns to roll one or two dice and move
around the board. Wherever your counter lands, write down that letter on
your paper. The first child to find a three-letter word using their letters wins.
Older children can play with four or five letter words. You can also print out
extra copies of the vowels and most popular consonants and use more than
one of them on your board.

Alphabet scramble:

Print out a set of alphabet cards and choose a combination which

makes a word appropriate for your child's age. Scramble them up and have
the child put them in the right order. You can make this game more energetic
by "hiding" the cards around the room and telling the child how many cards
he has to find. It is also a fun team game: use two different sets of alphabet
cards and the kids will have great fun running around each other trying to
find where their cards are hidden without giving away cards to the other
team!

Alphabet trail:

Create a trail of alphabet cards around the room (or house), spelling
out a word or short sentence which the child will need to write down in a
little notebook and present to you when he reaches the end. You can make
this more difficult for older children by throwing in "extra" letters which he
will need to identify and exclude.

Which letter is missing?

Lay out a set of alphabet cards in alphabetical order. While the

children close their eyes, take one card away. On your command they open
their eyes and identify which letter is missing.

Beginning, middle and end:

Use a set of alphabet cards and 3 containers (bowls, paper plates etc)
marked "beginning", "middle" and "end". Shuffle the cards and have the
child turn them over one by one and place them in the appropriate container.
Younger children could do this with the help of an alphabet strip.

Either side:

Using a set of alphabet cards, turn one over at a time and try to
identify as quickly as possible the letter before, the letter after, or both!
Younger children could use an alphabet strip to help.
Alphabetical sort:

Simply shuffle up a set of alphabet cards and put them back into order
as quickly as possible.

How many words:

Give each player a piece of paper and a pencil, and shuffle a pack of
alphabet cards. Decide on a "theme" such as flowers, girls' names, cities etc.
Turn the top card over and, in a given amount of time, see how many words
you can write down which begin with that letter. You can control this game
more by deciding after the card is turned over what the theme will be!

A shorter and easier (and noisier) variation of the game is to decide on

a theme for the whole game, and to try to shout out an answer as quickly as
possible for each letter. Perhaps the winner of each round could take a
counter and at the end of the game the counters are tallied for the winner.

Alphabet magnets:

You can use the printable alphabets to make magnets, by laminating

them and attaching magnets to the back.

Change a letter:

Choose a word and find the correct letters to assemble for your child.
Challenge them to change the word to another by swapping one letter at a
time. For example, change "cat" to "cot" to "cop" and so on.
Alphabet Go Fish:

Print out two sets of alphabet cards (you could print one set of upper
case and one set of lower case if appropriate) and deal five cards to each
player. Place remaining cards in a stack face down in the middle of the table.
Players check their hands for any pairs, and place them face up in front of
them if they have any. The youngest player then asks a player of his choice
whether he has a particular card. If he does, he must hand it over, and the
pair can be placed on the table. If he doesn't, he says "Go Fish", and the first
player must take a card from the centre pile. The winner is the first player to
put all their cards down on the table.

Alphabet Old Maid:

You need at least three players. Print out two sets of alphabet cards,
and include one blank card too. Doctor the set so that there are enough cards
for each player to have between 6 and 8 cards (less for younger players) and
the pack is made up of pairs plus the extra card - you will have an odd
number of cards! Shuffle and deal out the cards. Each player checks their
hands for any pairs, and places them face up in front of them if they have
any. The youngest player then turns to the player on his left, and takes a card
(without looking at it!) from his hand. If it makes a pair with one in his hand,
he can put it down on the table. Play continues around the circle until one
player is left holding the odd card and is called the "Old Maid".
Alphabet Match up:

Print out and join together an alphabet strip of lower or upper case
letters (laminate if required). Write the other case of letters onto a set of
wooden clothes pegs (you can usually buy these very cheaply at a pound /
dollar store). Ask your child to clip the clothes pegs at the correct place on
the line.

Alphabet war:

Print out a set of alphabet cards. Deal them evenly between two
players. Players turn over the first card on their pile simultaneously, and call
out if their card is closer to the beginning (or end) of the alphabet. They take
both cards. The winner has the most cards when the pack is completed.

Which is missing?

Make two copies (or how ever many you need) of alphabets and
numbers. Lay the cards in alphabetical or numerical order replacing one of
the letter / number cards with the “?” Card. Ask child to identify the missing
letter or number. For older child, the number cards could be placed in skip
counting sequence, backwards, etc. The letters could be used to spell words.
 Children learn through play. And letter or number bingo is a great
place to start. With our templates, you can make your own bingo game
boards. But first, a few words on how to play:

Keep it Fun:

Don’t forget parents, this is a game. You want to challenge your child,
and help him learn his letters and numbers, but not bring him to the point of
frustration. If your child does not know the letter or number that you’ve
called, show him the card. That way your child can find the matching letter
on his bingo card.

Make It Sturdy:

This bingo game will take a beating. If you use the templates, consider
printing them out on card stock, or other thick paper. You can also make
your bingo cards”by hand"-- use a ruler and a black marker to make the
boxes and print the letters or numbers inside the boxes.
Templates not quite to your liking? No problem.

Your computer’s word processing program is an instant-bingo-maker.

Simply insert a table with as many rows and columns as you like. Add the
letters or numbers in the boxes, choosing a font that looks most like the
letters your child is accustomed to seeing (I used the Comic Sans font).
Print the bingo cards onto a heavier paper and you are ready to begin!

Tailor Things:

Since you’re creating your bingo cards from scratch, you can control
the level of fun and challenge. Use the amount of letters and numbers that
are appropriate for your child. You may want to start with as few as four
letters or as many as ten. Gradually increase the amount of letters and
numbers as your child learns more.

Make it a Family Night!

Bingo can be played with just two players but it’s really a lot more fun
if you can get the whole family (or a bunch of friends) involved. One person
(the caller) calls out the letters and numbers. Players look for what’s called
and place a marker (punched out circles or pennies work just fine) on the
letter or number if it’s on their card. Whether you play until the whole board
is covered, until someone gets all four corners, or until the first person has a

complete row, is up to you. Don't forget to yell “Bingo!”

 Young children are simply sponges that want to learn something all
the time and when they come to school especially they want to know the
alphabet. Usually by the time they're 3 or 4 they've learned the alphabet song
and yet that is simply a rote repetition of the letters and doesn't really teach
them what the alphabet is. As they get into kindergarten teachers often times
use one day for a letter of the alphabet and they immerse the children in that
letter not only how to write it in the uppercase form and the lowercase form
but also how does that feel. They sometimes use sandpaper and let them
trace the letter with their fingers with the sandpaper or in the sand.

They make them out of cookie dough. They bring all kinds of things
to school that start with that letter and they use all of your senses to get
going with the sense of the alphabet and what that letter means, how it
sounds and where it is within words as well. But learning the alphabet for
some children is very easy. For other it's quite difficult to understand what
comes before what other letter because we build on all of that letter
identification as we begin to alphabetize words later, learn how to use skills
in the dictionary and things like that. But letters are very important. And the
magical thing about the 26 letters in our alphabet is when you look at every
book in the library and every book on the shelf you know that someone has
taken only those 26 letters and they've made all of that writing.

A for apple, B for ball… became very usual now a days and kids get
bored after a certain extent. So in the upper kinder garden instead of apple,
ball… they can be taught A for AppleComputers, B for Bluetooth… So the
kids automatically get updated and can manage the higher classes easily and
also gain computer knowledge easily.

Correctly identifying all of the letters of the alphabet is one of the first
steps in learning to read. Although most students experience little difficulty
mastering this task, many students with learning problems encounter failure
and frustration when presented with this seemingly simple step in the
reading process.

Learning to read is a daunting task for many children, and it becomes

a monumental obstacle for many children with special needs. The various
subtasks in the reading process are numerous, and mastering all of them
requires that the teacher possess an in-depth understanding of the skills
involved and an array of strategies to teach these skills to a diverse body of
students. Letter recognition has long been regarded as one of the crucial
components of the reading process, and recent studies support the contention
that identifying the letters of the alphabet is perhaps the single best predictor
of subsequent reading success for children.

Many children can start from ‘A’ and finish with ‘Z’ without any
flaws. But this is not enough to come to a decision that the kid learned the
alphabet. He/she should be able to recognize the letters individually and also
ready to say the letters in mixed order. Most of the kids just by heart the
entire alphabets as a song and recite it fully, but when we stop them in
middle they can’t continue then. They can only start from ‘A’ and finish in
‘Z’. So, recognition exercises are very important for kids. Only this makes
kids to master the alphabets and get a strong foundation. When a kid
undergoes a stream of recognition exercises they will never forget alphabets.
 There are many simple exercises that make kid to practice alphabets
well and some of them are listed below:

Alphabet Antics:

• This is a simple game. The letters will move on the screen.

• One of those letters will be told.
• If the kid chose the correct letter then monkey escapes from the snake.
• If the kid continues to miss the correct letters then the monkey will be
eaten by the snake.
• Usually the kids have soft corner for the monkey and they try to save
the monkey by choosing the alphabets correctly.

Alphabet matching:

• Number of this type of charts can be prepared and given to the kid to
practice daily.
• After continuous practice, the kid is able to recognize the letters very
quickly.
• Upper and lower case letters can also be remembered easily.
 • After this single letter practice, kid can be moved on for matching
many letters.

• This type of charts can be prepared for the kids.

• They can be encouraged to match the correct cases by writing the
pairs nearby.
• Many kids have the problem of recognizing the upper and lower case
letters when many letters are given as a list.
• These kinds of practice make them clear about lower and upper case
letters easily.

Coloring Alphabets:

• Children are very interested in coloring the pictures.

• This can be utilized very well and used for practicing recognition of
alphabets.
 • Following chart is prepared or bought and crayons and sketches are
also given to the child.
• When we say “capital H” the kid should recognize and color the letter
correctly.
• As rewards, kid may be given new sketches.
• Meanwhile the corresponding words can also be taught and kid can
color those pictures also.

Importance of recognition:

Learning to recognize letters is an integral part of most kindergarten

programs. The challenge is to keep students’ interest while practicing until
they are fluent. Kids will apply their knowledge of letters and letter sounds
as they play games and interact with letters, using what they see and learn to
create their own ABC book.
 From Theory to Practice

• Most letters’ names are similar to the sounds they make, so knowing
the names of letters leads to a better understanding of letter sounds.

• Understanding letter sounds helps young children with beginning

reading and writing skills.

• Becoming fluent in letter recognition helps children to become more

familiar and at ease with the alphabet.

• Allowing students to interact with letters in a variety of learning

experiences helps to build their letter recognition fluency.

Student Objectives

Students will

• Interact with letters in a variety of settings to better understand the

letter name–sound connection.

• Build their letter-recognition fluency through a variety of activities

including the exploration of interactive alphabet sites.

• Demonstrate their knowledge of letter names and sounds by creating

an alphabet book.

• Practice sharing their work by participating in whole-class and partner

discussions.
Fig. Alphabet Picture Board
Instruction and Activities:

Session 1

Before students arrive at school, hide the letter cards around the room.

For special education students or students who don’t know all of their
letters, the goal can be changed to three letters in their ABC book and
only one page is given to work on at a time. When they complete a
page, a new page is given to work on. It also may be helpful to have
students start with the letters in their name since they will be more
likely to know those.

Students are allowed to work independently, monitoring them while

they are working. As they draw a picture in their books, they are
asked to tell about their drawing. The word may be written below the
picture. For students who are already writing can be encouraged to
write the word below the picture, listening especially to the beginning
sound as they write. For kindergarten students, invented spelling is
fine.

To end the session, students have to share their books with the
partners selected. Students can be told that if their partners drew a
picture for a letter that they didn’t get to, they can add that to their
book.
Instructions to the teachers:

1. Before beginning this lesson, copy the Alphabet Picture Pages.

Color the pictures, cut them out, and laminate them.

2. Print out and assemble a copy of My ABC Book for each student in
the class. Each page is designed to be cut in half and then stapled together so
that the final book is the size of a half sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper.

3. Make letter cards by writing one letter on each index card. Use the
students’ skill level to help to decide whether to use upper- or lowercase or
both on the cards.

4. Assign students a partner for sharing. Consider the needs in each

class and pair students accordingly.

5. Make copies of the Letter Cards handout for students to take home.
Preview the ABC Match game and decide whether to ask students to play
the game online at home with an adult or if you would rather print off the
game cards for students to take home and play.

6. Print out enough Uh-Oh! Cards so that you have a set for each
group of three or four students in your class. Copy the cards onto cardstock,
laminate them, cut them apart, and place in a paper bag or small container
for Session 3.
Cursive is any style of handwriting that is designed for writing notes and
letters quickly by hand. In the Arabic, Latin, and Cyrillic writing systems,
the letters in a word are connected, making a word one single complex
stroke. In fact, the word comes from the Latin cursivus, meaning "flowing.

In the UK, the phrase "joined-up writing" or "joint writing" is far more
commonly used, while the term "running writing" or "handwriting" is
most commonly used in Australia. Cursive is also commonly known as
simply "handwriting" in Canada and New Zealand. Cursive is considered
distinct from the so-called "printing" or "block letter" style of handwriting,
in which the letters of a word are unconnected, and from "print-writing",
which is a cross between cursive and printing, with some unconnected letters
and some connected. In the Hebrew cursive and Roman cursive, the letters
are not connected. In the research domain of handwriting recognition, this
writing style is called "connected cursive", to indicate the difference
between the phenomenon of italic and sloppy appearance of individual
letters ("cursive") and the phenomenon of connecting strokes between
letters, i.e., a letter-to-letter transition without a pen lift ("connected
cursive"). The origin of the cursive style is associated with practical
advantages (writing speed, sparse pen lifting avoids ink smudges with the
quill) and the individuality of the provenance of a document, as opposed to
machine font.

Spelling

Inventive spelling is not an instructional technique but rather something that

is encouraged or discouraged by a child's teachers and parents. Inventive
spelling is not universally accepted. Whether teachers and parents encourage
inventive spelling is generally connected to those individuals' perspectives
on the importance of experimentation in learning.

Critics of inventive spelling have made compelling arguments, based on

scientific research, that inventive spelling does not produce superior writing
skills. Studies show that inventive spelling may actual hinder writing
development by failing to correct improper spelling through a teacher's
misinterpretation of the intended word or failure to follow-up with a student
in order to teach the correct spelling.

There are several instructional principles, as follows:

• At first, the teachers should accept all of the student's writing as

meaningful writing. As students gain more experience, they begin to
learn the correct spellings of words and use these spellings in their
writings.
• Let the students write freely and independently.
• Ask students to read what they have written.
• Read the text, or repeat the story as if you are reading it.
• Ignore spelling and grammar errors, unless the students ask to be
corrected.
• Rewrite the text if students want you to.
• Help the students to create their own word lists as they write or edit so
they can find out the proper spellings.

One aspect of inventive spelling rarely discussed by its advocates is the toll
it takes on teachers' time. Recent studies suggest that to be effective a
spelling teacher also must correctly guess what words children meant to use
when they invent spellings. The possible deductions are numerous and
potentially complicated.

Whether teachers encourage children to use inventive spellings or not,

analyzing them has several key advantages:

• Children's invented spellings help teachers understand what students

know and do not know about the phonetic structure of the language.
• Sophisticated spelling, even if it is not conventional, may indicate
strong phonological awareness.

Examining invented spellings may help researchers understand the

development of phonological awareness and understanding of sound-symbol
correspondences

For those teachers who emphasize constructivist, inventive spellings, there

are further advantages:

• Children who are allowed to spell inventively may learn an earlier

appreciation for writing.
• Children who spell inventively may be more creative in their writing
because they focus less on form.

It should be noted that the above two suppositions on the benefits of

inventive spelling have not been empirically verified and are not generally
accepted by neurolinguists, who study the natural learning process of spoken
language and have recently determined that reading and spelling are not
"hard-wired", natural processes.
Costs

Permitting or encouraging children to spell inventively has some costs.

• According to some research, children may learn to spell correctly

faster if they are taught to do so in a direct and systematic way.
• Encouraging inventive spelling may delay children's conventional
spelling development.
• Early excitement about writing may give way to later frustration when
students feel a lack of confidence about their misspellings.
• Some students like to spell things correctly and may resist attempts to
get them to spell inventively.
• Practicing bad spelling habits ingrains them and makes them difficult
to overcome, while spelling correctly from the beginning eliminates
this problem

Here are a few tips to get started:

• Provide a quiet, comfortable, and warm atmosphere to work with your

child.
• Make sure that the child understands the directions before beginning a
handwriting lesson.
• Show the child how to write on a separate paper while giving the
instructions.
• Limit each session to one or two lessons
Importance of Pencil Grip:

A Good pencil grip is one of the first steps to developing good

handwriting skills. As a parent you can help you child to develop good
pencil grip. Correct pencil grip will allow your child to write quickly and
smoothly, while a tight or incorrect grip can hinder writing.

The Tripod Pencil Grasp: This pencil grip is the one that is most
recommended by schools. The pencil should be positioned so that there is
equal pressure between the thumb, the side of the middle finger and the tip
of the index finger.

All fingers are bent slightly. When a pencil is held correctly, the
thumb and forefinger form an oval when a child holds the pencil. Tension in
the hand or fingers indicates weak fine motor skills.

You can improve your child's fine motor skills through various
writing activities or through other fun activities which involve movement of
fingers (like playing with play dough).

"We all know alphabets, so why not we just write the alphabets on a
sheet of paper and get our children to practice their handwriting?" If you are
thinking like that then you are not alone. However I am sorry to say that it is
the wrong approach. We need to practice the alphabets as per the method
approved by the education board.
 Good handwriting worksheets have numbers and arrows on each
alphabet. Good handwriting worksheets have to take a step by step approach.
'12 is where you start from - so the child starts at '12 and goes along the
direction of the arrow. And then the child goes to '22 and moves along the
direction of the arrow next to '22. And then finally the child goes to '32 and
moves along the direction of the arrow next to ‘32.

One of the other benefits of getting children to practice their

handwriting on formal handwriting sheets is that the letters are in between
the lines. This way you are teaching them about proportion of the lines.
Practice is the best way to improve a child's writing.

Fine Motor Skills is the ability to control small precise movements

with the fingers, wrists and hands. It’s important to practice the fine motor
skills for young children. These skills play an important role in a child's
handwriting.

Good posture is important and plays a key role in handwriting skills.

Bad posture creates stress on young spines. A lowered chin means your neck
muscles are carrying the weight and the strain will flow right down the neck
and down the back. So don't let your kids slouch. We have all heard
'handwriting analysis' before. 'Graphology' is the analysis of handwriting
particularly in relation human mind. People who have the skills to analyze
handwriting determine a person's character by analyzing their handwriting.

Don't underestimate the importance of good handwriting skills. The

best age to teach good handwriting skills to your children is between 3 and
10. However don't make it a boring ritual. Practicing handwriting is hard
work and can be quite boring for kids. Try to make it a fun exercise. Don't
be too hard on them and go slow.

Learning to write numbers and letters is an important task for

children. It should be exciting and an enjoyable activity through which
children can experience success.

Kids should be shown in simple steps how to write the numbers,

letters, and sentences. Kids can trace uppercase and lowercase letters and
even blank sheets should be provided for kids to practice more before their
next lessons!

All kids can improve their writing skills with lots of practice. If some
kids are having difficulties, lessons or practice sheets can be reprinted
until they're ready to move forward to the next lesson. The practice sheets
are useful for parents or teachers to create their own letters, words, and
sentences.

Reading is also important. It will be exciting and rewarding for the

child to read from their own handwriting after they have completed their
lessons!

Never lose patience when the child is learning how to write.

Conclusion

Children should start writing the day they begin school because of

their interest in sharing and communicating with others. Young children

have a natural energy to write but as they age, they develop a desire to

please the teacher and lose interest in writing. It is imperative for teachers to

write in front of their students, so children see the importance of writing, and

teachers can openly teach and model their writing thought process. Journal

writing is most successful for students because it helps them develop an

interest in writing and builds a feeling of competence, since children choose

their own topics and the focus is on content. To help build confidence and

self-esteem, children should share their writings either one-on-one with the

teacher or with the entire class. Teachers can take this time to give mini-

lessons to address the changing needs and abilities of the writers as well as

celebrate all accomplishments they make as writers. Using a writing

curriculum is also a good time to teach phonics because it is more effective

and authentic than teaching phonics in isolation. Children need this

instruction to gain phonemic awareness and move to the phonetic stage of

writing. It is very beneficial to use environmental print in the classroom, if

children take part in developing it because it is developmentally appropriate

and meaningful since children have concrete and personal experience with it.
Children improve sight word recognition with the use of invented spelling

because along with learning letters that represent sounds they simultaneously

acquire sight vocabulary of commonly used words. Using a writing

curriculum benefits reading and language arts skills because children know

their letters and sounds better and understand why they need to know letters

and sounds. Teachers as well as students gain confidence and self-esteem as

the children have writing successes. Teachers should set high expectations

and help their students learn to choose their own topics to help build

confidence.