Today I had the privilege of attending a virtual literacy conference hosted by IMSE. It was an awesome day of learning, rekindling my passion for giving young children every advantage to succeed in learning how to read and becoming life long readers. One of the keynote speakers was Maryanne Wolf, an educator and advocate for children and literacy. Her wealth of knowledge and experience in research is astounding.
Maryanne spoke about the importance of reaching children in the early years even before they reach Kindergarten. Her research shows the need for systematic and explicit instruction of the foundational skills beginning with phonological awareness and the disadvantage created when these skills are not taught at a young age.
These skills are so important for all children but especially important for children with dyslexia. Maryanne gives the example of climbing a ladder, you want to start on the bottom rung and climb higher, not skip the lower rungs and try to reach the higher rungs first.
If you read my first post on What is Phonological Awareness?, I listed the individual skills included in phonological awareness. There is a progression of skills that children must master before they can learn to read independently and become strong readers. Children struggling with reading in third grade and after, are often missing those important skills. The second skill on the list is alliteration , where in a string of words, all the words begin with the same letter or beginning sound. Here are some fun ways to teach this important skill.
Teaching Alliteration With Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are a fun way to teach children to listen for the same beginning sounds. Here are some fun activities to teach this skill:
1. For younger children, you can read the tongue twisters in small group or carpet time.
2.The teacher can read while the children name the repeating sound.
3. A teacher could write out the tongue twister on chart paper and have the children circle the repeating letters.
4. In another activity, the teacher could read the tongue twister and the children could find a matching picture that illustrates the twister.
Teaching Alliteration With Puzzles
Have the children put together simple homemade puzzles, matching the pictures or words that have the same beginning letter. My kindergartners love this kind of puzzle.
Children’s Books and Poems
There are some great children’s books out there for alliteration! I always love to do read alouds with my students so it’s a great way to teach a fun skill. Here are some great books to teach alliteration:
Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!
Teaching Alliteration With Class Poems
As a class, you and your students can write poems with alliteration. The teacher can write the poem out on chart paper and hang in the classroom. You can also type and print the poem for each student and have them illustrate and display their work.
These are just a few ideas I use in my Kindergarten room, the possibilities are endless! Have fun and be creative! I would love to hear your ideas.
One Response