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Years ago when I taught in a preschool classroom I felt overwhelmed at helping my class begin to grasp phonics. My preschoolers varied in age from 3-5 and were all over the place as far as development.
They came from different socioeconomic backgrounds and had wildly different amounts of background knowledge about every subject, not just phonics.
Needing to find a way to include phonics in this multi-age group presented me with a challenge. I had to find a way to reach each of them in a way that was relevant to all of them.
Yet, it had to take into consideration their uniquenesses and varied understanding of the topic. I wanted to be able to engage and reach those who hadn’t had any exposure and those who were already familiar with phonics. And, all at the same time.
And, I stumbled upon the easiest way in the world to do it.
I started speaking their names with intention every day.
Connecting Letter Recognition with Phonics
Of course, I already used their names, but I started a simple routine of saying the first letter of each of my kiddos names and it’s sound each time I spoke with them. For example, I would say “Bbb, B for Brooke” when talking with her.
And, I didn’t even do it all the time. But, after a very short period of time, I started to see amazing things happen. My kids not only started to understand and internalize the phonics that represented the beginning sound of their own names, but they began to repeat and know all of their friend’s as well.
And it worked for all of them. I couldn’t believe that something so simple could work for each child in my classroom. But, it did. Over and over again they each grasped the concept and started to progress in their understanding. No matter what their previous exposure to phonics instruction had been. And, simply repeating the letter along with the phonic connected the letters with their sounds.
My kids would sing-song names with me as we walked to the playground, to lunch, around the classroom. It was the easiest possible way to introduce and practice phonemic awareness. And, if it could work for my class of drastically differing students it could work for any child.
Why Phonics Practice is important
Letter names do not represent all of a letter’s phonetic sounds, which can cause confusion and frustration for children learning how to read and write. The letter names for the English alphabet, even if they say a letter’s sound, take into account just the one. And, many letters often make more than one sound.
For example, a child may be able to recognize the letter “A” and this also is how to pronounce the long “A” sound that the letter makes. But, it’s just one of the sounds for this letter.
And, knowing the name of the letter doesn’t help them to know the short “A” sound, as in the word ant. That has to be taught as well. And, then there are letters like ‘w’ and ‘h’ that don’t give a clue about their phonetic sound in their letter name.
The solution is to make sure that children hear and practice phonics as much as they are practicing letter recognition and alphabet recitation. But, it doesn’t need to be stressful. You’re going for exposure. Just like pointing out letters on the cover of a book to help them with letter recognition. Saying, “Ssss, S for Sam,” adds in phonics. But, makes it quick and painless.
Why Using Your Child’s Name Works
Development
It works well because at this age children are egocentric, thinking almost exclusively from their own point of view. From around the age of two to about the age of seven children are in what Piaget referred to as the Preoperational stage. Part of Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development.
According to the theory, children in this stage of development assume that other people interpret the world in the same way they do, seeing and feeling the same things.
So, in practical terms when using a child’s name to start phonics instruction you are using the most relevant and meaningful word they know. In my classroom, my preschoolers learned their own first letter phonic easily. And then, because their friends were important to them, they also picked up on the first letter phonic of their classmate’s names.
Prior Knowledge
Prior knowledge is the best place to start when teaching anything. If you can find something your student is already familiar with you can build on that little by little.
And, all children know their name well. So, they don’t need any other prior knowledge for this to be a good start.
It encompasses children in a wide range of developmental and academic levels because they all know and recognize their first name. And, if they don’t yet have the ability to recognize the first letter of their name this still takes into account their prior knowledge. Saying the letter beside the phonic relates both the letter name and its sound back to that meaningful word, their own name.
Making Meaningful Connections
So, what if you’re a homeschooler? Or not in a classroom with ten other kiddos? Or you have an only child?
Start with your child’s name and work out in a circle of relevance and importance from your child’s point of view. Caregivers, like parents, would be at the top of a preschooler’s important things list, so move onto those familiar words. Then, use the names of siblings, pets, and a favorite stuffed animal or blanket that they carry around the house. Just follow your child’s lead and add more phonics and letter connections as they begin to grasp the relationships.
Not only will you be choosing things that are meaningful to them. But, the phonics and letters you’ll be focusing on are something they interact with on a daily basis. And, this simple repetition really sticks with young kiddos. Try singing it too. Or make it a game to see if your child can find other things that start with the same sound.
Writing it Down
My daughter and I have been using activities like these phonics dominoes I made for hands-on fun with phonics.
We’ve also been using the Ready for Reading Phonics Program by Jen Merkling this year. It is a great next step for learning phonics while still practicing letter recognition and more. It is hands-on and easy to implement. And, includes fun elements like board games that my daughter especially loves.
I hope these simple ideas help you to add in more purposeful phonics instruction.
Heidi
