The past few weeks in my elementary school, I have seen different aspects of literacy lessons. The first is of phonics, and the second is of writing. The phonics program my teacher is implementing in her classroom is called the “Phonics Dance.” It is a series of chants/songs and movements to help students in correlating a letter sound with a letter’s name and what the letter looks like. So far, I have only seen the students as they engaged in the alphabet. Starting next week though, they move on to a section called “Hunks & Chunks” where they learn sounds like sh-, ch-, th-, etc. and I am very excited to see what this looks and sounds like.
The writing lessons that I have seen have focused more on handwriting and how to correctly make letters than on an actual writer’s workshop. My cooperating teacher always works on their handwriting pre-writer’s workshop and she says it seems to really help them once they begin. They aren’t questioning how to make a letter, the difference between capitals and lower-case, etc. The handwriting program she uses is called “Handwriting Without Tears” and I really like it. The students have their own workbooks that correlate to her overheads, and the letters are put into categories based on where they start on the page and the shape they make. It is really interesting, and it is a program I would definitely recommend using.
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The phonics programs sounds awesome! I like how it goes beyond the alphabet, and now they are going to be learning other important sounds.
ReplyDeleteI can also understand how teaching handwriting before writer's workshop can be helpful. The workbook is probably a great resource to have! I like that they have a reminder of how to form letters before they start writing words and sentences. In second grade, I have a few students who form their letters in very different ways. Maybe a program and reminders such as this would have helped them to learn how to write the correctly.
What a cool phonics program! It sounds like a very concrete way of learning phonics. So often phonics is an area where kids struggle because they can't relate to it and don't enjoy it. I remember hating phonics because we read from a book and then answered questions on a worksheet. It was boring and I didn't understand why I needed to learn it. By incorporating song and dance into phonics, I'm sure it is a lot of fun for the kids and makes it more relevant. I would be really interested in learning more about this program.
ReplyDeleteThe "Handwriting Without Tears" program also sounds awesome! I have so many fourth graders this semester who still can't hold their pencils and form their letters correctly. This program would have definitely benefitted them!
I LOVE that your teacher is using a phonics dance. That is so cute! I am sure that your students love this method of learning because it doesn't feel like being taught; it just feels like they're having lots of fun. This seems like an excellent way aid in the students' remembering various letters and the sounds/shapes that coincide with them.
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