Phonemic Awareness and Alphabetic Principle: Both Are Important

Many times people confuse the terms phonemic awareness and alphabetic principle. Both of these are important for our young learners. Be sure you know the difference so you can help children be school-ready. 

Phonemic awareness is the ability to manipulate the sounds of the language. This means children should be able to take off the first sound of words like mat, /m/, to say the remaining word is at. Additionally children should be able to say the three sounds (phonemes) in the word, mat - /m/, /a/, /t/. This should also be done in reverse. Can children say the word mat if you say the three phonemes, /m/, /a/, /t/? 

The key is that practice in phonemic awareness is all done orally! There are no letters involved. Sound "play" is key. And the results of a child having strong awareness of language sounds are compelling. The National Reading Panel (2000) cites the link between strong phonemic awareness and later abilities in phonics.

If phonemic awareness is all oral, then what do we call it when letters are involved? This is alphabetic principle. This is often confused with phonemic awareness and the result is that children do not get enough exploration with only sounds. 

When children are taught that this is an m, that is part of alphabetic principle. A child who can point to letters in his or her name, is exhibiting alphabetic principle. When a child points to m and tells you it says /m/, this is alphabetic principle.

Obviously alphabetic principle is important, but we can't forget about phonemic awareness. There is such a strong research-based correlation between phonemic awareness and later reading abilities, that we need to be sure we are allowing for this all oral language "play."  

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.E.06 & 2.E.07.
Head Start - VII. B & C.

Dental Visits: Words Matter!

Words matter! As teachers and families we can say something that we think may be encouragement, but it may have an unintended consequence. Think about the idea of fractions. Math teachers know that many young children have an aversion to fractions. Some attribute this to asking young children, who are still in the egocentric stage of development, to give away half of a cookie or other treat. This sets some children up to dislike fractions. 

Many children have a fear of the dentist. For some we need to coax them to go, amid tears. See our post here about overcoming fear of the dentist and here detailing ideas how to make dental health fun. In addition, we need to consider how we talk to children about visits to the dentist. 

Often families might say something like this, "You better brush your teeth or you will need to go to the dentist." Consider how this can easily be perceived as something to fear by a child. It sounds like a punishment, doesn't it? 

We can help families understand that giving positive directions equals a more positive attitude. Think about how the above sentence could be changed to, "Wow, I can't wait for your next trip to the dentist. She will be so impressed with your big smile." 

Be sure your words are ones that are reassuring and enthusiastic so children will have a more favorable outlook about their dental appointment. 

This child overcame his fear of the dentist and now looks forward to visits.

Please feel free to share our dental health links with families!

Rewarding Rewards

Stickers, little toys, bits of candy? What can we do to motivate our young learners? It IS more than these types of tangible prizes. We believe that teacher and family excitement is the best way to reward and encourage children. 

Let your face light up with happiness when a child asks you to read a special book. Jump for joy when a letter of the alphabet is said. Use tools like a big hand to clap to celebrate something special in the classroom. These all show a child you value his or her successes.  

Fun "tools" like this, available at party stores, make for excitement in the classroom.

Rather than traditional stickers, use the powerful sense of smell. Make a star on a child's hand with invisible chapstick. The sweet odor will remain for several hours and remind your young learner that you valued an accomplishment. 

Allow children a reward and learning experience at the same time. Give "free passes" to watch real animals in their natural habitats on-line. Websites like Explore.org allow children to view puffins, bears, and even bison. I found letting children see pandas was more powerful than a trip to the prize box. And what fantastic learning takes place, too!

Annotating In An Age-Approriate Way

It is important to help our children get in the habit of "having a conversation" with a book. This can be done in an age-appropriate way. Give children sticky notes with question marks and exclamation points on them. Make a game out of finding the parts that should be thought about again or for sections that children may question. This is the beginning of annotating, a valuable life-long skill we are encouraging in our K-12 classrooms. 

We also like gluing fun pictures on craft sticks. Fireworks can represent a part of a book that was very exciting. Have questions or not quite understand a part of a book? Is it muddy in your mind? Give children a picture of a pig covered in mud. This makes it silly. Admitting something is not well understood was never so much fun! 

Examples of developmentally-appropriate annotations.

Then, remember to go back and engage in dialogue about the sections that children marked. The conversation helps with oral language skills. 

For ELLs:
Looking through material more than once gives children processing time with the language. Rich discussions about parts of books that were unclear, exciting, or worth rereading make for valuable oral language practice.

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.04 & 2.E.04.
Head Start - VII.a. & VIII.B.

Close Reading For the Preschool Set!

When children go to school they will be expected to look closely at text for the deeper meaning. Of course, one read through a text won't help with this higher-order of comprehension. Several readings are necessary. For young children, we can help them to see the value in rereading parts of a book that may have been exciting, meaningful, or even confusing. 

One way to do this to to have families, teachers, and caregivers find parts of a book that contain key details. Watch in the video below how this mom chose specific pages to reread. She asked questions directed at helping the child understand characters and text features. Sharing this type of strategy with families can help children discover the benefits of rereading. 

Stay tuned for more on helping children develop close reading skills!

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.E.04.
Head Start - VII.A. 1, 3, 4, & 5.

Setting the Stage for Writing

Our young children will soon be readers and writers. In the Common Core era, we are asking even kindergartners to share their thoughts and opinions. Our current writing standards ask children to write argumentative essays along with narratives and informational text. How can we get our preschoolers ready for what seems like a difficult task? 

One of the best ways is to have children draw pictures to show their thoughts about something. They can illustrate the idea that more trees should be planted. They can draw a picture to show the importance of eating healthy food. There are so many valuable "social stands" that young children can take from caring about the environment to sharing ideas for a healthy lifestyle. This is the start of learning to write an argumentative essay.

Once these pictures have been drawn, children should find (or be assigned a partner). Model for children how to ask questions to encourage greater detail. For example, "I really like your little tree on the hill. Did someone plant the tree? I think your picture is great, but it would be even better if you added a person planting the tree." This gets children ready for peer editing and helps them learn to add detail, even in pictures.

When our young children are finished, have them record the story of their picture using Vocaroo.  Then click the QR code generator. Print and tape or glue the QR code to their art. Family members can scan this code with their phone and hear children sharing their story! 

For ELLs:
Encourage newcomers to tell their story in their first language. This will make for valuable discussion at home.

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.02, 2.D.06, & 2.D.07.
Head Start - VIII.B. 1, 2, 6, & 7.

Field Trip Tips

Summer can mean that those of you with children in your classrooms take them on more field trips than during the school year. Visits to places ranging from museums and aquariums to firehouses or even to a local farm make for fascinating summer learning opportunities. Here are a few tips to make these experiences even more meaningful (and safe!).

Families love to help. Send a family member as a "scout" to visit the locale in advance. You have likely checked it out, but it always helps to get a family member's eye on the spot. A mom, dad, or grandparent will often see things we do not. Ask your advance team to take photos of spots and sights that are not to be missed. These photos can be displayed in your classroom to get children ready and thinking about their field trip. On the day of the trip, they will have a better idea of special things to look for.

Two helpful safety practices can help your field trip run smoothly. One is to make name tags with the school name, your name, and cell phone number on them. Fasten these name tags on the INSIDE of shirts. Many suggest that children avoid wearing name tags where their names are displayed. It is easy for someone to take advantage of this. I always had my students wear hidden name tags.

Along these lines, I never assign a small touring group to myself. I divide my class among the family helpers. This means I can easily step in and help if an adult leader is having difficulty with a group member. I explain this to all the volunteers, who are given my cell phone number. I found that when they know I am ready and able to easily step in, they tend to call before a problem gets out of hand.

Finally, gather brochures, photos, etc. during your field trip. Later, make an interesting display in your classroom and encourage children to "walk down memory lane" by talking about their experiences. What a great expressive language opportunity! You may even want to enlarge a few photos, laminate them, and cut them apart to create puzzles. Children love this!

ELL  Connection:
This is a wonderful opportunity to engage newcomer families in your classroom. Let them know that their language skills are valued and needed. Having this type of support for children who are just learning English makes for a more meaningful and safer field trip. And everyone feels involved!

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.D.03 & 04.
Head Start - VIII. A & B.