• Home
  • Lifestyle & Classroom Blog
  • Teachers Pay Teachers
  • T-shirt Design & More
  • All About Tchr888
  • Contact

TCHR888

Live, Love, Teach

Teaching Letters & Sounds (small group instruction)

November 9, 2014

Share3
Tweet
Pin106
Share
Share
109 Shares

Thinking about my first year in a kindergarten classroom is kind of embarrassing. While I was excited about teaching and landing my first job and having my own classroom, I realized I was clueless about teaching kids how to read. I seriously thought my college classes had prepared me for that part of instruction, I mean they told us about running records, reading levels…. for actual readers, but what about Kinders who come in with a clean slate??!!! I mean seriously, education is literally trial and error, you either hit or miss, and when you miss, you better have plan B, C, D, E, F, G etc….  ready to go! I remember going to veteran teachers and asking for help, going on line and googling “how to teach kids how to read” and at the end of the day I still felt so empty handed. Even at our team meetings and planning, I just felt like what I was learning and planning didn’t coincide with the foundations student’s needed to become emergent readers, something was missing.
One of those weary days I decided to ask our Speech Pathologist for advice. She would come in twice a week and work with several of my students and on one of those days, I built up the courage (she just seemed unapproachable “older” and always on the run ) to ask her what her idea of teaching kids how to read was! Oh my… it was the best day ever (I can still hear angelical choir, voices, and trumpets in the back of my mind) as I was Enlightened on what students needed at that age in order to develop those reading foundational skills: Phonics, Phonemic and Phonological Awareness Skills!!!!!  Let me just add, that she is still working at my school and I LOVE HER TO DEATH, I call her my phonemic awareness Guru! Whenever I need help with anything I go to her first! Anyhow, all along I had been playing, singing, and drilling kids on PHONICS…. PHONICS….PHONICS… and then expecting them to read, boy was I misinformed! That night, I remember trying to remember everything she had told me because what she was saying and telling me JUST MADE SENSE!!! So, for the next month or so I decided I would become an expert on what phonemic and phonological awareness is and was, I researched it, and planned everything along Phonemic and Phonological Awareness, IT MADE THE DIFFERENCE!!

Taaaadaaaa! Here I am today sharing what small group instruction looks like in my classroom. By the end of the year 100% of my kindergartners CAN READ and WRITE, no joke! I previously blogged about what my morning looks like and what the rest of the class is doing, while I teach kids phonemic and phonological awareness skills, to read about it and see pictures click here.  

Part one of Four. This is what beginning of year looks like. In December I will post part two, so you can see and read the difference.

When students come to my table, I have everything ready to go. I set the purpose for the lesson by telling them exactly what we will be learning about. Then I ask them, “what are you going to learn today?” and wait for their response.

1. Letter Matching Activity (5 minutes) Example: 


Teacher: Hi boys and girls, today we will learn about letter names and letter sounds, what will we learn about? (wait for student response)
Teacher: Great! First, we will match the letters in our cups to our chart and say the letter name, what will we do with the letters in our cup? (wait for student response)
Teacher: Ok, here we go, I have a teacher set of EVERYTHING they have so I can model, model, model. (Some may need more modeling than others, depending on their level)
 

At the very beginning of the year, I give everyone all the letters of the alphabet, just to see how many can actually match “all of them” once I see who can and who can’t, I group them by ability level. Then I select 5-7 letters weekly that they don’t know, place them in a cup, and work with those same letters all week. I always select the letters in their name first, so they can make a “personal connection!”  It’s lovely to hear them say, “that letter in my name!” then I respond, “wow, you are learning to read the letters in your name!” So we do this quickly for 5 minutes, during that time, I facilitate, prompt and guide more than “tell or correct.” For lower kids, who absolutely do not know any letters, I pull out a letter, say the name of the letter, then they look for it in their cup, say the name, then match it.
2. Write and Produce Primary Consonant Sounds Activity (4 minutes)Example:

Next, fast, fast, as a snap, we put our letters back in our cups or bags, I pass out their sand trays, and they watch as I have my cup with the selected letters. They don’t use the letters here, I do.  I show it to them, they say the letter name, write it and underline the letter from left to write, saying the sound the letter makes. 
For Students who already know all their letter names and letter sounds, I say the sound (don’t show the letter) and they write Uppercase and lowercase and say “uppercase M lower case m” while they write and I watch for correct letter formation (I correct letter formation here)…  Then say Mm says /m/ while underlining from left to right. 
Look closely and you can see my notebook, where I write down student observations.

 3. Initial/First Sound Activity (3 minutes) Example:

Once again I pick up sand trays, put them away, and pull out picture cards. I again set the purpose: Now, we will be listening for the first sound you hear in a word, words have sounds, those sounds are the sounds letters make. I then show them a picture card, name the picture and tell them, listen to me say the first sound in a word. 
Ex: picture of a Carrot.
I hold it up, this is a carrot, carrot begins with /c/, what does carrot begin with? They reply /c/
Ok! Let’s try some more.
For students that have difficulty understanding the concept, I will use our alphabet chart with pictures and go down the chart saying, “A is for /a/ /a/ apple, B is for /b/ /b/ ball.” I also have hand signals for each letter sound. Students associate the hand signal with the sound, so they get a visual and auditory cue. As they master the art of listening for initial sounds we do initial sound picture sorts. Like the following example.

4. Wrap up our mini small group lesson (3 minutes) double check for understanding and rotate! 
The third activity alternates between rhyming, syllables, initial sounds, onset-rimes, spatial concepts, and blending and segmenting as student needs arise. There are weeks, where my third activity is completely different for all 5 groups, because they are not all at the same level. I’m either challenging the ones who need the challenge or scaffolding for the ones who need repetition.

Hope this makes sense! Click here to download the free lesson plan and alphabet checklist!

Share3
Tweet
Pin106
Share
Share
109 Shares

Filed Under: free lesson plan, kindergarten reading lessons, phonemics awareness, phonics, phonological awareness, Uncategorized 2 Comments

« Phonics, Rhymes, & Sounds
Next Post »

Comments

  1. april says

    September 5, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    Where did you find the alphabet chart from?

    Reply
    • Laura Bryant says

      December 17, 2018 at 5:53 am

      Hi April, I created this chart!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Grab A Button

Grab A Button

Search

Categories

Latest Products

Latest on Instagram

Sometimes a colleague walks right into your #first Sometimes a colleague walks right into your #firstdayofschool #selfie right in the middle of it!  Oops, had a good laugh, then I ran to get my mask! ⁣I was like, “do I hold the pose🤪?”
⁣
Anyhow, this picture pretty much represents how our first day went! After physically being out of the classroom for over a year, EVERY CHILD WAS SO HAPPY TO BE BACK 😍⁣
⁣
My heart melted and rejoiced several times today! Soy #maestradecorazon 😍
——
@breezybilingual #teachertees 😍

#maestrasdeinstagram #maestrabilingüe #teachersofinstagram #teach #breezybilingual #teaching #latinateacher
In Matthew 14, we encounter one of the most famous In Matthew 14, we encounter one of the most famous stories about Jesus, the miracle of walking on water. We read of Jesus strolling across a stormy sea to reach his disciples in distress. 

Peter, who can hardly believe his eyes, calls out to Jesus: “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” Jesus commands.

Peter obeys. He steps out of the boat, takes a few shaky steps, then catches sight of the waves. That’s the moment when his fear overcomes him, and he begins to sink. “Lord, save me!” he cries.

Although Peter did doubt, and although Jesus did chastise him for his lack of faith, Peter was the only one who got out of the boat. 

Do you know who didn’t get out of the boat? The rest of the disciples. Not a single one of Peter’s closest friends had the courage to join him.

This story is not simply about faith and doubt; this story is about loneliness of leadership and walking by faith. A picture of those wobbly first steps when we separate ourselves from the pack and walk toward God in trust. 

This story captures the isolation of that moment, when we follow God’s leading into the risk and none of our friends go with us. Maybe they don’t go with us because they aren’t called, or they won’t go with us because they’re afraid, but the reason doesn’t matter. Either way, it’s terrifying. 

Walking by faith, and leading by faith, is a vulnerable thing to do, so it’s normal to feel unsure of ourselves. That’s what leadership is like.

What this story tells us is: it’s better to be in the waves with Jesus than in the boat without him.

None of this precludes the importance of seeking wisdom. If you sense God calling you to step out in faith, seek solid counsel. Listen to godly feedback. Be receptive to legitimate concerns. 

But do all this knowing that even when the call is clear, real and confirmed, not everyone will understand it, not everyone will support you, and not everyone will go with you. This is painful and hard. And as lonely as it can be, this is what it means to be a leader.

If God is calling you out of the boat, whatever that might mean, be like Peter. Step out of the boat. 
—————

#repost @propelwomen @sharonhmiller
It’s Friday but Sunday is coming! Earth’s sadd It’s Friday but Sunday is coming! Earth’s saddest day and happiest day were just three days apart.  Hallelujah! Jesus reigns.
———
And he has made a way! 
🎶 At the cross I bow my knees
Where Your blood was shed for me
There's no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Glory fills the highest praise
What can separate me now🎶
#AtTheCross #hillsongworship #darlenezschech @hillsongworship  @darlenezschech 
#repost @msdeannajump
This week we celebrate all National Board Certifie This week we celebrate all National Board Certified Teachers! Thanks for your hard work and dedication to advancing the teaching profession. During a pandemic, you embodied what it means to be #NBCTstrong #TeamNBCT @nmnbctn @nbpts 

✨Fun Fact: I started the certification process when my little one was in kindergarten, I have always wanted to be the kind of teacher I wanted for my own children! This picture was taken back then. I remember we would wake up early go to farmer’s market, hang out. Then I would go to #NMSU find a corner in the library and work away!  #maestradecorazón 
——
#teachersofinstagram #teach #maestrasdeinstagram #maestrabilingüe #teachersoninstagram #teachersonig #maestro #maestra #bilingualteacher 
#nmteachers #newmexicoteachers #tchr888
New Books for my #classroomlibrary 💗📚⁣ ⁣ New Books for my #classroomlibrary 💗📚⁣
⁣
Have you read any of these? Or LOVE any of them? Which one should I read first? Or which one would you read first? 📚🐛⁣
⁣
——
#diversebooks #diversereads #diversechildrensbooks #diversebooksforkids #culturalheritage #ownvoicesbooks #maestrabilingüe #maestrasdeinstagram #tchr888 #duallanguageteacher #duallanguage #bilingualeducation #homeschool #homeschooling #school #bookstagram #worldclasseducation  #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #teachergram
💔 She lead eloquently and with grace. She sat i 💔 She lead eloquently and with grace. She sat in my classroom several times, observing and helping me teach! She will be missed!
Our family is taking big leaps of faith this year. Our family is taking big leaps of faith this year. Our comfort zone is being disrupted.⁣
⁣
Being uncomfortable does not feel good, yet I find comfort in the one who sustains it all. ⁣
 ⁣
This past year in itself has disrupted my teaching career as a whole. So you would think being uncomfortable would be comfortable. ⁣
⁣
Yet over and over again, God reminds me of his goodness and where and how to find him and find peace when my world appears to be falling apart. ⁣
⁣
Swipe to see an excerpt from yesterday’s devotional and solitude time. I hope it encourages you as well. ⁣
⁣
#HappySunday my friends. Keep your chin up 🤍 ⁣
⁣
Love, Laura⁣
——
#encouragement #encourage #encourageothers #encouragingquotes #life #lifestyle #lifeisbeautiful #teacherlife #momlife #wife #womeninprayer #influencer #influencerstyle #teachersfollowteachers #maestrabilingüe #maestrasdeinstagram #tchr888 #lavidaesbella
Basking in our beautiful #Southwest Sun🌵⁣ New Basking in our beautiful #Southwest Sun🌵⁣ New Mexico, La Tierra del Encanto
⁣
'Cause it's not who you knew⁣
And it's not what you did⁣
It's #howyoulive 🎶 #pointofgrace⁣
⁣
Thank you God for Your goodness and everlasting lovingkindness.⁣
——
⁣
#life #lifestyle #teacher #teacherlife #momlife #influencer #lavidaesbella #lifeisbeautiful #saturdayvibes #landofenchantment #newmexicolife #lifestyleblogger #teacherblogger #momsofinstagram #teacherlifestyle #teacherfashion #maestrabilingüe #latinas
So thankful for the 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 individual, who donated this monitor to our #classroom 💕⁣
⁣
@twoscreensforteachers Thank your for thinking about us and 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 and 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 during #remotelearning 
It will definitely make our #zoomlearning more engaging🤍⁣
⁣
#Teachers see the #linkinbio to apply for an opportunity to get a monitor for your class! If you’re not a teacher, please check it out and consider being a donor!⁣
⁣
Mil gracias! 💕😍 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘧𝘶𝘭 #maestrabilingüe 
Can you guys #ispy my grateful smile? ☺️😆
——
#twoscreensforteachers #maestrasdeinstagram #tchr888 #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers
Follow on Instagram

Latest on Pinterest

Follow Me on Pinterest

Latest on Facebook

Tchr888

1 week ago

Tchr888
Pretty much. 🤣🤣Teacher Troubles ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Tchr888

2 weeks ago

Tchr888

Helping Kids Navigate Scary News Stories | Parenting Tips & Advice | PBS KIDS for Parents

to.pbs.org

We cannot fully “news proof” our home when unsettling events happen in the world, but we can help kids navigate what they hear through simple, responsive, reassuring conversations.
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Tchr888

2 weeks ago

Tchr888
I remember my teachers reading her books to us in elementary. 💗 ... See MoreSee Less

Beverly Cleary, Creator Of Ramona Quimby, Dies At 104

www.npr.org

"I think children want to read about normal, everyday kids," Cleary told NPR in 1999. "I think children like to find themselves in books."
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Tchr888

1 month ago

Tchr888
Easter is around the corner! 🐥🐣 ... See MoreSee Less

Video

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Tchr888

1 month ago

Tchr888
Oh How I Miss being in the classroom!! #duallanguage #maestrasMy favorite one, “¿que es lo que hace el gato?” ... See MoreSee Less

This content isn't available right now

When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.
View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Copyright © 2021 · Website Design By Jumping Jax Designs