Percent Of Head Start Graduates Who Demonstrated Letter-Sound Knowledge
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Tag Archives: letter-sounds
Pave Road To Literacy With Play!
Children are our teachers! Observing how they learn teaches us how learning happens best…for any age. To build literacy, play is the way for children to learn the fundamentals of print. We can shelve all the manuals, the quick fixes, the how-to’s, and the flash cards, and follow the child to what is needed. Intentional activities that are play-based, meandering by design with the exploring mind of the child, teach us how specifically the hand defines the brain. Every detail is measured and absorbed. Be still, watch, and you will see.
A playful day with one of the families:
We had such great weather last weekend, we were able to get outside a bit. My daughter loves to play with chalk, so my husband and I drew out her souns on the driveway. We asked her (and each other) to go stand, sit, hop, whatever we could think of on her souns. We all had a blast!
We will be exploring with the child as we get our hands into some play dough. The recipe link: http://www.mommypotamus.com/homemade-play-dough-recipe-with-natural-dyes-and-a-gluten-free-option/
One parent’s approach to this recipe:
I used the regular recipe with 1/2 cup of cranberry juice and 1/2 cup of water (and no essential oils) and it came out a very pretty pink. I keep it in an airtight container; I made it over a month ago and it’s still fine. Like I mentioned in class, my husband and I have fun with it but my daughter really won’t touch it (yet).
Till next time:
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Building Words – A Bridge to Reading
One way or another we learn letter-sounds and apply that knowledge directly to learning to read. For the most part it works, but not without notable levels of difficulty and frustration.
One additional step can make a commanding difference in that journey to reading – building words. Consider a 1000 piece puzzle. Putting it together can be challenging for anyone. Taking the completed puzzle apart into its individual pieces to be returned to the box is quite simple by comparison.
Learning to read is like negotiating the loose puzzle pieces of our alphabet, turning a chain of sounds into a word. It is quite challenging and can lead to many failures and much guessing before success is enjoyed.
Consider the ease of taking the puzzle apart. A spoken word is like a puzzle already put together. All the sounds are there in a nice little package called a word. If the child knows letter-sound associations well, listening to the sounds and building the word – one sound at a time – (not as it is spelled) is quite confirming and informative for the child.
This step – building words – bridges code based knowledge and decoding. Children 4 and 5 years old and those challenged as readers need to develop a deep understanding of how words are built. A child who knows letter-sound associations well and who focuses on building words – one phonetic sound at a time – for several weeks to a month often transitions into reading words seamlessly.
Reading becomes the next natural step for the child who has built words by listening to sounds in words first. This has been the magic of the Montessori-minded Souns program. IT is a direct link between sound and symbol, bypassing letter formation, which is another skill altogether.
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T w i l i g h t – “It IS a poem!”
Be still, observe your child! Watch that little developing mind explore, examine, attend to every nuance in the world around it. You will be in awe at the attention to details. The extended gaze, the second glance, the questioning look, the twinkle of confirmed knowledge, the determination – all threaded by no more than a string, a crack, an ant, a shadow, a drop of water, or a new face. Every piece of life matters in the construction of the brain. This building of a person offers no trailer, no quick view, no short cuts. There is no time when the brain is not learning (P. Wolf). The senses are the tools that feed the brain, and they must be allowed to do their work. Gently watch your child, and he or she will show you who they are in their endless quest to become that unique bundle of talents they have unfolding within them.
The “poem” above is one mind telling us its story. Young children have SO much to say. Are we listening? Are we watching? Are we willing to be amazed?
The “poem” is from a Souns child that had just turned 5.
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A Few Weeks Ago
Della Palacios @sensablelrning
A few weeks ago I met a young man who, due to life’s circumstances, started school many years after most children. His native language is Spanish, although I would not have known as he spoke so well.His caregivers called me to see if I may be able to help him with his reading. The computerized assessment he was given had him reading at a primary level, even though he is a freshman in high school and is several years older than most of the others in his class.
When I arrived, I introduced myself and explained that I am like a reading detective, trying to figure out what’s going on. He was very polite so when I asked if he struggled, he answered simply, “Yes, ma’am.”
I started like I always start with older learners, with a Sound Check using #Souns. It was evident pretty quickly, he only knew letter names and was trying to convert them into some variation. He did not know any sounds besides /f/ when I went through the first half. I stopped there as I didn’t want to embarrass or frustrate him and thought carefully about what reading passage I wanted to begin with.
I should mention here that the computerized reading assessment ‘s results said he knew his beginning sounds and blends?!
I pulled out a few phonetic phrases and he read them fine. I looked at him and said, ”Wow. You are smart. You have memorized an awful lot of words to be able to read to me what you just read.” Again, he answered, “Yes, ma’am.”
So, I told him that learning his letter sounds will help. It will help him figure out new words he hasn’t memorized. We began and after practicing with a number of Souns at a time, he wrote. He wrote pot and mop and dog and cat. Three letter words were difficult for him. This is not at all surprising as it reveals the confusion with the short vowel sounds that get well hidden by word memorization. I asked him if he remembered how they taught him to read when he started school since he started late. He said the first book he every read was “Up and Down” and he recited it to me. It sounded like a sight word book.
So we continued to work and build. I would hear him going through the sounds in front of him while I was fumbling through the tub with the Souns symbols. I asked if he thought it would help him and he said, “Yes, ma’am.” He shook my hand and thanked me quite genuinely for coming before I left.
I went to meet with him a few more times. Both visits were the same: sound practice, word construction, and basic reading practice. By the end of the last session, he recalled 21/26 letter sounds and three of the six digraphs. The vowels are still the most troubling.
The most telling thing about his reading experience thus far was the miscues that he did as I asked him to read passages for me. We read from the McGuffey Reader.
Instead of pen, he read open.
Instead of pen, he read pan.
Instead of run, he read ran.
Instead of song, he read sound.
Instead of pond, he read pound.
Instead of bank, he read blank.
Instead of bead, he read bread.
instead of beak, he read bake.
Instead of quite, he read quietly.
Shapes of the words were similar. The words looked a lot like the others. He is putting in so much mental energy into recalling each individual word, comprehension is not happening. He is extremely bright, so once he does catch on to and start processing the language code, I suspect reading will improve. The time and practice must take place, though.
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It Is Through The Hands That We See
Another beautiful morning observing, discussing, and exploring “child” at Counterpane’s Free Early Literacy Workshops. Follow the hands and find learning. Information about “the hand and the brain” can be found in Lillard and Jessen’s Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three.
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The Magic Is In The Play!
Slowly! Step By Gentle Step, It Happens!
By arrangement with the teacher, this was the first time this child had sounded out words. Clearly he was ripe with readiness and was SO happy with himself. “Look at you! You are reading!”
He had Souns since he began school. This was mid-year. He was almost 5 years old. The happiness you see is the result of a very good teacher implementing Souns in just the right way – slowly and playfully.
First the child learned 12-15 specific letter-sound associations, then he began building words (as you see) by listening to the word to find the sounds. He has been building words for a while, long enough to be ready for the next step….. listening to the sounds to find the word. Encoding – writing – comes before decoding – reading – in Souns.
The magic is in p l a y !
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GET SET With Souns in Colorado Springs
The graph shows progress in the GET SET preschool in First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs, CO. There are 31 children in the preschool and they began implementing the Souns program at the beginning of this school year – 2012/2013. The preschool serves children 4-5 years of age from economically challenged environments. GET SET’s goal is to ready their students for success when they go to public kindergarten. The teachers are exceptional and the environment is a model for others to follow. In September as the children entered GET SET’s classrooms they were evaluated for letter-sound knowledge. That demonstrated knowledge is on the graph in green. The lavender is demonstrated letter-sound knowledge from a mid-year evaluation. The teachers should be proud of their progress, particularly since they are in a learning curve for the program as well. Imagine the possibilities at end of year and in future years as Souns becomes a natural part of their environment. What a grand step forward for the children they serve. Ready, GET SET, Go!
Looking at the results of the Souns program is SO much fun. The video is of a Rotarian volunteering at GET SET and a young student building a word by saying the word, listening for the individual sounds in the word, and identifying the letters that make each of the sounds. Building words or encoding is stage two in Souns. The first stage is the learning of at least 12 to 15 letter-sound associations. The third stage is decoding, or sounding out words, which happens after much experience building words. You can see the enthusiasm that comes from suddenly realizing, “I know that sound!”
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What Does Early Literacy Look Like?
Counterpane’s Early Literacy Workshop – a community outreach for families of children 0-36 months – brings Moms, Dads, and their little ones together to share stories about Souns and parenting. During our last get-together we watched a short video encouraging parents to foster independence for their children in the home environment. Today’s harvest included one family who avoids the before dinner chaos by having their young child set the table. She loves it! Another celebrated their new “dishwasher” – all that is needed is a stool and happiness prevails with, “I want to do ALL the dishes!” This story was shared by the mother that, after the previous meeting, emailed the following –
| Yes!! We are really enjoying the program as well… I call Nicholas my “I’ll do it” child And I spend all day trying to stop him from doing it himself. So as a parent I feel refreshed and pressure free, by giving in to this idea of, if he wants to do it, then… Let Him Do It”!!! It is almost Liberating!! Lol |
Then there was the delightful onion story. One mom was fixing dinner and her little son saw the sliced onions on the counter and targeted one piece, taking it in his hands and exclaiming, “Ahhh! This is ahh!” He has indeed learned the most common sound for the “o.” He refused to let his mom cook the ahhh.
Souns is an amazing program and seeing these children want to match the sounds they knew with the sounds I wrote on the board and wipe specific sounds off the board brings smiles to all of us. Little hands placing each Souns symbol in the basket during clean-up is proof that play is the best way to teach. Reading builds vocabulary and Souns builds letter-sound associations. The desire for independence came in these little packages of humanity. The same drive for independence that wants to sweep the floor, wash a dish, crack an egg can be experienced with the symbols of our print. Just give the real tool – letter- sounds! The most magic words are, “I can do it myself!”
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Data Shows Progress for Head Start Students
Promising data comes out of a Head Start Center piloting the Souns program. The center is part of the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council (SWGACAC) Head Start Program overseeing 18 counties.
This is the second year the Lester Street center has implemented Souns – thanks to the Rotary Club of Thomasville. Recently, the rising kindergarten students had a mid-year (January 2013) evaluation of letter-sound knowledge learned through the Souns program. The following graph compares end-of-year (2011/12 – N=60) results with the mid-year (2012/13 – N=38) results showing percentages of students demonstrating letter-sound knowledge in SounsⓇ sequence. The graph confirms a story of learning for everyone .
It will be quite interesting to visit Lester Street again in May to get end-of-year data for 2012/13. The teachers and administration have been so loyal to this program. It is clear everyone is more comfortable with Souns this year. Good practice is building. As familiarity with this deceptively simple program develops, the results will compound until children are able to sound out phonetic words prior to entering kindergarden. That is a very attainable goal for typically developing children using Souns as designed.
It is also helpful to see certain similarities in the two evaluations, especially which letter-sound associations children find more difficult to learn.
Souns Talk Weblog 