How to learn Phonograms?

[tarana]

My 3rd graders are using the Spadling CD & the phonogram cards.

Once a day, I plug in the CD & they repeat along. I give them the cards, they go thro' them & say the sound to a class of stuffed toys looking at the clues on the card.

 

They are having a difficult time with the 2-vowel phonograms (ae, ei..).

They do better when I show them the cards, but fare very badly with phonogram dictations (given the sound, write the letters)

 

Is there a more efficient way to teach the 2- vowel phonograms?

May be someone can suggest a phonogram software or a game they can play on the computer? Does such a thing exist?

[Closeacademy]

I came up with key words, movements and pictures to go with all the phonograms. I use these to help my children remember the phonograms. Things like:

 

ar--is our pirate sound and I do the "ar, ar, I'm a pirate" face when I say it.

 

ay--two letters that are different that say "A" at the end of a word

 

ai--two letters that are different that say "A" in the middle of a word

 

er--our driving letters.

 

That sort of thing. I have a file but it is not completed yet on what I do with teaching the phonograms for K-2nd.:001_smile:

[Dinsfamily]

Are they writing the phomograms as they are repeating the sounds? Adding the writing component really makes a difference for my ds. We also use Beall's phonogram fun packet as a fun reinforcement activity.

[siloam]

Games work (bingo, go fish, old maid-just have them ask by sounds), writing letters in sand while saying their sounds, and have them write out the phonograms while listening to the CD are all methods we used.

 

That said it took roughly 5 years for my kids to consistently get them all right, in the right order going both ways. Now they own them, I check monthly and they still get them all right.

 

I don't know of a computer game. Are your kids visual learners? That media would work well for visual learners, but not as well for audio and hands on learners.

 

Heather

 

[ElizabethB]

Bingo!

 

Also, you can teach spelling rules in pairs.

 

ai to ay, oi to oy, ui to ue, words in English will not end in an i. ( we have adopted words from other languages that do, but that is the reason for the spelling change.)

 

Ou to ow, au to aw, eu to ew, words in English do not end in u.

 

Oa to oe, words in English wool not end in a (but a lot of imports from other languages that do.)

[lamamaloca]

I would encourage you to do it just as the book states -- introduce the phonogram and have them practice writing it. There are explicit directions in the WRTR. The prescribed way of introducing and practicing the letters is designed to engage verbal, auditory and motor memory systems.

 

In addition, I just googled "phonogram games" and came up with several options. I haven't felt the need to use any of these.

[siloam]

I should add that my kids are dyslexic, so 5 years may not be typical.

 

Heather

[thowell]

There are alot of games listed on the SWR yahoo group if you need ideas.

[jsleepymom]

I'll probably start a separate thread about this Monday as now everyone has me nervous:tongue_smilie:...

 

*I* don't know phonograms. I am and have always been a good reader (though I tend to read too quickly sometimes and have to re-read for comprehension). I also do well with spelling. I have been teaching my 5 and 4 year olds to read using OPGTR and ETC. My kids would have no idea what a phonogram is, should I be worried?

 

I am planning on adding AAS at some point in the future and my mother-in-law uses this program to teach her K'ers that I will now by buying (thanks to another thread on here about phonemic awareness!): Phonemic Awareness

 

Are my kids going to be okay? Will we have problems down the line?

 

My 5 1/2 year old seems pretty advanced in his reading and read's the OPGTR sentences without difficulty and obviously there are no pictures AND the sentences are often worded atypically or use low-frequency words as they are phonetically controlled so I assumed we were good...but I don't think my ds is looking at words with an 'ea' and recalling that it either says long a, long e, or short e, he just knows which way to read it by the way it sounds (I think anyway, I am getting so confused...:confused:)

 

Thanks for any feedback!

[siloam]

I'll probably start a separate thread about this Monday as now everyone has me nervous:tongue_smilie:...

 

*I* don't know phonograms. I am and have always been a good reader (though I tend to read too quickly sometimes and have to re-read for comprehension). I also do well with spelling. I have been teaching my 5 and 4 year olds to read using OPGTR and ETC. My kids would have no idea what a phonogram is, should I be worried?

 

I am planning on adding AAS at some point in the future and my mother-in-law uses this program to teach her K'ers that I will now by buying (thanks to another thread on here about phonemic awareness!): Phonemic Awareness

 

Are my kids going to be okay? Will we have problems down the line?

 

My 5 1/2 year old seems pretty advanced in his reading and read's the OPGTR sentences without difficulty and obviously there are no pictures AND the sentences are often worded atypically or use low-frequency words as they are phonetically controlled so I assumed we were good...but I don't think my ds is looking at words with an 'ea' and recalling that it either says long a, long e, or short e, he just knows which way to read it by the way it sounds (I think anyway, I am getting so confused...:confused:)

 

Thanks for any feedback!

 

 

AAS covers all the phonograms, so I am sure you will be fine. This isn't a one time deal, it is a long term project for both reading and spelling. Gaps for a 5yo will get filled. Just keep swimming...

 

Heather

[farmwife]

I think you need to be actively involved in the process. Handing them the cards is not the best way for them to learn. You, the teacher, need to teach them the sounds. After you review them each day, you can do fun stuff like playing bingo, four card pick-up, write them on the board and have them erase the sounds they hear you say. I think games are the KEY, but the teacher needs to be involved! We are having so much fun this year thanks in great part to implementing games.

 

Bealls has a Phonogram game packet that we enjoy using as well!

[FO4UR]

Happy Phonics is a good resource for young dc.

 

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

 

One of my dc has to see the phonograms used in words to *get it.* HP works well for him as well as doing some phonogram work every morning. We put one phonogram on the white board each morning and go through several words that use the phonogram.

[Kuovonne]

I have small flash cards for phonograms. I do daily drills.

 

I started with only the phonograms that my daughter knew well. We go through them as fast as possible--ideally she answers most of the cards faster than I can flip them. When she can do the the entire deck faster than I can flip the cards, I add in one (or two related) phonograms.

 

When she doesn't know a phonogram, I just tell her the sounds, have her repeat the sounds, and then tuck the card back in the deck so that it shows up 2-5 cards later. Usually she gets it the second time. If not, I do the same thing again. The entire process takes very little time each day. When I stopped drilling my older daughter, she could go through every phonogram in 3 minutes. My younger daughter has learned about half the phonograms and takes about 2 minutes to go through her deck.

 

If she consistantly trips up on more than one phonogram, I take out the more difficult phonogram from deck.

 

I like this method because it takes so little time out of our day. My girls like it because there is no pressure if they get a card wrong, and by the end of the deck, they've got *all* the cards right.

 

I don't bother with dictating phonogram for my daughter to write.

[Beth in SW WA]

I drill our SWR phonogram cards daily. My dds know all 70 phonograms and most of the spelling rules. We apply the phonograms to all our reading and spelling -- and the results are fantastic.

 

Reversing the process by dictating the phonogram sound and having them write it IS more challenging. Stick with it though. They'll get it after more drill & application.

 

As far as methodology, simply show them the card and they recite the phonogram. Mrs. Spalding did NOT want students associating pictures or anything cutesy to clutter the learning process.

 

Here's a youtube

of SWR....

[tarana]

Thanks for all your inputs. We will do as you all suggested - Practise, Practise, Practise.

 

I sorted out the phonogram list & found out ea, ey, ie & ei are the most confusing phonograms. I separated out these phonogram cards & we are working on it everyday (5 mins) [mostly while hanging upside down!] I will add 2 more difficult cards once they master the original stack & so on!

 

They seem to get v cranky when I get involved in dictation because then I get to know how good/bad they really are. They say - You mispronouced a phonogram or You said it in a wrong order ... The complaints go on & on!

SO, I wrote a software program which will dictate the sounds with the clues. The girls can write the phonograms. Latter they can check their own answers.

 

We have't tried writing the phonograms while listening to the CD. Mostly because they follow it with the phonogram cards in hand. The CD just has sounds, not the strings [ea] that goes with the sound. I will see if they can try to atleast say the ones they have mastered.

 

Anyone has specific tips for learning the phonograms - ea, ey, ie & ei. Please we can use the help!

[Mothering7]

All my kids have learned the phonograms by playing Memory. I made two small sets of cards with all the phonograms. They have to find the pairs. They must say the sounds of every card they flip over, so during the game they get lots of practice since they can't easily find the pairs. None of them have gotten bored with this drill until they know most of the sounds.

[Kuovonne]

Anyone has specific tips for learning the phonograms - ea, ey, ie & ei. Please we can use the help!

 

Yup, those are really hard. Here's some things I did.

 

I introduced each of these phonograms separately from the other tricky ones. For example, I do ea before any of the others. After it is mastered, I introduce another similar/tricky one. Then there is a period where the two get confused and the one that was "mastered" is forgotten. I keep at the flashcards daily until they are straightened out. Then, after both are mastered, I add in another and brace myself for the backsliding again.

 

For "ey," I teach the keyword "they" to help remember the /A/ sound comes first. I also point out the y-i connection with "ei."

 

For "ei," I point out how it starts like "eigh" which says /A/ as a reminder that the sound /A/ comes first.

 

For "eigh," I teach the keyword "eight." You don't list this as one of your troublesome phonograms, but I find learning it helps me remember "ei."

 

For "ie" I say it is a backwards phonogram. It says the names of the letters in reverse order.

[Ellie]

Well, you're not supposed to just let your dc listen to the CD. You're supposed to introduce the phonograms using the cards and practice writing them. Each day you drill the previously learned phonograms by dictating them in random order and by using the phonogram cards as flash cards.

 

The CD is really for the teacher to listen to so that she is sure to pronounce the phonograms properly.

[tarana]

All my kids have learned the phonograms by playing Memory. I made two small sets of cards with all the phonograms. They have to find the pairs. They must say the sounds of every card they flip over, so during the game they get lots of practice since they can't easily find the pairs. None of them have gotten bored with this drill until they know most of the sounds.

.

Guess what I made these Memory matching cards 2 nights ago. But was not sure if it will work. Off to get them printed out!

 

Yup, those are really hard. Here's some things I did.

 

I introduced each of these phonograms separately from the other tricky ones. For example, I do ea before any of the others. After it is mastered, I introduce another similar/tricky one. Then there is a period where the two get confused and the one that was "mastered" is forgotten. I keep at the flashcards daily until they are straightened out. Then, after both are mastered, I add in another and brace myself for the backsliding again.

 

For "ey," I teach the keyword "they" to help remember the /A/ sound comes first. I also point out the y-i connection with "ei."

 

For "ei," I point out how it starts like "eigh" which says /A/ as a reminder that the sound /A/ comes first.

 

For "eigh," I teach the keyword "eight." You don't list this as one of your troublesome phonograms, but I find learning it helps me remember "ei."

 

For "ie" I say it is a backwards phonogram. It says the names of the letters in reverse order.

 

Thankyou. Have added the clues to my guide.

 

Well, you're not supposed to just let your dc listen to the CD. You're supposed to introduce the phonograms using the cards and practice writing them. Each day you drill the previously learned phonograms by dictating them in random order and by using the phonogram cards as flash cards.

 

The CD is really for the teacher to listen to so that she is sure to pronounce the phonograms properly.

Well this was a reccomendation that came from a local Spalding Certified teacher. You may be right this exercise may not be adding value. I am extending my software program to do the random practise as you suggested.

Edited September 17, 2010 by tarana