Alphabet Letter Associations

After several decades of teaching first grade, I became a Reading Recovery teacher. Best. Training. Ever!!!! And, oh so, humbling. It was through that training I came to realize some of the mistakes I had been making as a teacher of emerging readers. And, now, it's about time I share some of those revelations--

Chief among them is the realization that the traditional, alphabet letter associations are fraught with pitfalls, especially for reluctant readers. The first problem comes with the letter e. Common picture & letter associations are elephant and egg. Neither is representative of the letter sounds, despite the fact that they bear an initial e.  

As accomplished readers, we know that there is a short e sound of the beginning of elephant.  For emerging readers, however, it sounds for all the world as if the first sound is L.  

(Elephant was at the zoo.)

Similarly, egg sounds like it begins with a long a, at least here in the midwest. I am fortunate to have an easy solution for this "e dilemma;" my students learned to associate the letter e with Evans, my last name!  That will not likely work for you, however. 

So what's a teacher to do?  My kiddos have grown quite fond of these alternatives:

In RR, we let the child provide the association, which is most likely to be the long sound of vowels.  Of course, if s/he supplies elephant, envelope, egg, elbow, ear, or any of the other "confusing" words, it is just fine. As a classroom teacher, you may want to consider such potential confusions when you select your display posters.

Another consideration when choosing vowel associations, is to avoid r-controlled examples. In my experience, however, this is far less problematic for young learners than the above examples.

With regard to consonants, hard consonants are easier for building associations. Think cow vs. circus; game vs. giraffe. Similarly, consonant blends are less clear than simple, initial consonants. Think grapes vs. gorilla; ship vs. sun; chip vs. cap; three vs. tent. You get the idea.

Time is not measured by clocks, but by moments.

You may be interested in these alphabet posters:

The Farming Life

I live in the midwest. Farming is huge here. We may not have beautiful beaches or majestic mountains, but the heartland provides it's own beauty. Every spring, I am thrilled to see the fields return to green and marvel at the growth rate of the corn that's just been planted. I'm a born and raised city girl, but most of my extended family lives the farm life. So I speak with a clear understanding when I say that life is not easy! But it is necessary. And we should thank a farmer 3 times a day for the bounty their work has created.

I have a fun, farm story my father used to tell. Dad was a professor of animal science at the Univ. of IL for over 4 decades.  At some point in the 1960s, he helped to create the Farm-in-the-Zoo displays at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.  In the dairy barn, the display showed how milk from the milking machines was pumped up through glass pipes on its journey to the collection tank.  When a group of Chicago teachers and students ventured in, one teacher asked Dad, in all earnestness, when the color was added to the milk.  You see, the glass pipes were being flushed with water at the time!

Having a fondness for the farm, I take pleasure in teaching my kiddos about it.  If you, too, incorporate lessons about farming, you may be interested in some of the farm centers and units I have created.  You can find them here.

Among those materials is the following center: 

In keeping with a farm animals theme, Ducks in a Row Literacy Center provides practice with letter sounds and phonological awareness.

Get your Ducks in a Row!

The greatest gift you can give to someone is your time.

Petunia, the Silly Goose

Have you ever read Petunia, by Roger Duvoisin? 

This book is an oldie, but a goodie! When I was teaching 1st grade, I shared the Petunia series with my students every year. If you can find a copy, try reading it to your students. It provides a great launchpad for...

WORDPLAY: The author always refers to Petunia as a "silly goose." Then he proceeds to prove that description with the story.  In this book, Petunia finds a book. She knows that reading is associated with intelligent beings, so she picks up the book and carries it with her. The other farm animals seek her wise counsel with disastrous results. I was always delighted when my students started referring to themselves as a "silly goose" when they did something foolish. It's so much more benign than some of the terms they bring from home.

GREATER THAN/LESS THAN CONCEPTS: When Petunia tries to help Mother Hen count her chicks, she miscounts and then declares that 6 is more than 9. Timing this book to that point in your math curriculum when you introduce (or review) < and >, will help implant the concepts firmly in your students' brains. You just have to help Petunia count those chicks. And, you just have to talk about the math concepts.  Then add some Petunia problems to your math journals or morning meeting.  For example: 

• 5 pigs are ___ than 3 pigs.
• 8 sheep are ___ than 4 sheep.
• 2 turkeys are ___ than 6 turkeys.
• 7 ducklings are ___ than 9 ducklings.

Let your students illustrate one or more of these math sentences. They will love it. 

Invariably, some clever child suggested that we do "Petunia math" wherein we would purposely choose the wrong symbol. Thus began some great discussions about whether a given answer was according to Petunia (i.e. incorrect) or according to us (i.e. correct). I just love first graders!

MORAL OF THE STORY: One of the most endearing parts of any Petunia story is that she finally realizes the error of her ways and corrects her behavior.  Oh the possibilities her lessons bring to a group of 6 year olds.

Other books in the Petunia series:

 

In keeping with farm animals, Ducks in a Row Literacy Center provides practice with letter sounds and phonological awareness.

Get your Ducks in a Row!