How To Teach Letters
I read this post by Brett of eensies.com a week ago when it hit my inbox. It sounded like such a simple, intelligent game I tried it out with Birch (2.5 years). He LOVED it. We did a slightly different version where we named everything we knew that begin with the first letter of his name.: B and Bingo! We have the B (“buh”) sound down now. Thanks Eensies! (View their Expert Page here).
Name Game
Brett and Rebecca
by Brett of eensies.com
Want in on a teacher secret? Of course you do! Games are a great way for children to practice skills. Letters, sight words, spelling patterns, math facts, you name it.
There are a few things to keep in mind when selecting, creating and playing games. First and foremost, the games you play should be chosen or designed to promote your child’s sense of competence and success. In plain English- keep it at their level. Secondly, whenever possible “rig” the game so nobody looses or your child wins. Because aside from promoting their learning, the goal is to have fun together!
So, here’s a fun game to help reinforce letter-sound correspondence, the ability to associate letters with the sounds they make (b says “buh”). Using your child’s name (trust me, anything using their name captures their attention) go through the alphabet and replace the first letter of their name with each letter in the alphabet. Brett would become Crett, Drett, Erett, etc. If their name starts with a vowel just add the letter on at the beginning, so Anna would become Banna, Canna, Danna. Once the party starts, keep it going- try your name next and then Fido’s! If your sweetie needs to work on a particular letter sound, use it to mix-up the names of all their classmates. For example work with the letter V, might go like this: Vichael, Vennifer, Vack…
Games like these are perfect eensies because they take no preparation at all and can be played anywhere- car rides, walking to school, on the train, the possibilities are endless!
Brett Blair and Rebecca Caban first crossed paths eight years ago while pursuing their graduate degrees at the Bank Street College of Education. They’ve been working and playing together since then. Brett has taught for the past 10 years in Kindergarten through the 3rd grade. She currently teaches first grade at a renowned Manhattan public school and happily lives with her husband in the village. After teaching for 10 years, Rebecca is now being taught by her 2 year old daughter while spending their days together at home in Brooklyn. While in the classroom, she taught pre-K through the 3rd grade and spent time coaching other teachers.
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- Eensies (January 19th, 2009)
Melanie, that’s a great way to describe it. I am hesitant to write “use the /b/ sound” because it is vague unless you are familiar with how sounds are written. But, with your explanation,it is clear for readers. Thanks!
As a reading specialist I also think games are a great way to learn anything. However, one thing to try not to do is to teach your child the “b” sound with the short u sound, “buh”. It is just /b/. Always try to cut out that short vowel sound at the end of letters like b, d, k, etc. Think of it as literally cutting off the vowel sound from the end. It takes practice but it’s helpful when learning to blend letters to make words.