- Wednesday 11 September 2019
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It is impossible for a person to spell any word correctly if they cannot recognise the sounds of the letters used in forming this word. This is where phonics plays a crucial role in the gateway to literacy development. Through phonics, children develop the fundamental skill of decoding letters into their respective sounds and, in turn, open a new world of reading, writing and spelling.
What is the best way to implement phonics instruction in the classroom?
Evidence supports the use of a multisensory approach. The results of a study performed by Joshi, Dahlgren and Boulware-Gooden (2002) showed that children who were taught with a multisensory approach made significantly greater gains in phonological awareness, decoding and reading comprehension compared to children who were taught through a traditional approach. A similar study performed by Scheffel, Shaw and Shaw (2008) indicated that alphabetic principle and phonemic awareness skills significantly improved for the children receiving a multisensory approach compared to those receiving traditional instruction (Scheffel, Shaw & Shaw, 2008).
What does a multisensory approach to phonics instruction look like in the classroom?
The idea is to create a literacy-rich environment by incorporating visual, auditory and kinesthetic stimuli rather than focusing on a single sense. This will help students make connections between different forms and functions of print, including how isolated letters and sounds come together to make words and sentences. Attendance charts, name tags, morning messages, daily questions, environmental print, independent and shared reading time, reading pictures, dictated stories and class books are all meaningful ways to bring phonics into the classroom environment.
Another way to teach phonics in a multisensory way is through activities. Students love exciting and engaging activities that they can easily understand the rules to. In addition, different activities provide different multisensory opportunities and ways to cater to all learning types. Phonics activities can encourage children to experiment and become confident in their language skills in a way that is fun as well as educational.
Need some ideas for multisensory phonics activities?
Here are 12 fun ideas to get you started. We’ve split them into the learning style they adhere closest to (visual, auditory and kinesthetic), but most activities include aspects of two or all three styles. This is a good thing—the more ways students engage with phonics, the better! However, this categorisation can be helpful when you know that certain learning styles suit some students better than others.
Kinesthetic activities
A way to get students moving and doing; using their body in some form or fashion as they learn to read.
1. Twist it
Take a TwisterTM mat and write different sounds students are learning in place of the mat colours and spinner with dry-erase marker (making it easy to change the sounds for later games). Now students can play a game of TwisterTM where they place their respective body part on the sound the spinner lands on.
2. Roll it
Set up several pocket dice with the sounds your class is currently learning. Students take turns rolling the dice and saying the sounds out loud.
3. Mould it
Using playdough, students recreate the shapes of letters that form the sounds they are learning in class.
4. Swat it
Write relevant sounds onto cards and place them on the floor. Give one student a flyswat and call out a sound. The student then finds that sound and hits it with the flyswat.
Auditory activities
5. Sort it
Collect 6–8 objects that include the phonics students are learning and put them in small tubs. For example, you might include a ball for ‘b’, ‘a’ and ‘ll’ or a toy cat for ‘c’, ‘a’ and ‘t’, depending on which sound you choose to focus on. Students take out one object at a time and identify the sounds of each word. Ask them to group together the objects that share sounds.
6. Match it
Present students with several pictures that share sounds (e.g. cat, camel, cap; or dog, rug, mug). Students state each word aloud and then identify the sound that the words have in common.
7. Guess it
Use sticky notes to place sounds over ‘Guess Who?TM’ character faces. Split students into pairs and give each one a word spelled from the sounds. Students take turns asking about their partner’s word until they can guess it. For example, ‘Does the word have a ‘sh’ sound? Is there a ‘k’ in it?’
8. Sing it
There are many catchy songs online that can either introduce or revise letter sounds. Here’s a simple one that goes through the alphabet. The tune can easily be adapted to cover more difficult sounds, including digraphs. Alternatively, you can encourage students to invent their own phonics songs.
Visual activities
9. Remember it
Create a deck of image cards, with pairs that represent the same sound but have different pictures (for example, a shark and a fish for the ‘sh’ sound). Lay the cards out facedown. Students take turns flipping over two cards and saying the name of each image. If no sounds match, they turn the cards back over and the next player takes their turn. If the student can match the sounds, they keep the pair and have another turn.
10. Flash it
As a whole class or with individuals, show students flashcards of a sound and ask them to identify it. Add an image for students who need extra help (for example, a snake for ‘ss’). This quick activity can be done throughout the day to give students more exposure to the sounds—especially those you wish to target. Change the difficulty by flashing the cards at different speeds.
11. Peg it
Create a set of cards that include a sound and a choice of pictures; for example, animals. Provide your students with clothes pegs and the cards. Students need to identify the sound and pictures on the card and peg the picture which includes the identified sound.
12. Erase it
Draw a scene or picture on a whiteboard or chalkboard. For every letter you state, have students erase one item from the picture that starts with the letter. For example, if you draw a snowman, students may erase the hat for ‘h’, the buttons for ‘b’ and the carrot for ‘c’. As an extension activity, reverse the roles of artist and eraser.
Phonics teaching resources
Do you want more ideas on what kind of teaching resources can help you teach phonics in the classroom? Have a look at our range of phonics resources or check out the Spelling box, great for supporting any spelling programs that you might already have. Still keen on reading up about phonics and spelling? Check out our blog post on the importance of teaching spelling.
How are you currently teaching phonics in your school? Share your stories on the comments below!
References
Joshi, R., Dhalgren, M., & Boulware-Gooden, R. (2002). Teaching reading in an inner city school through a multisensory teaching approach. Annals of Dyslexia , 52, 229-242.
Scheffel, D., Shaw, J., & Shaw, R. (2008). The efficacy of a supplemental multisensory reading program forthe first-grade students. Reading Improvement , 45 (3), 139-152.