isitcds.htm/21DEC2001

Is it? Cards and Booklets

At the same time that the pupil is learning that letters have sounds and shapes, that are written in a particular way, and how to hold a pencil, and that letters sit on lines, he is also going to learn the very valuable skill of hearing sounds in words. This is phonemic awareness. On small cards the size of playing cards or a bigger card for class teaching), write a 3‑letter word (with a vowel in the middle) on one side and stick or draw a picture on the other. Show the pupil the word, point to each letter (which he does not yet know) and sound it, and make sure he is LISTENING. It is a good idea to start with letters that can continue, like ffffoooooox, or Ssssaaaammmmm so that you can continue the sounds without a break while you point to the letters. I say, "Can you hear what word I am saying slowly?" For the first two or three, the learner may not grasp what he is supposed to do, and you will have to show him that when you sound out ffffoooox, there is a picture on the reverse of a 'fox'. Then you can introduce words like cat where the c is a sharp sound, and extending it would be artificial like stuttering. This is the training in listening to sounds that helps, not listening to “ environmental sounds" like beans or rice rattling in a tin.

The cards can be printed on a PC printer using the Font ‘Comic Sans MS’ and a suitable point size with suitable size cards in the printer. Available at stationers such as Rymans as 'Record Cards', lined or plain (Get plain) , 5 by 3 inches or 6 by 4 inches or 8 by 5 inches in packs of 100. On the back print a suitable picture from the clipart widely available or drawn using MS Paint.

Examples of IsIts for 3 letter words

Booklet

"Is it?"

From now on, you can make "Is it?" books for each stage. Cut an A4 into 3 crossways, fold in the middle, put 5 or 6 together and staple in the middle. Write a 3‑letter word on one side, and stick or draw a picture matching that word on the back, the other side. The pupil cannot see the picture until he has read the word, and turns over merely to confirm that he did get the word right. All my materials are designed to fight the bad habit of guessing. The idea is NOT to learn words, so nowhere in my programme should a pupil "learn words" as wholes, like flashcards. The only word to be "learned" is 'the', learned as "tee aitch ee says the” to read and spell.

For all the other words, the pupil sounds out to read the word and then turns over the page to see if he has got it right. He can do this 3‑4 times, right through the book, and then he is ready to try spelling starting at the back of the booklet. He can see the picture this time, tries to spell it, then turns back to see if he has got the spelling right.

The aim is to keep the child doing the same thing, sounding out 3‑letter words, but to provide variety by presenting the activity under as many different guises as possible. If there were graded storybooks, they too would be part of the variety, but in today's world of " real books", words from Steps 80 or 90 are used right at the start. Since practice IS needed, this is why I use the games, bingo, slides and ladders, and Pairs packs, which provide an element of fun and extend the span of attention willingly, but which still allow strong control of vocabulary and use of large print.