I regret not beginning my ESL students right away on reviewing phonics. I assumed they already had mastered the alphabet sounds in elementary school. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and having shady phonics really hurts their spelling and pronunciation.
I am starting to think about the new semester and new ESL 7th graders I'll be teaching. I want to use the first few classes reviewing phonics and assessing their levels so we can divide the class according to ability for effective learning. I want to try and use different teaching methods to assess the kids' learning styles, using visuals, sounds (music) and dancing (kinetic learners).
1. Use an alphabet chant
2. Have students write for
sound: Say a short sentence
that includes one or more words that include the target phonics feature(s). Ask
students to listen carefully and then write what they heard. This activity
trains students to listen for the individual sounds in words and represent them
phonetically in their writing. You can also have students use websites like Listen A Minute and Learn English For Free.
3.Use poetry, jazz chants, songs: Check out my songs page.
4. Integrate phonics
instruction with word study: Teach students how
to identify word parts, break words down into syllables, and use word families.
Use content-area words for this exercise that students are likely to find in
their academic work.
5. Writing
samples
One of the best ways to assess students’ phonics proficiency is through examination of first-draft writing samples. Have students write for 3-5 minutes on a topic they are familiar with (favorite T.V. shows, favorite athlete, what clothes are in style). When you examine student writing, look for misspellings of high frequency words and confusions in the spelling patterns (nation/nasion; its/it’s). This will help you know which patterns students need to work on. Collect first-draft writing samples monthly to examine student progress with spelling patterns. For writing assignment topics, see this website:
One of the best ways to assess students’ phonics proficiency is through examination of first-draft writing samples. Have students write for 3-5 minutes on a topic they are familiar with (favorite T.V. shows, favorite athlete, what clothes are in style). When you examine student writing, look for misspellings of high frequency words and confusions in the spelling patterns (nation/nasion; its/it’s). This will help you know which patterns students need to work on. Collect first-draft writing samples monthly to examine student progress with spelling patterns. For writing assignment topics, see this website:
6. Using Movement
Kinetic learners needs to move! Using brain breaks with movement is always fun.
(This ABC dance is barely passable for 7th graders but I think I can get away with it the first few weeks.)
Resources:
No comments:
Post a Comment