How to teach kids Pronunciation, Spelling and Writing
The definition of literacy is, “the ability to read and write”. These two skills could be seen as concurrent and interdependent, like two sides of the same coin. If you can read you can write and vice versa. However, in childhood development, reading generally starts first as children learn to recognise and say the letters of the alphabet and make the sounds of letter phonics before writing anything. This starts with a form of pattern and shape recognition, which is a very early child development stage. (Click the links to see our early development pieces on colours and shapes). It is important to put in some early groundwork with children on recognition of the alphabet and ability to pronounce the letters and also association of words to physical things and the ability to repeat the words to identify those things before moving on to more structured reading and writing. That said, an iterative, staggered, approach is likely best, whereby writing of the alphabet is introduced while children are in the process of learning how to pronounce letters as the learning experience is symbiotic. As soon as they can hold a stubby crayon, they can start to writing. The stages of early language development can be roughly laid out as follows:
Listening (aural) development - hearing adults and older children make sounds and talk
Comprehension - associating words as descriptions of things
Shape recognition - in this case recognising the symbols for letters and naming them
Phonics sounds - associating the letters with spoken sounds
Pronunciation - saying a word based on the letter phonics and other methods associated methods
Putting it all together - spelling, reading & writing
However, as mentioned, these are not strictly sequential but a set of interlinked and associated learning areas.
Literacy is quite simply vital, it is the gateway to all learning. Studies have shown links between poor literacy and poverty, crime, societal exclusion, general under performance at work and in life, ultimately leading to unhappiness and impaired longevity. Of course this is circumstantial. If an entire society was illiterate then there would likely be little negative impact. However there are few such societies in modern times and yet, for all our advancement, literacy remains a problem and not just in developing nations. This is being exacerbated by migration and the general shift to a so-called knowledge-based economy whereby literacy skills are more vital. Indeed the widespread use of social media means children come into contact with literacy requirements earlier than their parents did and indeed the confusion potential of abbreviated social media usage, thus a solid grounding in proper use of language has never been more important.
Early learning - sounds, words and the ABCs
So where, when and how does it all start? Well, as almost always with linguistic development, it starts as soon as children are born and we begin to make cooing noises to them. Thus do they begin the audio journey to speech and they will understand far more far earlier than parents realise so don't wait. While making simple audio noises is important for early development so is actual speech. Babies and children listen to adults talking to each other and one day surprise us by reacting to something that you say or repeating a sound or word. These sounds, and the way adults speak to each other, are a vital part of the linguistic development journey. When playing with babies and toddlers it is important to keep talking and pointing to things you say the name of. Comprehension is a far better learning mechanism than rote learning, as noted in the UNESCO report on “How Children Learn” (to see our blog series on this important report click here). That said, there is a place for simple alphabet songs (see below) and games where reciting the letters while also seeing an image, or physical manifestation, of the letter symbol, leverages early shape recognition skill development. [To see our piece on learning ABCs click here]
Early introduction of books is important to get children to see books as fun and a source of learning. It starts with tactile toys in book form and then moves on to simple picture books. Sitting with toddlers and telling them a story based on a picture book while pointing to the pictures and repeating the words develops aural comprehension as well as entertaining the child and promoting bonding between parent and child. Making it engaging and fun is important to generate a keen interest in learning within the child [Click here to see our piece on “How to get children engaged in learning” from the 2002 UNESCO report How children Learn.]
The next step - ABCs Phonics sounds and simple words
At this point we get into more constructive linguistic learning. By now your child has had a good grounding in aural sounds of language, words and comprehension through picture books and hearing us talk etc. and has been introduced to the basics of their ABCs. Time to start to blend the alphabet symbols and their names with the sounds of the letters via phonics. Thus begins the process of pronunciation of letters but remember that contextual learning is far better than rote learning, even, or especially, at this early stage. [To see our phonics piece for more on this stage of development click here].
Once children can say the basic sounds of each letter of the alphabet and already know the words associated with some physical things you can begin to introduce simple three letter words with a consonant at the beginning and end and a vowel in the middle, so-called consonant/vowel/consonant or CVC words. This is a vital step to leverage their Phonics ABCs learning and knowledge of words, and their meaning, into pronunciation, spelling and reading. Remember that as adults we often encounter new words and can read and pronounce them because we have learned how pronunciation works. This stage is about teaching children what is instinctive for us as adults.
There are a variety of mechanisms for teaching pronunciation. It starts with a purely aural mechanism for making the letter sounds of a word without actually seeing the written word. So for example the word Bat is sounded out as “Buh, Ah, Tuh, Bat!”. To add a visual reference a technique with something called "Elkonin Boxes" can be used such that the child places a counter into a set of empty boxes drawn on a piece of paper as the letter is sounded to differentiate the sounds. The same box tool can then be used to write the letters as it is being sounded.
The next evolution is something called "Onset and Rime" where the word is broken up into syllables with the opening consonant (the Onset) being the first phonic and the following letters merged into a syllable. So Bat is pronounced “Buh At, Bat!”. Simultaneously with pronunciation you can ask the child to spell the word and then pronounce it and then write it. Thus pronouncing, spelling and writing are intertwined exercises that are mutually reinforcing.
Check out our first in a series of fully integrated 3 letter CVC word videos covering Comprehension, pronunciation, spelling and writing, there will be many more to come.
Some further developmental points
Don’t worry if your child writes the letters back to front (i.e. facing in the wrong direction). This is a normal development stage and they usually grow out of it but it can last a far as age 7. If it goes much beyond that and they are also reversing letters there is a possibility of something called dyslexia (although there is some debate about dyslexia so worth a deep investigation if you child is exhibiting some challenges in this area) so it might be worth checking that out. It is important not to make an issue of it with the child though and usually gentle instruction and correction will resolve the matter.
Once your child has a good grasp of some basic CVC words you can introduce so-called sight words like at, he, she, is and so on but that’s another topic. In the meantime, it is vital to continue to read with your children and point out words as you read to build vocabulary and speaking confidence and from time to time to ask them to identify a particular word that they have learned. And keep the comprehension and story telling going to develop a deep, and enduring engaged interest in reading. Reading is truly the silver bullet for education and speaking with confidence. If they are having difficulty forming the letters then try our Alphabet writing and associated workbook, practice makes perfect (see out Unesco How Children Learn piece on practice by clicking here)
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