Not all children learn the same. There are two basic learning styles that I’ve noticed in my experience teaching. Many people refer to these styles as Left Brain
and Right Brain Learning.
The child who is a Left Brain learner can easily memorize facts. Black and white sheets are fine for him as well as simple repetition. For the Right Brain learner, these strategies just don’t work. As hard as he tries, this learner just can’t “get it.” For this type learner, colors, stories, emotions help him retain material.
According to Dianne Craft with Child Diagnostics, “right brainers learn anything easier when emotion, color, or stories are added to the learning method.”
If you want your child to learn the letter sounds quickly, then there is really no better way than to incorporate stories and hand motions to learn the letter sounds. This helps all kinds of learners, especially those that are right brained and need to engage more than one sense.
I have just made a video demonstrating Letter Sound Motions. You can watch me show how I teach alphabet hand motions for learning letter sounds using kinesthetic motions. I will also give you an idea for making a paper bag bear for practicing the letters and sounds.
Here are the Letter Sounds Motions | Alphabet Hand Motions | Learning Letter Sounds with Kinesthetic Motions:
A – Achoo
B – Pop Bubbles
C – Cut
D – Knock on the door
E – Eh, What’s you say?
F – Firefly (open and close hand fast)
G – Gulp with pretend glass
H – Run and breath hard
I – Icky sticky lollipop
J-Jump
K-Kick
L-Lalala sing
M-Mmmm takes good
N-Noooo
O-Ooo as in a sore throat
P-Pop up and down like popcorn
Q-Quiet finger on lips
R-Motorcycle engine
S-Snake
T-Ticking Clock
U-Stomach ache; ate too much
V-Violin
W-Wake up
X-Water squirter sound
Y-Yell
Z-Bees buzzing around
You can get a copy of these and more learning enrichment ideas in my FREE Summer Learning packet.
It includes:
- Hand motions for all the letters sheet
- Handwriting house writing paper
- Vowel People puppets
- Short vowel reader
- Number Sense Flashcards
- Pre-K Sight Word List
- Read aloud ideas
Download the Summer Reading Packet here:
Here are a few more tips for teaching your child to read…
You will need to teach one phonics skill at a time. That should be followed by the vowel people flashcards. Next, move on to CVC words and eventually simple readers.
Special sounds: There are many special sounds in the English language. For example, the “Sneaky E” rule.
Here is a resource that might help teach those special sounds (digraphs and dipthongs).
https://kathyahutto.com/product/reading-is-for-everyone/
Suggestion teaching order for new readers:
Day 1 – Teach the phonics skill using the picture cues
Day 2 – Review the phonics skill and let your child read the flashcards
Day 3 – Review the phonics skill; review the flashcards; read the book
Day 4 – Review the phonics skill; review the flashcards; re-read the book
Day 5 – Review previously taught skills
Suggested teaching order if using for remediation:
Day 1 – Teach the phonics skill and let your child read the flashcards
Day 2 – Review the phonics skill; review the flashcards; read the book
Basic Letter Sounds
Purchase a letter set for your wall or a poster that has a picture associated with
each letter. Teach your child the letters and their sounds using the picture clues.
For example, A says /a/ like an apple, B says /b/ like a ball, etc.
Caution: Not all letter sets are equal. For example, many show letter A with the picture of an airplane. This shows the long a sound! You don’t want to start with long sounds. You want to be sure the letter has a picture that makes the actual letter sound. For vowels, be sure the picture shows the short sound as in is A and apple or E and eggs.
Short Vowel Sounds
Use the Vowel Sounds People contained in this book to teach your children the
short vowel sounds. The stories will help them retain the sounds and the hand
motions will allow you to give them a clue without saying a word. In addition,
each “person” has the letter incorporated into his image making it very effective
for the right brain learner. When you print the page, you could trace over the
letter with a red marker, so your child can easily see the letter in the image.
Blending Letters
Teach your child that they can blend the letters together to make one sound.
Use the letter cards on the following page. Cut them out. Pick out two letters, a
consonant and a vowel.
Have your child make each individual letter sound.
Now, put them in a blender (not plugged in) and let your child push the switch.
Have her help you make a blender noise.
Have her push a button to “stop” the blender.
Now remind your child that when you make a smoothie in the blender you put in
bananas and strawberries which blend together to make a whole new thing – a
smoothie. The same is true for the letters. Blended letters make a whole new
sound. For example, /t/ and /a/ have become /ta/. Repeat until your child can
blend letters together easily.
Next, begin to add a third letter and have them sound out simple words such as
tap, tag, tan, etc.