It’s been an exciting time for me in my fourth, fifth and sixth grade classes.
With all of these classes, Kru Ning and I were able to teach all of the letter sounds last semester. We’ve continued review the letter sounds at the beginning of class as well. But I can see the some of the kids’ eyes glaze over when we do this. They haven’t had a chance to see how to use the information that we’ve taught them. This semester, they’re getting a chance to put it all to use.
After a review of all the letter sounds, we’ve been writing a consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC, word on the board to have the kids sound out. It’s slow going at first, and there are still some corrections to make with their letter sounds, but it’s the same as it was with my students in the States. They all want to put an “uh” after the initial sound, which would make the word “kit” into “kuh-i-tuh.” But watching their excitement levels rise as they say it faster and faster until they are saying a real English word is a real treat.
Since they have started to get the hang of that, we’ve decided to have them practice sounding out and writing words on their own. For the most part, they get it and are really good. But it’s clear that there are still some tricky sounds for them to hear, especially when they are in the middle of a word.
One awesome thing that happened this week, just in time for the kids to put this new skill to use, is that I received a box of easy reader phonics books from Darien Books. Darien Books sends books, free of charge, to Peace Corps volunteers and other organizations around the world. They try to fill the applicant’s request as best as possible, and they really came through with my request for phonics books. I’m looking forward to helping and watching the students decode and read these books on their own. That is my goal for the end of this semester, I think.
But what makes this even more exciting for me, is that Kru Ning is able to lead all of these activities on her own. She wanted to learn how to teach phonics effectively and I’ve only had to show her how to do these activities a couple of times or give her simple instructions and she is able to run it all on her own. She’s always on board with trying this teaching method out. I’m so impressed with her and her desire to be the best teacher that she can be. I’m so lucky to work with her.