While reading the article about phonemic awareness by Yopp and Yopp I got to thinking about the discussions we have had in class about phonics and their role in teaching children to read. As Monica mentioned, there is a constant debate over whether phonics should be focused on or not. I am on the fence about the subject because of all the convoluted rules and oddballs that accompany phonics instruction. My small group and I also talked about the fact that sounds and phonics are especially difficult in the South. Because I have lived here my whole life, there are sounds that my mouth just will not make, that people from elsewhere can make with ease. I think that poses a problem when teaching children to "correctly" pronounce a word. I would really like to look more into what approaches have to been taken to correct or provide uniformity to the way we teach phonics. I think the we speak adds to the confusion of the "rules" that come along with phonics instruction and is one reason I would steer away from that route of teaching. I found one article that talks about the differences in dialect and how it influences phonics, at http://www.celtlink.org/. I would like to know more about what is thought about this though. I also found this website that might be something that teachers could use to incorporate some phonics instruction into other instruction. http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/starting-to-read/. It corresponds with the picture that I included.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Class Reading--July 19
While reading the article about phonemic awareness by Yopp and Yopp I got to thinking about the discussions we have had in class about phonics and their role in teaching children to read. As Monica mentioned, there is a constant debate over whether phonics should be focused on or not. I am on the fence about the subject because of all the convoluted rules and oddballs that accompany phonics instruction. My small group and I also talked about the fact that sounds and phonics are especially difficult in the South. Because I have lived here my whole life, there are sounds that my mouth just will not make, that people from elsewhere can make with ease. I think that poses a problem when teaching children to "correctly" pronounce a word. I would really like to look more into what approaches have to been taken to correct or provide uniformity to the way we teach phonics. I think the we speak adds to the confusion of the "rules" that come along with phonics instruction and is one reason I would steer away from that route of teaching. I found one article that talks about the differences in dialect and how it influences phonics, at http://www.celtlink.org/. I would like to know more about what is thought about this though. I also found this website that might be something that teachers could use to incorporate some phonics instruction into other instruction. http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/starting-to-read/. It corresponds with the picture that I included.
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I have also lived in the South all my life and have a bit of an accent. Because of my accent, I feel a bit uncomfortable teaching my students through phonics. I know the proper way to say things, but sometime I just can't speak that way! I am also very interested in learning more about how I can teach my students the correct pronunciations because my accent makes it a bit of a challenge. Thanks for the links!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what both of you have said! Dialect and accents have a definite influence on phonics and teaching it! I have especially experienced this through interactions with my roommate (she is from Washington - like the state) and even at 18, 19, and 20 we still have problems speaking to each other because of my accent! I totally agree with what you guys are saying!
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