1D Literacy: The Phonics Dance

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Phonics Dance

The Phonics Dance is not actually a "dance", but a program that uses movement and rhyme to teach students individual sounds and letter combinations. Ginny Dowd, creator of the Phonics Dance, stresses Six Steps to Literacy Learning in the Primary Grades:
Sound Attack ~ Daily review and introduction of consonants, short and long vowels, and variant vowel sounds
Word Wall ~ Daily review and introduction of high frequency words in association with Language Arts concepts
Creative Writing ~ Student writing (both fiction and non-fiction) composed on a daily basis in correlation with weekly themes
Student/Teacher Conferencing ~ Revising and Editing - immediate feedback on student writing with emphasis on structure, spelling, and punctuation
Word Training ~ Teaching the eyes to look for big "hunks" and "chunks" and parts of words in the decoding process
Reading ~ Daily practice - guided, independent, choral or partner reading with literature that is teacher chosen or student selected

No comments:

Post a Comment

Writing

Writing is an opportunity for children to show what they have learned in phonics, spelling and reading. Children write daily for a variety of reasons. They may write a journal entry, a Star of the Week letter, a response to literature, or a list of facts. "First Grade" spelling (developmental spelling) is encouraged, as students will have the chance to edit writing as they make the transition to standardized spelling. When students use "first grade" spelling, they demonstrate their understanding of the spelling patterns they have learned. They also apply their knowledge of writer's words by correctly spelling commonly used words. Depending on the goal for that specific piece of writing, students conference with teachers to edit for mechanics, spelling, use of details, or enhancement of descriptive language.