Systematic (or synthetic) phonics is a highly structured approach in which letter sounds are taught in rapid succession, following a clearly defined teaching sequence. This is highly effective for the majority of children who learn new phonemes quickly and soon progress to blending sounds for reading, and segmenting sounds for writing.
Introducing New Phonemes
Children learn in different ways and what works for one child may be less effective for another. A variety of multi-sensory activities enable practitioners to cater for different learning styles, thereby meeting the needs of all children.
Such activities may include visual, auditory and kinaesthetic techniques. In other words, learning is reinforced by seeing, hearing and doing.
Visual Learning
Visual learning can be supported by using letter shapes, pictures/posters, an alphabet frieze, a mobile with letters hanging from it, a display or other visual resources to reinforce the letter or sound being introduced. Suitable games might include “Snap” and sound/letter bingo.
A collection of objects or pictures beginning with “s” will help to consolidate “s” as an initial word sound, for example:
- sock
- numeral six (or seven)
- sun
- scissors
- sausage
- see-saw
- sailor
- sink
- sand
These objects/pictures can be further reinforced by word cards with the initial letter “s” written in a contrasting colour to emphasise the letter shape and its position within the word (i.e. a beginning word sound).
Auditory Learning
Auditory learning can be supported by saying the sound in different voices (loud, cross, a whisper, high pitched or low pitched etc.) or by playing “Sound Lotto” and “I Spy”. A story could be shared which features the particular sound and the group could sing a song, jingle or chant a rhyme to reinforce the letter-sound correspondence. A handwriting chant might be: “wiggle like a snake”.
A rhyme to consolidate the “s” sound might be:
S, s, snake
Glidy, slidy snake
I’ll glide a while and slide a while
And make my snakey shape
Sssss
Glidy, slidy snake.
Kinaesthetic Learning
Kinaesthetic learning can be reinforced by tracing the letter shape, scribing in sand, painting, modelling with play-dough or making handwriting patterns using squirty bottles. Children can trace the letter shape onto the palm of their hand or onto their friends’ backs. They can dance, write in the air with “magic pencils” and make trails with coloured streamers.
Each new phoneme should be linked to a movement or action. A good hand action for “s” would be to wiggle the hand like a snake slithering through the grass (making the corresponding “sss” sound).
Bringing together visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning in this way is a highly effective means of teaching rudimentary phonics. Not only does it help to meet the needs of individual learners by supporting different learning styles, but it also helps to keep learning fun and engaging for the child.
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