Fun with Phonics in Putrajaya Part 1

It was an overcast morning at Perpustakaan Pusat Komunity in Putra Jaya. A big shout of thanks to Kakngah Shila for organizing the event to bring 21st Century Teaching techniques to the homeschool and kindergarten communities.  The event was 10 am - 4pm on Saturday, the 11th of March. We had a delightful group of 14 educators present.

The event started with the History of English in 10 minutes. This led to the discussion of the dynamics of the language coupled with in the 1700s the attempt to code the language for the first dictionary. It is that very code that was created hundreds of years ago that phonics leverages into literacy.

We started the day by introducing the group to their new gang of friends ... Alphablocks. We began immediately learning the sounds and actions of the 26 letters. Phonics is the system based on the 44 sounds those letters and letter combinations can produce. There was some giggles from the group as we proceeded. It was long before they were given a CVC word and they had to use actions while the rest of the group guesses the sounds and blend them into words.

It led to a discussion on how to segment and blend words. We all practiced segmenting and blending some short vowel a words. Then the educators all took turns showing off their new skills.

It was near this juncture, the group decided to slow the ambitious tempo down and to make another part 2 session at a later date (13/5). This freed us from the speed racer pace. It allowed us to delve deeper into the next topic, CVC words.

CVC words are like the atoms in a molecule. They are integral part of the phonics code. We spent time refining our short vowel sounds. We did many tasks  involving CVC words. It was lunchtime, time flies fast when you are having fun.

After the break, we watched a comical reminder of the importance of phonics and pronunciation with a funny Thai video about an English classroom. One of the educators shared a story about how their daughter faced a similar situation in her own classroom. It was time to introduce consonant blends and digraphs. We had a fun flashcard team-based game. There was lots of competitive spirit between the two teams as they applied their affinity towards consonant blends.

We continued our march on the phonics trail with diphthongs. These two vowel combinations produce a long vowel sound. We then played a round of diphthong bingo to drive the lesson home. It was a highly productive day with a group of hard charing educators. Since the training took place, one of the teachers has already incorporated phonics into her lessons and says the kids are loving it. Another educator said that her youngest was already picking up sounds she was teaching the other children. It was a smashing success, the code busting family continues to grow. Dynamite!