In unit 1, students learned the letter names and sounds for t, b, f, n, m, i, u, c, o, a, g, s, d, e, r , p, j. They have been practicing writing these letters as well as hearing these sounds in the beginning of words. This is helpful during writing. The key words are t - top -/t/ b - bat -/b/ f -fun -/f/ n - nut- /n/ m - man -/m/ i -itch - /i/ u - up -/u/ c - cat - /c/ 0 - octopus-/o/ a - apple -/a/ g -game -/g/ s - snake - /s/ d - d0g - /d/ e - Ed - /e/ r - rat -/r/ p -pan -/p/ j - jug - /j/ Students learn the short vowel sounds first. Those are the sounds that do not say their names. They learn how to recognize when that sound is short. Closed syllables always have the short sound. A closed syllable has one vowel and is followed by a consonant. Examples are- it, cat, slip, strict. This helps students understand when to use the short vowel sounds. The key words are to aid students in remembering sounds. The goal is that eventually student will no longer need those key words. We expect students in kindergarten to access these sounds from these key words and use the charts in the room as reminders. We are also working on phonemic awareness. We want students to hear the sounds in words. We begin with the first sound, move to ending sounds and then medial sounds. Example-cat /c/ is the beginning sound, /t/ is the ending sound and /a/ is the medial vowel sound. This skill helps students to encode (write) words. It is normal for students to confuse g/j, a/e, and c/k.
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The writing grid used in the program names each line. The top line is the sky line, the dotted line is the plane line, the grass line is where most letters stop, but some letters go below (p, j, g, q, y) and touch the worm line.
Click on attachments below for the lower case letter formation guide. letterformationguide.pdf Wilson has created a parent letter to provide an orientation of Fundations. The file is below.
This year we have a new systematic phonics program in kindergarten and first grade.
"Wilson Fundations provides all students in K-3 classrooms with a systematic program in the foundational skills for reading and spelling, emphasizing phonemic awareness, phonics-word study, high frequency word study, fluency, vocabulary, handwriting, and spelling. Although it includes comprehension strategies, it must be combined with a core/literature-based language arts program for an integrated and very comprehensive approach to reading and spelling." “Welcome.” Wilson Language Training - Achieving Literacy for Life, www.wilsonlanguage.com/. Students will be using this program for phonemic awareness (sound work), phonics (matching letters to sounds), handwriting, vocabulary, spelling and sight words. These skills are built upon weekly and over years. Teacher, parents and students will build a common language to use though this program. Wilson believe in helping parents become coaches so that children are practicing the same thing at home that is covered in school. If there are ever any questions contact either the classroom teachers or Sarah Sontag at [email protected]. I will post a weekly blog of skills on this page. |
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