02/15/2022
This is your February edition of the Early Readers Newsletter from ErieReadingTutor.com.
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Parent-teacher conferences were last week. How did they go?
I’ve spoken to a lot of concerned parents the last few days. Across the board, reading levels seem to be down. If you're also in the 'concerned' camp, you are definitely not alone.
And it’s absolutely not your fault:
Last year’s virtual learning didn’t help AT ALL. This year’s continued school masking hasn’t helped either. Politics aside, being able to watch teachers' and classmates' mouths is an important part of making associations between sounds and letters on a page.
Most parents who I speak to are completely overwhelmed by it all.
The good news is - there's plenty of time to catch up!
Therefore, in this issue, let's get back to basics.
Let's cover LETTER SOUNDS.
Specifically, what YOU can do as a parent at home to help your child. (simple, undaunting approaches)
If your kid has mastered their letter sounds, you can skip this newsletter; but be absolutely sure that they've mastered them (see below)
LETTER SOUNDS, LETTER SOUNDS, LETTER SOUNDS
If your child hasn't mastered all 26 of their alphabetic letter sounds, this should be your ONLY focus with regards to reading right now.
Drop everything else.
What do we mean by letter-sounds?
Here’s a good youtube video of a child who has mastered their letter sounds:
https://youtu.be/LMCDy1CUKYs
What do we mean by mastery?
When you can point to any letter on a page, and your child can say it's sound without hesitation.
Notice how the boy in the video doesn't end the sounds with a pronounced "uh", so for example, it's "j", not "juh".
What isn't the focus right now?
Upper-case letters: focus only on lower-case letters until they are mastered.
Alphabet names (aye, bee, see, dee): they only serve to muddy the waters at this stage. For the next few months, only refer to a letter by their letter sound.
The best approach for a parent?
So how to actually teach your child letter sounds at home?
Your child is probably following/followed the Fundations curriculum at their school.
The challenge is that outside of the classroom itself, the material isn’t very accessible to a parent eager to work on letter sounds at home.
Instead, my recommendation is to use Letterland.
It’s my favorite approach for parents.
Each alphabet letter is a character and it is therefore highly visual and fairly entertaining.
It’s very popular in British schools (less popular here) that’s been around in some form since the 1980s - the advantage of this is that there is a bunch of “stuff” you can get your hands on to help create an immersive experience. For example, there's:
An album on Spotify with short songs of each letter;
Flash cards
Additional story-books
Refrigerator magnets
And a bunch more.
You don’t really need to teach it per se, you can begin by simply reading the stories in the book. Then use moments throughout the day to ask “What sounds does Annie Apple make?” etc.
My recommendation:
Get two copies of their main book and a set of their flashcards.
Use one copy of the book to read. With the second copy, cut out the pages to make wall posters to hang up around the house.
The flashcards can be used in strategic places around the house to create an immersive experience: use them as bookmarks; prop one up against the cereal box in the mornings at breakfast. And so on. Just remember to rotate them out frequently.
Listen to the Spotify album in the car on the way to school (there is a U.S. version and a British version; I prefer the British version).
There's a bunch of old Letterland animations on Youtube. Very 80s but still fine!
Immersion and consistency is key here.
Surround your child’s daily experiences with images of the Letterland characters.
Ask them "Who is this? What sound do they make?". Trace the letters with your finger, then get your child to copy you while saying the sound.
There's no need for formal sit-down reading lessons with this approach.
Just read the stories at night, talk about the characters, and set up a Letterland environment in your house.
It’s not a hugely popular program in the U.S. so occasionally booksellers here do sell out.
If the main book is available and it’s about $16 or under, get it.
Alternatively, I get mine direct from the U.K., so drop me an email if you’re struggling to get hold of anything, and I can add it to my order. Same for any additional Letterland material you might want.
A Letterland caution:
One important thing to mention about Letterland - it is a FANTASTIC approach for the initial letter sounds. It is not-so-fantastic for anything beyond that. So don’t go crazy and buy all the more advanced books in the series - not only will you be wasting your money, you will be digging yourself a hole.
Once a child has mastered their letter sounds, reading growth often explodes shortly after - if tutoring is something you've been considering, it's a particularly good stage of development to consider it.
Ok, that's a wrap for February's Newsletter!
If you have any questions about letter sounds, get in touch!
If you're struggling to get hold of any Letterland material, get in touch!
I'm going to begin including some Q&A from parents starting in the March newsletter, so ask away!
Sounds of letters
