How to Teach Phonics With Story Introductions About Kids & Letter Chants

You can help your child or your students view learning phonics as fun.

Some children learn phonics effortlessly, with very little instruction. Others need direct instruction in order to learn to read. Reading short stories to introduce and practice the phonics skills can give children a taste of success even before reading real-world texts. Letter chants can activate children's memories in a fun way, leaving them to feel that learning to read is exciting. Whether you are a teacher or a parent of young children, using these two techniques to practice each phonics skill can provide a foundation for reading skills.

Things You'll Need

• Age-appropriate short stories

Instructions

Teaching Phonics With Story Introductions

1. Choose a story that uses phonics skills that the child already knows and focuses on the one skill that you are introducing. It should also meet as many of the following criteria as possible: includes a main character who is similar to the child reading the story (e.g., the same age and gender); contains high-interest content; uses short sentences with simple constructions (e.g., subject-verb-object); and contains fewer than 100 words.

2. Let the child read a sentence or two from the story, and then ask the child to summarize what she has just read. Continue this process for the rest of the story.

3. Ask the child basic questions about the story to make sure that she understands what she just read. These questions should be on the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (see the Resources section).

4. Ask the child more complex, analytical questions about the story. These questions should be on the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.

5. Ask the child to read the story several more times, focusing on reading fluently. Emphasize the importance of reading the words with the new phonics patterns fluently.

Teaching Phonics With Letter Chants

1. Tell the child the sound that the new phonics pattern makes, and ask him what that sound reminds him of. For example, he might say that the /s/ sound reminds him of a snake hissing, or the /m/ sound reminds him of what a person might say when eating ice cream.

2. Use this information to make up a letter chant, beginning with the letter and its sound, and repeating it once during the chant if possible. Examples might include: "'S' says 'ssss' like a hissing snake. 'S' says 'ssss,' that's the sound it makes" or "'M' says 'mmmm' when the food is yummy. 'M' says 'mmmm' when it's in your tummy."

3. Teach the chant to your child by saying it over and over again.

4. Repeat the chant often during daily activities, such as while jumping rope, driving in the car or waiting in line to go to the lunchroom.

5. Begin saying the chant when the child gets stuck on a word that uses that phonics skill. For example, if the child is stuck on the word "mess," you might say "'M' says..." and wait for the child to complete the chant.

Tips & Warnings

• Stay upbeat while using these phonics teaching techniques. Your goal should be for the child to remember the information and to associate it with fun and excitement, rather then drudgery.

• Point out examples of phonetic text that your child sees in the world around her, such as stop signs, cereal boxes or building fronts.

• Do not rush through too many phonics skills at once. Focus on one skill at a time, moving on only after the current skill has been mastered.

Resources

• Old Dominion University: Bloom's Taxonomy