Saxon Phonics Activities
Saxon Phonics is a scripted program used to teach children how to read. Teachers use Saxon Phonics in kindergarten through third grade. It's also used in higher grades as a reading intervention. The program teaches concepts such as prefixes and suffixes, ABC order, and compound words. Other things included are phonemic awareness skills, comprehension and spelling patterns. Teachers also use the program to discuss punctuation marks, which students see in their reading books.
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Phonemic Awareness
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Research from "Literacy Resources" indicates that phonemic awareness is a significant factor when children are learning to read. Use the program to play oral games that build students' phonemic awareness skills. Beginning phonemic awareness activities should allow students to identify the initial sound of a word, final sound and then medial sound. Other activities include rhyming words, manipulating initial letter sounds of a word, and identifying a word after hearing the onset and rime of a word.
Match Sounds with Picture Cards
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Some students are visual learners and need to associate a picture with a sound in order to internalize a new sound. Saxon Phonics kits come with picture cards and letter cards to be used with each lesson. Depending on the academic level of a group of students, allow students to match the picture card with the correct letter. For example, students could match the letter "a" with the apple picture card. This activity can be extended when students begin to learn digraphs and r-controlled sounds. This is a reinforcement activity to keep letter sounds fresh, so that when students are reading they'll be able to sound out words quickly.
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Spell with Letter Tiles
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Learning to spell is difficult for some students, but Saxon Phonics has letter tiles that students use to practice spelling. These letter tiles appeal to the kinesthetic learner because it gives students something to touch when they're spelling words. After a sound has been introduced, use the letter tiles to practice spelling using that new sound. Also use letter tiles to teach students how to spell within word families. Many students do not see the connection that words have until they've practiced changing the first letter of a word to make new words.
Practice Comprehension with Decodable Books
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Once students have learned enough sounds, the lessons have decodable books that students read to practice comprehension skills. Ask students questions about the story elements, such as who are the characters, where is the setting and what's the problem in the story. Also ask about other reading concepts such as main idea, fact and fiction, and cause and effect.
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References
Resources
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