Phonics Made Easy Through Language Arts

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Phonics Made Easy Through Language Arts
7 November 2008 (Friday) English Language
Education Section Curriculum Development
Institute Education Bureau
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Objectives

• To introduce phonics skills relevant to the needs
  of junior secondary students
• To share ideas on developing junior secondary
  students' phonics skills through a variety of
  language arts activities

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Todays Programme
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Understanding Phonics
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What is Phonics?
Activity 1
Choose the best option(s) for the questions below
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What is Phonics?

• Phonics usually refers to a useful strategy in
  the learning and teaching of reading. It involves
  supporting learners to recognise basic
  letter-sound relationships in English words and
  to apply this knowledge in reading and spelling.

From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.95
Curriculum Development Council (2004). English
Language Curriculum Guide (Primary 1
6). Hong Kong Government Logistics Department.
p.171
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What are the Limitations of Phonics?

• Activity 2

A. Decide if the following statements are True or
False.
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What are the Limitations of Phonics?
Activity 2
B. Listen to the following poem. Can you give it
a title?
Unpredictable Pronunciation and Spelling
A moth is not a moth in mother Nor both in
bother, broth in brother, And here is not a
match for there, And dear and fear for bear and
pear, And then there's dose and rose and lose-
Just look them up-and goose and choose,And cork
and work and card and ward, And font and front
and word and sword, And do and go, and thwart
and cart- But thats not all, so dont lose
heart! Theres come and home and crumb and
hum As well as comb, bomb, tomb and numb.   You
live in a house, but youre alive, (I'd learned
it all when I was five.)
I take it you already know Of tough and bough
and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not
you On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps, To learn
of less familiar traps?   Beware of heard, a
dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds
like bird, And dead it's said like bed, not
bead-- For goodness' sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat, (They
rhyme with suite and straight and debt.)
From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.65
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Limitations of Phonics

• Phonics is about learning the basic letter-sound
  relationships. It involves the learning of
  pronunciation and spelling rules but not all
  English words follow spelling rules.

From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.95
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Activity 3
Phonics and Phonetics
Adapted from Curriculum Development Institute
(2002). Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing
Department. p.62
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When should Phonetics be Taught?

• Phonetic symbols should only be selectively
  introduced to learners at a much later stage
  since learners may confuse the symbols with the
  letters of the alphabet.

From Curriculum Development Council (2004).
English Language Curriculum Guide
(Primary 1 6). Hong Kong Government Logistics
Department. p.146

• It will also be useful to revise or teach phonics
  at the junior levels and phonetics at a later
  stage.

From Curriculum Development Council (1999).
Syllabus for Secondary Schools
English Language (Secondary 1-5). Hong Kong
Printing Department. p.67
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The Learning and Teaching of Phonics at Junior
Secondary Level
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The Learning and Teaching of Phonics at Primary
Level
English Language Curriculum Guide (Primary 1-6)
CDC, 2004

• Incorporating phonics learning and teaching into
  the school English programme, instead of adopting
  and implementing a separate phonics programme.

• Learning and teaching phonics in context, e.g.
  when conducting shared reading in Reading
  Workshops.

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English Letter Sounds (For Teachers Reference
Only)
From http//cd.edb.gov.hk/eng/references/all_leve
ls/phonics/lettersounds.htm
From http//cd.edb.gov.hk/eng/references/all_leve
ls/phonics/vowelsounds.htm
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Useful Groups of Letter Sounds (Part 1) - Handout
1 (For Teachers Reference Only)
Adapted from Curriculum Development Institute
(2002). Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing
Department. pp.162-163
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The Teaching of Phonics at Junior Secondary Level
Basic considerations

• Learning and teaching phonics in context

• Incorporating phonics learning and teaching into
  the school English programme, instead of adopting
  and implementing a separate phonics programme

• Expanding and reinforcing junior secondary
  students phonics knowledge and skills

• to read aloud texts with multi-syllabic words
• to use accurate spelling in writing

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The Learning of Phonics at Junior Secondary Level

• Developing phonics knowledge related to
• Onsets, e.g. ph-, sch-, thr-
• Endings, e.g.-ful, -ed, -ly
• Syllables, e.g. po/pu/lar, col/lec/tion
• Blending sounds in multi-syllabic words
• Linking words in the production of utterances

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Useful Terminology (Part 1)

• An onset is the opening unit of a word or
  syllable that comes before the vowel sound, e.g.
  cat. Words with the same onset are alliterative.
• A rime is the ending unit of a word or syllable
  that includes the vowel and the following
  consonant sounds, e.g. cat. Words with the same
  rime rhyme.
• Alliteration refers to sounds sharing a common
  onset,
• e.g. Lazy Lucy licks the lemon lollipop.
• Rhyme refers to words sharing a common rime,
• e.g. away, day, play.

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Useful Terminology (Part 2)
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Useful Groups of Letter Sounds (Part 2) Handout
2(For Teachers Reference Only)
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Activity 4
Onsets
From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.83
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Activity 4
Onsets
bear balloon
Billy Bear buys a big balloon for Baby Bobby.
From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.83
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Activity 4
Some Challenging Onsets for Junior Secondary
Students
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Activity 4
C. What is the name of this famous
swimmer? Michael ___elps
Ph
The picture can be accessed at
img.dailymail.co.uk/.../phelps27_468x326.jpg
D. Look at the following picture and think of
more words beginning with the letter sound ph
to describe the objects or to name the persons in
it.
Philip
The picture can be accessed at mg.dailymail.co.uk
/.../phelps27_468x326.jpg
photo
a _____ of Michael ______
Phelps
phones
head_______
Create a tongue twister about the
picture. _________________________________________
___________________
Philip took a fantastic photo of Phelps holding
fanciful headphones.
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Activity 5
Rimes
A. There are many items in the picture below that
end with the letters at. What are they? Can
you write a poem about the picture using some or
all of the words for the items that you found?
Source Cheney, M. (1996). Gifted Talented
Workbooks Phonics. Los Angeles Lowell House
Juvenile. p.29
Pat the witch was wearing a hat She lived with a
bat One day she bought a mat Which attracted a
rat Whose friend is a cat.
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Phonics Skills Related to Word Endings
Activity 5
Some Challenging Word Endings for Junior
Secondary Students
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Activity 5
B. Look at the pictures and complete the
following weather poem written by Nasima, using
words ending in the letter sound y as in
windy.
Source The Children of Shapla School (1996).
Dive into Poems. London The Sunday Times and The
British Printing Company. p.52
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Phonics Skills Related to Onsets and Rimes
Linking
How do students read the following aloud?
Not
No
at
t
No .
a
all
t
t
Knowledge of onsets and rimes helps to link
sounds in utterances.
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Phonics Skills Related to Syllables
Activity 6
Read the poem below and answer questions A, B and
C.
From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.82
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Phonics Skills Related to Syllables
Activity 6
From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.84
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Phonics Skills Related to Syllables
Activity 6
Syllables are chunks of sounds. We should teach
pupils to break up words according to the chunks
of sounds. Students need to learn how to blend
chunks of sounds into syllables and then
pronounce the whole word. Students can apply
phonics knowledge related to onsets and rimes
when blending chunks of sounds into syllables,
e.g. electronic, stationary.
From Curriculum Development Institute (2002).
Phonics In Action Facilitators Guide.
Hong Kong Printing Department. p.84
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Phonics Skills Related to ed Endings
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Reinforcing Students Phonics Skills in
Multi-syllabic Words Blending and Linking
Sounds
e.g.

• Identify the vowel letters

electronic
Identify the number of syllables and the
stressed syllable
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electronic
electronic
Listen to teachers reading aloud
Break the words up into syllables
e/lec/tron/ic
e/ / /ic
lec
tron
Blend letter sounds in each syllable
Link the letter sounds across syllables
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The Learning and Teaching of Phonics through
Language Arts
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Language Arts

• Language arts involves the use of creative and
  imaginative texts such as poems, novels, short
  stories, dramas, films, film scripts, jokes,
  advertisements, song lyrics, and radio and
  television programmes.

From Curriculum Development Council and the Hong
Kong Examinations and Assessment
Authority (2007). English Language Curriculum and
Assessment Guide (Secondary 4-6).
Hong Kong Government Logistic Department. P.87

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Benefits of Using Language Arts Materials and
Activities

• The use of language arts materials helps develop
  students awareness of the creative use of
  English in authentic contexts. Popular culture
  texts such as films and advertisements are
  enriched with language features related to
  letter-sound relationships, e.g. alliteration,
  rhyme.

• Language arts activities are set under a
  meaningful context and allow students personal
  involvement to engage interactively with the
  texts, which can help students retain knowledge
  of sound patterns more effectively.

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Film/Song Titles, Character Names and Slogans
Activity 7
In groups,

• study the different film titles, character names,
  slogans and song titles
• identify the language features related to
  letter-sound relationships and
• discuss the effects they create.

Effects created short, funny, catchy and easy to
remember
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Film Titles
Catch Me If You Can
Bend It Like Beckham
Dumb and Dumber
As Good As It Gets
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Character Names
Peter Parker, Spiderman
Susan Storm, Fantastic 4
Donald Duck, Walt Disney
Wally West, The Flash
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Slogans
Noise Can Hurt, Stay Alert!
Just Do It
One World One Dream
Mac Is Back!
No More Drama Vote For Obama!
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Song Titles
Moving Mountains, Usher
So Nice So Smart, Soundtrack Of JUNO
Mamma Mia, ABBA
Baby Boy, Beyonce
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Poems
Activity 8
A. Study the poem below. Then discuss with a
partner and complete the poem.
Ations by Shel Silverstein
Source Silverstein, S. (1981). A Light in the
Attic. New York HarperCollins.
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Poems
Activity 8
B. Look at the pictures in the speech bubbles and
complete stanzas 1-6 of the poem, using words
ending in ful. Then use your own ideas and
write two more stanzas.
What a Wonderful Christmas!
If I have a party With my friends, It will be
_________.
wonderful
If they can get an NDS For the lucky draw, That
will be ________.
useful
If they can roast a turkey For the Christmas
feast, I will be _______.
grateful
If ______________________ _____________________, _
__________________.
they can decorate the sitting room With a
Christmas tree That will be beautiful
If ______________________ _______________________,
___________________.
they can put some light bulbs Around the
Christmas tree That will be colourful
But if nobody comes to my party On the big day,
I will feel _______.
awful
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Rhymes
Activity 9

• Cinderella
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
• Goldilocks
• The Three Little Pigs
• Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Source Dahl, R. (2008). Revolting Rhymes.
London Puffin Books.
Listen to the poem and fill in the blanks with
suitable words.
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Readers Theatre
Activity 10
Identify verbs that end in ed from the script.
Group them according to the following letter
sounds for ed endings.
Source Nelson, J.A., Potter, J., Rigby, S.,
Wong, K. (2008). Elect JS1A. Hong Kong Longman.
pp.84-85.
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Songs
Activity 11
Study the lyrics of 1234. Identify the language
features related to the letter-sound
relationships and discuss the effects they
create.
TV Commercial iPod Nano
The video can be accessed at http//www.youtube.c
om/watch?vyEvc2-eRuh8
Source Feist (2007). The Reminder. Paris
Polydor.
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Songs
Activity 11
Study the lyrics of Mamma Mia. Identify the
language features related to the letter-sound
relationships and discuss the effects they
create.
Source Anderson, B., Ulvaeus, B. (2008). Mamma
Mia Soundtrack. New York Decca Records.
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Recap

• Incorporating phonics learning and teaching into
  the school English programme, instead of adopting
  and implementing a separate phonics programme

• Teaching phonics in the context of language arts
  to help students retain what they have learnt and
  transfer the knowledge and skills in new
  situations

• Developing students awareness of the creative
  use of English in authentic contexts. Popular
  culture texts are enriched with language features
  related to letter-sound relationships

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Q A
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Thank You!