Snapshot
Alphabet Knowledge Teaching Strategies
October 2016 Presentation:
According to ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), phonetic awareness and letter knowledge have been identified in several research studies (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkerson, 1985; Adams, 1990; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) as the two key indicators of how well children will master beginning reading skills during the first two years in school. Last year’s kindergarten readiness results show that nearly 48 percent of students in Johnson County were not ready for kindergarten.
This problem of practice will be addressed by engaging a group of students in the daily use of iPad apps to learn and practice phonetic skills. Using the Alphabet Knowledge objective on Teaching Strategies Gold, the classroom teacher and instructional assistant will conduct a pre/post assessment on letters and sound recognition with each student. After the initial assessment, students will be divided into two groups – one group using phonetic applications on the iPad and the other group learning phonetics through the traditional approach. The teachers, along with parent volunteers, will ensure that each group of students receives opportunities to practice their designated type of phonetic instruction. The teaching staff will meet with parents throughout the year to discuss the importance of the phonetic readiness skill for future reading success. This project will begin in September and continue throughout the school year, with a post assessment taking place in March in order to collect data to present at the Action Research Summit. Resources needed for purchase are three iPad Minis for students to use.
