Phonemic Awareness

Dear Parents,
Phonemic Awareness is such a big of your students kindergarten career.  I thought it would be helpful for me to share some information with you about what exactly phonemic awarness is and what the different aspects of it are.

What is Phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken words.

Why should my child have phonemic awareness?

Phonemic awareness instruction improves children’s ability to read words. It also improves their reading comprehension. Phonemic awareness instruction aids reading comprehension primarily through its influence on word reading. For children to understand what they read, they must be able to read words rapidly and accurately. Rapid and accurate word reading frees children to focus their attention on the meaning of what they read. Of course, many other things, including the size of children’s vocabulary and their world experiences, contribute to reading comprehension.

How can phonemic awareness be developed?

Phonemic awareness can be developed through a number of activities, including asking children to:

• identify phonemes,

• categorize phonemes,

• blend phonemes to form words,

• segment words into phonemes,

• delete or add phonemes to form new words, and

• substitute phenomes to make new words.

Fun Games for Parents and Students: Phonemic Awareness Games

Literacy Philosophy

Never do anything to your students

you would not want done to you.

Never do anything for your

students they can do for themselves.

Empower your students to do the

things they think they can not do.  –Author Unknown

This quote really captures how I feel about all aspects of teaching.  When it comes to literacy, my goal is to empower my students to reach their full potential.  Learning to read and write can be a daunting task for students but I know that using the right techniques with students can make learning to read and write an exciting adventure.  In my classroom students will be learning and working as a whole group, in small groups and individually.  They will be playing literacy games and surrounded by an environment that is rich in print.  Giving students experience with literacy in many different contexts will help them to understand the different aspects of literacy more fully.  I believe that all students, given the right opportunities can foster a love of literacy that can last a life time.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Dear Parents,

I am delighted to welcome you and your child to kindergarten. I hope you have been sharing an enjoyable summer together!

It is my goal that your child’s kindergarten experience will be filled with personal growth as a thinker and learner. I am looking forward to starting this adventure with you and your child!

I am looking forward to hearing from you and also to beginning the year with your child. I also look forward to working with you to support and enrich your child’s academic growth.

I truly understand how important family involvement is in the educational process and that is why I have made many different options for families to get involved and stay informed.

·        Communication Journals

·        Volunteering in the classroom

·        Joining the PTO

·        Volunteering for school activities (fundraisers, family nights)

Also I am always willing to make time to discuss student progress or just have a quick chat about what is on your mind.

Welcome!!!

Hi.  Thanks for stopping by.  This is my first blog so it should be a great learning experience for me.  Let me start by saying that when I was a child I didn't exactly see myself as a future teacher.  As an elementary student I remember a lot of worksheets and memorization.  Work was always done independently and a quiet student was a good student.  I am happy to say that things are changing.  Now the focus is on collaboration between students, understanding different learning styles,  meeting the needs of students and helping students develop a love of education.  My goal as a teacher is to be a facilitator of student learning.  I would like to create a safe and productive environment where students feel comfortable taking chances and learning from any mistakes.  It will be my role to understand the needs of all of my students and build a curriculum based on those needs.  Most importantly I would like to build a classroom community of lifelong learners who are excited about education.