The Joys of Language

After we discussed the different ways to teach children Language I tried to remember how I learned what all those letters on the pages of books meant. Because my kindergarten did not force children to learn how to read like every other kindergarten in Pittsburgh did I was very behind when I got to first grade. I spent all of my Language Arts and Reading time with a small group in reading help room. My education in there was strictly phonics. I was taught using sound isolation activities, sound blending activities, and of course segmentation activities. My learning how to read with these methods was unable to my 6 year old self. Unfortunately the two phonics activities that I think would have been the most helpful to me were the two that I was never taught with. I'm pretty sure that I can out of my mothers womb singing Madonna and Tina Turner songs, and I was notorious for singing "Old MacDonald" during our Roman Catholic church services so I'm pretty sure I would have thrived learning sound matching from classic lines such as "Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep, Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep," and if only someone had capitalized on my love of old MacDonald and my accidental additions and substitutions I think my language learning experience would have been much more enjoyable.

Although my phonics experience was not my fondest memory I believe it is undoubtedly affective and since to this day I love to read I feel that it does not turn children off from learning. Some kids in my class became fluent readers from the activities we did in no time flat. This only reaffirms what I already knew; children learn in different ways.

I am not sure how my phonics based learning has affected me as a student how I do know how it will affect me as a teacher; I plan to teacher with phonics, teaching the ever present consonants and vowels by teaching onsets and rimes. And although as a teacher I will refrain from teaching my children using the hits from the 80's I will definitely capitalize on sound-matching activities; as well sound isolation, sound blending, sound addition/ substitution, and segmentation activies. I think that teaching with all of these different activities will help all of my future (and current imaginary) students learn language in the way that is the most helpful to them.