Sam was interested in checking out some “new” sandpaper letters with me today. This was the sandpaper phonograms.
We learnt that the digraphs “sh”, “oo” and “ou” each made a different sound from their component letters. He could hear “sh” when I said “ship” and “shout”, “oo” when I said “book” and “cook” and “ou” when I said “out” and “spout”.
Sam learnt the sounds very quickly and did not get “tricked” by me when I moved the sandpaper phonograms around and tested him for each sound:-)
Later, when the children were keen to play the silence game at lunch circle, I asked Sam to bring me the sandpaper phonogram that made the “sh” sound. He went to the language shelf and got the correct phonogram for me! The children were silent for one full minute, thanks to us telling them that it made the “sh” sound !
I look forward to learning more of the phonograms with you Sam!
What learning do I think is happening here?
Sam is learning that 2 successive letters produce a single sound in the English language, that may be totally different from their component sounds. Sam is not only increasing his awareness of sounds in words, he is also gaining a visual and kinaesthetic memory of the symbols used as he traces the sandpaper phonograms with his fingers.
Opportunities and possibilities?
We will continue to introduce Sam to the rest of the sandpaper phonograms. We will follow up with the phonogram cards and lists that enable Sam to practise blending and sounding out the various phonograms that he learns.