This is my third post in a series where I share with you my favorite activities and methods to expose our little literacy learners to the letters of the alphabet. If you missed my first post about how much I love alphabet charts, you can click here. If you missed my second post where I discuss using the letters in the child's name, you can click here. This post will discuss my favorite way to incorporate sounds
using mnemonics.
A mnemonic is a device used to aid in remembering something. When it comes to the alphabet, the mnemonics are the pictures that begin with the sound made by the letter. These pictures provide the children with a type of connection to the letter sound as they add it to their memory banks.
For example an "apple" for the letter "Aa", a "bed" for the letter "Bb", and a "cat" for the letter "Cc".
I feel lucky that our school adopted a set of universal mnemonics that are displayed consistently in every primary classroom. We have a very talented retired teacher in the district who sat down and drew the pictures to go along with each letter. I have these mnemonics up on my classroom wall, in an alphabet chart, and on flashcards. As I introduce each letter in my small groups, I reinforce it by saying the letter name, picture, and sound.
For example, "A, apple, /a/".
There are so many wonderful letter-sound picture cards out there that can serve as mnemonics. Here are links to two of my absolute favorites. Each one uses a good, clear primary font and the picture that corresponds with each letter is very simple and unambiguous for children of all backgrounds.
Annie from The Moffatt Girls
Angelia from Extra Special Teaching
A resource that I love to use that incorporates mnemonics is the LeapFrog Letter Factory video.
Have you seen it? LeapFrog has introduced the letters in a multisensory manner by allowing the child to attach the letter to its sound by a movement or action. All of the letters are inside the Letter Factory training to make their correct sounds. They are each in their own rooms as Tad the Frog is introduced to them. For example, all of the "C's" are shivering because they are "C...C...C...cold".
After each letter is introduced, they sing a simple song with a cute little tune that is easily picked up by children: "The A says /a/.
The A says /a/.
Every letter makes a sound.
The A says /a/."
I posted about this little video here when I was first introduced to it. My daughter loved it! I also found these awesome printable letter cards to go along with the mnemonics used in the movie on a blog called, Running With Scissors. These letter cards are drawn by hand, didn't they come out beautiful?
I actually recommend this video to all of my parents to use as an additional tool at home to support their child's letter-sound development. It is fairly inexpensive and can be purchased almost anywhere!
using mnemonics.
A mnemonic is a device used to aid in remembering something. When it comes to the alphabet, the mnemonics are the pictures that begin with the sound made by the letter. These pictures provide the children with a type of connection to the letter sound as they add it to their memory banks.
For example an "apple" for the letter "Aa", a "bed" for the letter "Bb", and a "cat" for the letter "Cc".
For example, "A, apple, /a/".
There are so many wonderful letter-sound picture cards out there that can serve as mnemonics. Here are links to two of my absolute favorites. Each one uses a good, clear primary font and the picture that corresponds with each letter is very simple and unambiguous for children of all backgrounds.
Annie from The Moffatt Girls
Angelia from Extra Special Teaching
A resource that I love to use that incorporates mnemonics is the LeapFrog Letter Factory video.
After each letter is introduced, they sing a simple song with a cute little tune that is easily picked up by children: "The A says /a/.
The A says /a/.
Every letter makes a sound.
The A says /a/."
I posted about this little video here when I was first introduced to it. My daughter loved it! I also found these awesome printable letter cards to go along with the mnemonics used in the movie on a blog called, Running With Scissors. These letter cards are drawn by hand, didn't they come out beautiful?
What do you do to help your little literacy learners connect the letters of the alphabet with their sounds?
