Using Repetition and Picture Cues to Foster Independent Young Readers

Overview

From Theory to Practice

OVERVIEW

This minilesson encourages students to use their knowledge of letters and sounds to make an alphabet book that focuses on a specific letter. After the teacher models the given letter sound, each student, in turn, repeats the sound and names a word beginning with that letter sound. The teacher pronounces each word, encouraging students to tell the sounds they hear. The teacher writes the word on chart paper or the board, and then repeats these steps for each student. The sentence "This is a _____." is written on each page of the book. Each student draws the word they named beginning with the targeted letter and labels it on the line provided. The pages are then combined into a classroom book.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

According to Karen DaSilva, "When reading, making, and writing images are connected, literacy is expanded." In this activity, students combine letter-word exploration with illustration. Thereby, new learning develops by connecting familiar to new information-students connect their knowledge to the letters being examined. Further, young children can develop a sense of the relationships between letters and sounds when they are engaged in writing for a meaningful purpose.

Further Reading

daSilva, Karen Ernst. "Drawing on Experience: Connecting Art and Language." Primary Voices 10.2 (October 2001): 2-8.

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