Communication is a skill we all need. Language is a process that helps us connect with others and express our thoughts and feelings. We often think of reading as being what language is all about but it encompasses reading, writing, oral language and listening - we talk, we listen, we read and we write. Although reading and listening are receptive skill and writing and speaking are productive skills all four skills combine to make an effective communicator.
This year I have tried to use the professional development we had on oral language in terms 1 and 2, and the engage type of games to promote focus and listening along with teaching reading and writing to help children see the link between all these skills. Like all skills, they need to taught and then practised regularly.
Not all children come to school with the same level of skills so it can be expected that not all of the children have managed to gain a degree of proficiency in all four skills. Some children had made the connections between listening to sounds and written symbols very quickly and have made good progress. For others it is a continuing journey of practise, practise, practice. They have enjoyed the engage games of focusing, listening and noticing and also the joy of writing words they didn't know by listening to the sounds and writing them down.
Writing is a skill that needs to practised. A child doesn't just pick up a pencil and immediately form letters to make a meaningful word and become a competent writer. They need to understand the difference between writing and drawing, that letters are symbols and you need to know the code of phonemic awareness to be able to use these clues in writing down your ideas and communicating with others.
There are developmental steps along the way that need to be achieved before writing becomes a reality. Writing begins when a child randomly scribbles by moving the crayon or writing instrument across a page. The next stages are repetitive lines, letter and name practise leading on to writing that can be understood by others. As children understand writing is linear and they have more control or fine motor skills, they are able to make their marks go in lines to imitate real writing. They will often tell you what they have "written" or are attempting to communicate with others.
Next will come an attempt to form letters using lines, dots and curves.. This "noticing" of how letters are formed leads to the writing of their name. It is much later that orientation and correct letter shape comes about by having lots of opportunity to practise these new skills. Having a small group up at the teaching table gives me more time to help children individually with the letter formation that they need, phonemic awareness and for them to write a story that is important to them rather than whole class teaching. They are able to work at their pace and developmental stage and not have to go over things they already know.
Listening is a literacy skill that is often forgotten or undervalued yet it plays an integral role in communication. Research has shown that listening plays an important role in the relationship between a child's early language development and later reading achievement. Some children who struggle with reading find it difficult to make the connection between alphabet letters or the written symbols, the actions that your mouth makes to say the sounds and the sounds themselves. To learn the individual sounds or phonemes associated with each letter, one needs to listen to discriminate between sounds.
We have been practising our listening by breaking a word into all the sounds that make up a three letter CVC word. The children listen to the first sound and record it. Then they are told to write the next letter right up close to the first letter they recorded. Segmenting is also helping children see that each letter makes an individual sound and when you slide the sounds together it makes a word. They are amazed that they can spell words that they didn't think they knew!
Fun games help the children learn. We play games such as Whispers, Read, Memorise, Write and I went Shopping to practise listening, writing and reading. Purposeful writing of blog comments helps us with reading and writing as well as oral skills as we discuss how to reply and comment. These activities help the children to practise being effective communicators.
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