Provide concrete experience and have students discuss the event.
Echo read to give students an opportunity to repeat sentences and use appropriate syntax.
Use pictures from stories (read alouds, shared reading) to have students retell the story.
Provide students with pictures and encourage sharing.
Bring in objects and have students discuss what they know about them, especially ones that relate to topics being studied or read.
Read a variety of books to students and discuss them.
Encourage small group and one-to-one discussions. Some of the best conversations may be the natural, language-rich activities that are part of daily classroom routines.
Draw students attention to the letters in their names.
Be explicit and discuss that their names are made up of specific letters.
Make name cards for all students and invite the to learn or generalize their knowledge by asking questions such as:
Does anyone have a name that begins with the same letter as…(name student)? Invite students to share and discuss their ideas. Compare the first letters of the names and comment appropriately.
Who has a name that begins with…(name letter)?
Does you name have a lowercase….(name letter)? Hold it up and point to it.
Refer to print on signs and posters in the room and talk about the letters that make up the words.
Invite students to bring in objects such as cereal boxes, fast food bags, etc. (environmental print) and discuss the letters that make up the words on these items.
Be sure that have a model of the alphabet displayed in the room so students can see how letters are formed.
Writing Center- Develop a writing center where students can compose and draw. Remember that writing is developmental and students may be making letter-like forms as they progress to conventional printing. Include pencils, colored pencils, markers, letter stamps, and various shapes and colors of paper.
Read aloud alphabet books. Draw students attention to words that begin with the same sound.
Use graphic displays that combine the letter form with a picture of something that begins with that letter. Draw letters within the pictures rather than next to the picture. Display around the room.
Say a word and have students indicate whether their names begin with the same sound. Remember to stress sounds so names like Cecil and Sam begin with the same sound as circus. Clarify students’ responses as necessary.
Read aloud nursery rhymes and poems to help students hear and develop understanding of words as units of sound that can be manipulated independently of meaning.
Listening corner with rhyming books or poetry to be explored during reading block.
Recite poems, finger plays and chants on a regular basis. Write these on chart paper (can use picture clues). Recite each line inviting students to echo back. Continue to add lines always beginning at the beginning as you add.
For segmenting syllables, use the names of your students for initial activities. Say the first name of one student; then say the name again and clasp the syllables. Clap as you say each syllable. Continue with names of other students.
Say the name of well known words (candy, paper, pencil, etc.) slowly segmenting by syllable (can-dy, pa-per, etc.) Invite students to figure out what the word is. After they say the word, chorally say the word with blended syllables. Repeat with other common words. This can be done after a read aloud using words from the text..
Read aloud rhyming books, poetry and nursery rhymes. Point out the rhyming word families after the book has been read and enjoyed.
Word sorts with rime families
Create a rhyming word wall and ask students to draw/write words that they discover to add to the wall. Don’t forget to reference the words in your instruction in large and small group.
Provide time daily for writing with invented spelling, even if students are writing single words or short phrases to accompany their illustrations. The process students go through listening to the sounds in words as they write using invented spelling helps them to attend to the individual sounds in words.
Read aloud children’s literature that playfully deals with sounds in language (Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, etc.)
Incorporate activities into daily classroom routines. For example, say a sound and let students whose names include that sound line up. Be sure students respond to the sound. For example, if you say kkk,Ken, Cathy and Nikki could all respond.
Incorporate lots of environmental print into the classroom environment. Consider having students bring print items from home and using these as your word wall.