September 29

Today, I instructed class and taught the drill for after lesson 15 and lesson 16.

In our drill we covered the "l" blends including: pl, sl, gl, fl, bl, and cl

We utilized a student worksheet to read blends. We used our reading skills to blend consonants together. We also worked on hearing blends. I read particular blends and instructed my students to echo and spell the blend.

Blends we practiced:

bl, tr, gr, sl, dr, cl, br, fl, cr, fr, pr, gl

We practiced spelling by instructing students to echo the word I said, identify the initial sound, and say the letter that spells that sound.

sleep, flat, prince, crude, frog, grace, travel, bread, clue

I think had my students write the entire word

cub, slim, flat, glad, trot, plug, glit, clet

We then practiced writing sentences:

1) Slim Jim had six flats.

2) I am glad he did not slip.

3) Jan set a trap for the twin pigs.

4) We had clams and plums.

5) Set the drum on the log.

6) The crab and the slug slid on the rug.

In lesson 16 we practiced the alphabet and sound system, new learning, reading, spelling, and review.

In the alphabet and sound system section we reviewed the initial, medial, and final positions. We went through the alphabet and identified the before, after, and between missing letters. We also practiced rhyming with our plastic alphabet letters.

We used the letters: A, M, N, T, V, D, P, R, F

We spelled the word man and then we had to spell other words that rhymed with man.

a color (tan)

a large vehicle (van)

a man's name (Dan)

a cooking utensil (pan)

the past tense of run (ran)

a device that blows air (fan)

In new learning we practiced vowel concepts. We went over that a vowel sound is always voiced and open, every word has one vowel, and they make more than one sound. We practiced all 5 vowels and their short vowel sound by using a student worksheet.

Ex: map, mep, mip, mop, mup

Students had to fill in the vowels and pronounce the words.

In reading we covered our daily reading deck, the names of the letters, and the key words and sounds.We worked on high frequency learned words and used another student worksheet to find the high frequency learned words.

January, February, March, April, May, June

America, United States, New York, Texas

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year

We then practiced our learned words : school, where and which. We used another student worksheet to find the learned words in each sentence. By utilizing this same worksheet we practiced proper nouns, and students had to find the proper nouns in each sentence.

For spelling we worked on the spelling deck and the vowels. We worked on the short vowel sounds only and written spelling. We worked on when k is in the initial position and practiced when to use c or k. We used another student worksheet that had exercises for when to use c or k.

In our review, we touched upon the main topics covered in our lesson and the idea of common and proper nouns.

Thursday, September 22

Two of the flipcharts on the wall in our classroom

On Thursday, September 22, I instructed our class. With graduate school starting, I went into work feeling frazzled, then on the way to work my breaks went out. I was not feeling very positive or inspired. After instructing my class, and interacting with my students all of that changed. I can't explain/put into words how much this experience is impacting my life as a teacher and a person.

We covered a drill for after lesson 13 and lesson 14.

In our drill we focused on a short vowel review by using a student worksheet. I read words aloud, and asked my students to give the sound in each closed syllable and then to read the syllable.

baf, diz, fod, han, jez, ket, lum, nib, med, rup, pov, zog, tep, suf, lab.

To work on listening, I read three syllables aloud, and each student was asked to circle the syllable I read. They were instructed to pay close attention to the vowel sound.

1) fib, fab, fed

2) pom, pem, pim

3) sil, sel, sul

4) maf, mof, muf

5) niz, nez, naz

6) vit, vut, vot

To work on writing, I read allowed three syllables, and asked them to write them.

1) zog

2) nup

3) teb

We worked independently, and then worked together on the board.

To work on contrast reading we utilized a student worksheet.

The worksheet had words that shared the same initial and final sounds, but different vowels. We read together for the first couple of columns, then each person had to read aloud independently.

lid, lad, led Dad, did, dud ten, tin, tan pig, pug, peg rod, red, rid bet, bat, but, bit

bed, bad, bud, bid beg, bag, bug, big ham, hem, him, hum pet, pat, pot, pit Dan, den, don, din

To practice spelling, I read syllables, asked my students to echo then, identify the rowel sound of the word, and to spell the vowel sound, then spell and write the word.

let, lug, mab, gob, rab, fim, tof

hum, lam, tim, kib, lob, siv

We then read sentences and wrote them out.

1) He ran to get the mad pup.

2) Get the bug out of the jam!

3) Rip the hem of the bib.

4) The fox had its cub in the den.

5) Don his a tin can in the hut.

We then covered lesson 14.

In lesson 14, we practiced alphabetizing, and rhyme. We alphabetizing five words together on the board. We practiced rhyming by hearing two words and then creating three more words that rhymed with them.

We then learned about Consonant Blends, which are : two or more adjacent consonants whose sounds blend smoothly together.

the "r" blend family = gr, cr, dr, fr, tr, pr, br

We practiced our letters with our reading deck, naming the letters, keywords, and sounds. We emphasized on consonant blends and utilized a student worksheet. We learned more high frequency words : run, end, left, help, next and more learned words : from. America, Texas.

I also introduced the students to commands which gives an order. It always begins with a capital letter and ends with a period.

We practiced spelling by writing out words and focused on k and c in initial and medial position. We practiced with another student worksheet.

Rule : K before e, and i

C before a, o, u, and any consonant.

Observing my students communucation skills are very interesting. Also, the interpersonal relationship and connection I am building with a lot of them is awesome. After class, I usually stay to talk with them about their lives and what is going on with them. Having these students has been an amazing experience.

Tuesday, September 13

On Tuesday, my co-instructor Walter taught class. I assisted with our students and helped out throughout the lesson. After the lesson I stayed after and worked with one of our students, and also created flip charts for our class room. I have been creating flip charts with all the important information/details from each lesson and hanging them up around our classroom for our students to better understand/to reinforce the topics covered.

Walter covered a drill for after lesson 11 and lesson 12.

In the drill the students practiced listening. Walter gave a sequence of sounds, the students were then instructed to listen and write the letters that made those sounds in the correct sequence.
Example - (p) (n) (i), (f) (u) (a)

Covered these.
(m) (t) (b) (k) (z) (o) (j) (i) (g) (u) (r) (b)
(a) (h) (y) (w) (e) (i) (p) (l) (o) (t) (s) (m) (u) (g)

Next, they worked on reading short e, and used a student worksheet. The worksheet involves words that include the same vowels but have different initial and final sounds.

Example - fed, men, get, peg

They then practiced words that had different vowels, but the same initial and final sounds.
Example - lag, lug, leg

They practiced 26 sets all together.

To practice spelling, they covered different words and had to spell them.
jib, nap, sep, log, pab, elk, asp, gag, luz

Each student then had to write out these sentences:
Ed had ham.
The red rat ran up the pot.

Can I sit on the bin?

The hog is at the bed!

Jan fed the cat in the den.

Ten men had a bet.

To work on structure and accent, the students were read words and asked to accent them.

remark, program, permit, remember, student, dictation, regret, practice.

After - students were told that each of these words had more than on syllable and which syllable had the accent.

September 6

Tuesday, September 6th was an exciting and challenging day for me as a facilitator/instructor. It was the first day for me to conduct a drill with my students. A drill covers all the topics we have gone over in the lessons before hand.

I was teaching the drill for after lesson 8, which included everything from the previous lessons. When doing the drill, you do not have the video tape, and you teach with a small amount of notes. I tried to prepare the best I could before class and think it went pretty well.

In the drill we covered the three vowels a, i, and o. I instructed my students to echo the word I said, and then give the vowel sound. After this, my students had to give me the actual name of the vowel. We used the words : mon, sab, rog, tim, vik, lat, dis, fal, hin, bon, hak, pob.

After this short drill we worked on a reading worksheet and moved to spelling. With the spelling drill I instructed my students to echo and write each syllable after I said them. The approach we use always uses the technique look & listen, echo, name & write. The words we used were : fam, fim, fom, nop, nip, nap. Each of these words helps to sound out and name the three vowels we have learned so far in our lessons.

Next, I dictated sentences and instructed my students to echo and write them.
The three sentences were:
1) Hop to the mat.
2) The gam is in the bin.
3) Dan bid on the pot.
4) in the pot.

This exercise uses our learned words and syllables.

This drill also included a homework sheet to practice the short vowels a, i, and o.

After our drill, I facilitated lesson 10. In lesson 10 we went over letters in the Missing Letter Deck. For example, l, ,n. Which letter should go in the middle? -- m. We also covered accent, and accenting the missing letters.

An accent is the stress or emphasis given to a syllable.

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.

We then covered multisyllable words, and practiced removing/dropping the last syllable. We used the words : ac(cept), gal(lop), Tenness(see), tele(scope), calen(dar).

In New Learning we covered new consonants x, y, and z, & their key words, box, yacht, and zipper. For the auditory discrimination section I read different words, and my students had to echo and identify the position of the different sounds as initial, medial, or final.

(x) = box, hex, fix, next
(y) = yak, yoke, yawl
(z) = zag, zeal, zest

For reading, we covered the daily reading deck, and my students named the letters, key words, and sounds. We focused on words with the new consonants x, y, and z. We used a student worksheet to code and read syllables together and learned next high frequency words and learned words.

high frequency : I
learned : to, do, of, you, put

We also covered the difference between telling and asking sentences.

A telling sentence gives information. It beings with a capital letter and ends with a period. An asking sentence asks for information. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a question mark.

I was in Salt Lake City, Utah and missed September 8th, which included drill for after lesson 10 and lesson 11. Walter, my co-instructor conducted that class. He will also be teaching tomorrow, on Tuesday, September 13th, and I will conduct class on Thursday, September 15.

I would like to take a moment to remember all of the innocent people lost in the September 11th terrorist attacks 10 years ago, and use this blog to spread positivity and inspiration to people going through hard times in life. 9/11 - never forgotten, always remembered.

September 1

Our classroom

I conducted my first class independently on Thursday, September 1st. I taught both lessons 8 and 9. We had a pretty full classroom, and it was exciting and nerve-wrecking to conduct my first class, on my own, for the first time. In the end, it all turned out okay and was a successful class.

We began our class with lesson 8. In lesson 8 we covered the alphabet, multisyllable words, and producing the final syllable. The tape and I would say a partial word, and the students would complete it by adding a syllable. Examples : helicop = helicopter, motorcy(cle), escala(tor), alligat(tor), celebra(tion), televisi(sion), dictionar(y), eleva(tor), thermome(ter).

We also covered and learned new consonants j, v, and w, & their key words jungle, vest, and web. We covered how the write the letters and how to pronounce them. We practiced echoing and identifying the sound in initial position by utilizing the words : jasper, wicker, valid, joust, vellum, and weep.

To learn and practice reading we went over our daily reading deck and practiced reading words with our new consonants j, v, and w. We utilized a worksheet and also covered some high frequency and learned words.

High frequency words : if, big, will, got, not, on, off, man, ask, go, no, so

Learned words: of, to, do

We also practiced spelling out words and isolating sounds in syllables. We used our colored blocks to represent sounds. The students listened and echoed each word, isolated the sounds, and represented each sound with a different colored block. We went over the nonsense words : rog, bon, dosp, flop, mom, and stog.

In lesson 9, we split the alphabet in two and went over the two different halves. A - M and N - Z. The students named and indentified which half of the alphanet the letter belonged in. We then covered the sound system and syllables. The students were given words, and were asked to count to the syllables. Words used : blowout, Dracula, equator, patriotic, individual, mosquito, swamp.

They then practiced isolating the first syllable with the words : (ze)bra, (dim)ple, (bi)cycle, (vol)cano, (mocca)sin, (luna)tic, (thun)der.

We then went over a new letter, short vowel u, and the key word umbrella. To practice reading we went through our daily reading deck, named the letters, key words, and sounds. We practiced reading words with the syllables u, a, o, and , and we covered a student worksheet.

We learned the High Frequency words but, up, us and the Learned words you, and put, and covered the definition of a sentence.

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.

To practice spelling we wrote out words and practiced echoing, isolating the final sound in words, and writing them. We used another student worksheet and covered the words : tint, bab, tisp, gad, nog, and gam.

Moving along in the lessons, I can see the progress of our students. After teaching my first lesson I felt pretty confident, but I know it's all a learning process. One of my students told me she really enjoyed class with me, and it melted my heart. Giving back, and helping others is one thing I know I want to be doing for the rest of my life. Knowing that my students are learning English and literacy skills is so amazing. I can only hope that this class helps them function outside of classroom, in their personal and public lives.

Day 8

ABRP Instructors - Kim Galati, Walter Pierce, & Myself

August 30th marked the fourth day of class. We did our first drill and covered lesson 7. The drills we have cover and summarize topics we learn in the lessons before hand. So before the 30th we covered lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 5 so on the 30th we did the drill for after lesson 6 and lesson 7.

In the drill for after lesson 6, we covered what syllables are, and why we need vowel sounds. We also discussed and practiced different kinds of syllables and vowels.

The exact drill was - "I will say a syllable, you echo, isolate the vowel sound and then tell me the name of the vowel that makes that sound. (Do the first dew as a group, then call on individual students.) Syllables practiced = tif, lin, taf, bid, tav, lan, pit, tap.

After the drill we covered learned words, which are words that are not pronounced as they are written. (a, the, of)

For auditory practice the students were instructed to listen to a series of sounds, and then were asked to identify them as same or different. We utilized the colored blocks for the multisensory approach, and used different colors to represent each sound.

We then practiced initial sounds by saying a word, having the students echo the whole word, then saying the sound we hear in the initial position. After this, we went over the letter that made the sound. Words practiced = run, nut, mouse, date, toy, sent, page, kitten, pin, axe, book, bike

We then practiced the final sound by doing the same thing for the initial sound. Words practiced = stump, mud, Jim, putt, hook, smell, step, flat, pig, roof, half, round, can

We covered reading by utilizing a worksheet that allowed the students to read down and across the word list. Each student was assigned to one row.

The last thing we covered in our drill was dictated spelling and single syllables. Students were directed to listen to a word or syllable, echo it, and then say the vowel whose sound they heard in the medial position of the word. They were then directed to listen to a syllable echo it, and write it in the blanks provided.

This drill covered all the topics taught in lessons 1-6.

In lesson 7 we practiced isoltating the first and last syllables, listening and echoing multisyllable words, and we introduced short vowel o with the key word octopus.

It's so wonderful to see the students picking up on the langauge, engaging in the video and the lessons, asking questions, and expanding their english literacy skills.