We have been using Letterland the past two years in Kindergarten. The first eighteen days of school is what's called a "Fast Track". It's a quick dip into each letter of letterland in those eighteen days. After that, we jump into a more closer look at each letter, their name, shape, sound, you name it... we spend time doing it. I am now going on days twenty-six to thirty. We will have focused on four different letters: Annie Apple, Clever Cat, Dippy Duck, and Harry Hatman.
Here is my trouble... WHY is this program teaching those letters/sounds first? And WHY do they teach the vowel sound with the letter, like Annie Apple? She says 'a' as in apple but she belongs to Mr. A who says 'a' like ape. SO confusing for these beginning Kinders. They looked at me like I had ten heads. Now, I know it was many years ago that I taught K and I have been with firsties for quite some time, but if I recall correctly, we taught in this sequence: rhyming, initial consonants, final consonants, and then vowels very last. When did this change? I feel like I am teaching rhyming for those who cannot hear OR produce one and then initial consonants at one time.
Anyways, I created an initial consonant sort for the four Letterlanders we are working with recently. They will use a pocket chart sort with the picture cards and then come back to the table and complete the sort I made. Use if you like. It's nothing fancy but just enough to get the point across to the kiddos. I am going to make one each time we come across four more Letterlanders and even throw in some review. Click on Annie Apple to grab the sort.
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