Research shows that certain kinds of language
activities for the preschool child make a significant difference in the
child's ability to make the connection from spoken sounds to the written
symbols for the sounds starting with the alphabet. How can children crack
the alphabetic code if they lack an appreciation for the value and fun of
sounds?
Picture this scenario for either your child or the
young one of someone you know. Billy has a reading disability. when he
attempts to read aloud, he hesitates, mispronounces and makes repeated
attempts to "sound out" a word as he labors to translate written symbols
into sounds and blend the sounds into a word he knows or understands. In
addition, if he is asked to explain what he has just read, he is often
unable to do so. In his struggle to read (decode), most of his thinking
(cognitive) resources were devoted to decoding the words into sounds; he's
had no chance to even think about their meaning.
We all care about these children. Wouldn't it help
parents to appreciate the value of The Story Teller Nursery Rhymes, the
Finger Play Fun and the accompanying tapes if we explain that they can
"play" their child into a love for the sounds of our language? Then later
they can help their children crack the alphabet code. Match the sounds for
example, " Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater" or the "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum" of the Giant
in "Jack and the Beanstalk" to learn the letters/P/and /F/ in the Learning
Letters or the ABC Train as my grandson Patrick discovered to do so.
Just ask my granddaughter Jan, what her favorite
nursery rhyme is and she'll tell you it's "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." Jan grew
up on nursery rhymes and now, at almost five, delights in writing the
letters of the alphabet that represent the sounds she's always loved. Finger
plays are such fun for children. Do they realize that they are acquiring
valuable oral and written communication tools? Of course not. They just want
to play. How about using as a finger play set, photos of each family member,
even the pets. Let's see:
Jan studies and learns in kindergarten every day,
Patrick stays home with mommy to play, play, play. Mommy gets the groceries,
selling felt along the way. Daddy goes to work on time so he can earn
his pay. Grandma joins them all at church to sing and pray.
Will they become aware of the sounds of language? Oh, Yes! They will even
make up their own ending words to rhyming sentences. You can even use pieces
from other sets to make up rhymes with the help of an older child or adult.
Just think, we seem to be "hard wired" for spoken
language. Reading and writing come less naturally to us and require
sound (phonological) awareness coupled with visual recognition (for letters)
skills that do not always develop with ease. To quote a language specialist,
"Phonological awareness and sound-letter recognition is necessary for word
recognition, which is undoubtedly critical in reading success." (Blachman
1994) Who needs to know about the importance of The Story Teller for
language and literacy? Let's see: parents, grandparents, early childcare
providers and teachers, librarians, pediatricians, colleges that prepare
early childhood educators...and more.
