Flexible grouping is a fundamental approach to teaching phonemic lessons. Flexible grouping does not only teach but also evaluates learners’ understanding. This essay involves observing videos and creating a cross-sectional analysis for three identified activities of each flexible grouping in supporting phonological or phonemic awareness. Flexible grouping is an effective mechanism of teaching phonemic awareness.
The first activity is a syllable game video, which involves reciting names alongside clapping, where the tutor seeks to introduce the nature of syllables to the students, leading them to clap and count. This activity teaches the learners about syllables in classroom erudition. Several names with different syllable lengths are used for modeling to ensure that learners are well acquitted with the concepts (Goldstein et al., 2017). The instructor pronounces the first name of one student, each syllable separately, before inviting them to recite the names as they clap alongside the teacher. The tutor asks one student at a time to clap and list down the syllables using their names.
Some of the variations of this activity include asking students to clap and list down their initial names together. Following successful enumeration of syllables in their names, they are asked to hold twin fingers below their chins to feel the chin drop per syllable. In maximizing mechanical impact, the students are requested to elongate the syllable any time they recite it (Nunn et al., 2019). Finally, the teacher asks the students to form temporary groups to practice the variations after the lesson on their own to evaluate their understanding and report their progress in the subsequent lesson.
The second activity is a troll video to enhance students’ capacity to use words from their distinct phonemes. It commences with a background of strong love for giving out presents but does not have a historical remembrance. In this case, the interesting part was that the troll always required people to understand their presents before giving them to the students, but his speaking was not easy to comprehend. Two to three syllables are used but the teacher may opt for longer words (Suggate, 2016). Three students are involved in this exercise; they choose and practice the words without full conscience of them. However, the teacher may choose an exciting activity such as the troll if he had engaged in giving out presents after subjecting recipients to a guessing exercise.
The third activity is identifying the initial sound of words. It develops the student’s understanding of initial phonemes through comparison, contrasting, and identification of initial sounds from a different collection of words. Once the student familiarizes with the game, the pictures used should be spread out from divergent sets. The learner is asked to determine every photograph’s name and the initial phonemes to describe them into two separate piles (Vanderburg et al., 2020). The student compares and contrasts the initial letters of the pictures after identifying each word from the collection presented by the teacher in the activity variations.
From the above accounts, I can effectively develop appropriate grouping in the future for students to integrate a conceptual understanding of initial phonemes by contrasting and comparing as the precedence for identifying objects using the initial sounds. I would use this understanding to enhance the learner’s involvement and evaluation of their perception of phonemes during group activities to maximize the gains attributed to a motivated learner.
References
Goldstein, H., Olszewski, A., Haring, C., Greenwood, C. R., McCune, L., Carta, J., Atwater, J., Guerrero, G., Schneider, N., McCarthy, T., & Kelley, E. S. (2017). Efficacy of a supplemental phonemic awareness curriculum to instruct preschoolers with delays in early literacy development. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60(1), 89-103. Web.
Nunn, S., Rutherford-Quach, S., & Schaefer, V. (2019). Project 5.2. 4: Evidence-based practices for teaching phonological and phonemic awareness. Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a part of the U.S. Department of Education. Web.
Suggate, S. P. (2016). A meta-analysis of the long-term effects of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 49(1), 77-96. Web.
Vanderburg, M., Janita, R., & Brigid, C. (2020). Extending literacy skills with picture books we love. Practical Literacy: The Early and Primary Years, 25(3), 26-28.