Two skills children need to master in their journey to independent reading are segmenting and blending sounds. Segmenting is breaking a word apart into individual sounds and blending is very simply the ability to combine the sounds together smoothly. When we tell a child to sound it out , this is really what we are asking them to do. This activity was designed for my son who is a great reader but who will often read so quickly that if he encounters a word he doesn’t know he simply guesses and continues. If I ask him to sound the word out he will still often guess and get frustrated at me for asking instead of slowing down and doing it even though he is perfectly capable of doing so. I had to come up with a playful way that would force him to chill a little, slow it all down and focus on the sounds. This activity can be adapted for any level even single sounds or sight words. We did a similar one for toddlers exploring letters here.
- Gather your materials. You will need some white paper, white wax crayon, dark water color ( container is you need one) , a little water and a paint brush. I also used a clipboard to keep the pages secure while painting.
- Start by writing out the words you want your child to stretch out. I used a book we’ve recently read to help me think of some words. Many of the words I chose were not a challenge to read , the challenge is to get him to slow down and stretch them out. For new readers you will want to do words like cat, dog, ball, map, off, snap etc… but know that older children and more proficient readers can still work on this skill with more complex words.
- Next I popped the black water color into the jar and added just a little water. To do this well you want a lot of color but not too much water .
- I invited my little reader and explained that he needed to paint over the words SLOWLY and read as he went, then to read the whole word normally. I had to emphasize that the goal was not to guess the word after painting over the first few letters, that the right way to do it was to carefully say each sound then put the word back together.
- The activity was an instant hit. It really did get him to slow it down and pay attention to all the sounds in the words instead of just guessing. I was happy to find a tool for him to keep working on these skills without making him feel like I was giving him a remedial task. Quick activities likes this one can be thrown together easily with some really fantastic benefits to your child’s reading ability.
Ujuzi wa watoto ambao wanahitaji kujifunza katika safari yao ya kusoma kwa kujitegemea ni kugawanya na kuchanganya sauti. Sehemu ni kuvunja neno mbali katika sauti za mtu binafsi na mchanganyiko ni tu uwezo wa kuchanganya sauti pamoja laini. Tunapomwambia mtoto wetu atoe sauti, tunamwambia afanye hivyo. Shughuli hii ilitengenezwa kwa ajili ya mwana wangu ambaye ni msomaji mkubwa lakini ambaye mara nyingi atasoma haraka sana kwamba kama anakutana na neno yeye hajui yeye tu guesses na inaendelea. Kama nikimwomba atoe neno hilo, yeye bado mara nyingi atagundua na kunikasirisha kwa kuniuliza badala ya kupunguza kasi na kufanya hivyo ingawa ana uwezo kamili wa kufanya hivyo. Nililazimika kuja na njia ya kucheza ambayo ingemlazimisha kupumzika kidogo, kupunguza kasi na kuzingatia sauti. Shughuli hii inaweza kubadilishwa kwa kiwango chochote hata sauti moja au maneno ya kuona. Tulifanya moja kama hiyo kwa watoto wachanga kuchunguza herufi hapa. - Kukusanya vifaa yako. Unahitaji karatasi nyeupe, crayon nyeupe, rangi ya maji ya giza, maji kidogo na brashi ya rangi. Pia nilitumia ubao wa kukamata habari ili kuweka kurasa salama nilipokuwa nikipaka rangi. Anza kwa kuandika maneno ambayo unataka mtoto wako atumie. Nilitumia kitabu ambacho tulikuwa tumesoma hivi karibuni kunisaidia kufikiria maneno fulani. """Mambo mengi niliyochagua hayakuwa changamoto ya kusoma, changamoto ni kumfanya apunguze kasi na kuyainua." Kwa wasomaji wapya, utahitaji kutumia maneno kama paka, mbwa, mpira, ramani, off, snap, nk, lakini kumbuka kwamba watoto wakubwa na wasomaji wenye ujuzi zaidi bado wanaweza kufanya kazi kwenye ustadi huu na maneno magumu zaidi. - Kisha nikaweka rangi nyeusi ya maji ndani ya chupa na kuongeza maji kidogo tu. Ili kufanya hivyo vizuri unahitaji rangi nyingi lakini si maji mengi sana. - Nilimwalika msomaji wangu mdogo na kumweleza kwamba alihitaji kupaka rangi juu ya maneno HASWA na kusoma alipokuwa akienda, kisha kusoma neno lote kwa kawaida. """Lazima nikumbuke kwamba lengo halikuwa kugundua neno baada ya kuchora juu ya herufi chache za kwanza, kwamba njia sahihi ya kufanya hivyo ilikuwa kwa kusema kwa uangalifu kila sauti na kisha kuweka neno pamoja tena." - Shughuli hiyo ilifanikiwa mara moja. Kwa kweli ilimfanya apunguze mwendo na kuzingatia sauti zote katika maneno badala ya kukisia tu. Nilikuwa na furaha kupata chombo kwa ajili yake kuendelea kufanya kazi juu ya ujuzi huu bila kumfanya kuhisi kama mimi alikuwa kumpa kazi ya kurekebisha. Kazi hii ya haraka inaweza kuunganishwa kwa urahisi na faida nzuri kwa uwezo wa kusoma wa mtoto wako.