Authentic AlphabetHere is a structure you can apply to children’s emerging interest to meet EYLF Learning Outcomes:Learning Outcome 4.3 Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another.

Introduction

“It becomes Authentic when it becomes a part of children’s everyday life experience and in context to their world. It is authentic when experience withliterature is used for a purpose and all its variousaspects are brought together in the act of reading andwriting”. (J Schickendanz 1999)

When children learn the Authentic Alphabet, they learnthrough their natural curiosity and are able to identifythe phonemes that make up the words they arelearning to read and write. These letter sounds comefrom objects in children's everyday environment and are a key element in literacy learning. AuthenticAlphabet will expand children’s web of knowledge andvocabulary at the same time.

The Exercise

Use an interest that has developed with the children. We will be using “What Needs Water”. This is a greatway for children to examine his or her environment andthink about how it works. By labelling objects that use or need water, they create an association betweenobjects and the written form of their names.

Your World As An Adult

Authentic Alphabet is a major foundation for literacyskills such as reading and writing. Foundation skillslearned here greatly assist with spelling and lateralthinking, and these are very important skills that should improve children's confidence as they takeon the world.

Learning Outcome 5.1 Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.Learning Outcome 5.2 Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts.

The educational aims

Educational aims of this exercise are to expose yourchildren to the written word to form the foundations ofreading and writing. Through this activity your child willsee letter and word formation in action. With educators sounding out the letters, syllables and words, you willteach Authentic Alphabet.

The exercise has two very important parts. Firstly a written language has now been connected to the oral language we take for granted. Secondly the sounding out of the phonic segments is teaching your childAuthentic Alphabet skills, and this is how children learnto read, write and spell.

Flow Chart of Educational Event EYLF LO 4.3 & 5.2

Step 1. Explore your centre and identify objects that require, need, use or store water.

Step 2. Create name tags for the objects.

Step 3. Say the sounds of the words.

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WhatWhat Does WashesWater Pass WithThrough? Water?

Water

What WhatNeeds HoldsWater

WaterFor Life?

Create name tags

S a y t h e n a m e o f t h e o b j e c t

S a y t h e s o u n d s o f t h e l e t t e r s

S a y t h e s o u n d o f t h e s y l l a b l e s

What you needWhat you need

Pencils Tape or blue tack

ScissorsPaper

Create name labels

for these objects.Create name labels

for these objects.

AAut he nt iic AAlpha be tt -- WWha t NNe e ds Wa t e rr?

Carry out these 3 steps with the children

St e p 1 St e p 2

Explore your centre with the children and identify objectsthat require, need, use or store water. Be adventurous andreally think outside the square. You may like to use thefollowing areas on the diagram to start this process.

Washing machine

Gutter

Pipes Dishwasher

EYLF LOC 4.3 & 5.2 Shower

What DoesTaps Water Pass

Through?

WhatWashes

WithWater?

Bathroom

Kitchen Sink

Toilet

Bath

Water

Vase

Plants

WhatNeedsWater

For Life?

WhatHoldsWater

Ice Tray

Jug

Animals

Tea/Coffee

NeedsWater

To Make

CupKettle

Bottle

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ut he nt c lpha be ha t e e ds Wa t e ?

Bucket

St e p 3Refer to the name labels in your daily life and say the word to the children broken down into itssounds or phonic segments.

For example gutter / g / u / t / t / e / r / for single letter sounds g u t - t e r for the syllable

Bucket becomes / b / u / c / k / e / t / for single letter sounds b u c - k e t for the syllable

Start by helping children to identify shapes ofletters and link these shapes to sounds, so theletter 'g’ becomes the sound 'geh'. Write the letter out so that your child understands that the letterand the sound are the same thing.

1 2

After sounding out each individual letter in a word,you can chunk the word into its syllables, so thatchildren learn that individual letter soundscombine to form new sounds. Say the wordnaturally so that the child can hear the natural syllable breaks.

Clapping your hands for each syllable often helps children to understand and remember thisprocess.

Repeat this activity for a week, then reinforce once per week from then on to ensure thatlearning is not lost.

Practise the movement of the letters in a sand pit,or use a paint brush and water on the footpath ordraw on big paper.

From here, it is an easy step to teach your child toread phonetically. Start slowly - one letter at atime, but building on as you go.

Use fridge magnets and ask the child to find the letter that makes the sounds ‘geh’ for gutter.Gradually you can build up whole words.

You don't need to give children structured alphabet learning. Usually this type of learning has no context to children's curious minds and they become bored as it has no relevance to their lives. Alphabet books don't make good reading, and

research has proven that children don't learn reading and writing through simplymemorising ABCDEFG etc . They learn by sound associations.

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