A l p H a b E t ! ! !

An alphabet is a standardized set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which roughly represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic unit, and syllabaries, in which each character represents a syllable. Alphabets are classified according to how they indicate vowels:

• the same way as consonants, as in Greek (true alphabet)
• diacritics or modification of consonants, as in Hindi (Devanāgarī: हिन्दी ) (abugida)
• not at all, as in Phoenician (abjad)

The word "alphabet" came into Middle English from the Late Latin word Alphabetum, which in turn originated in the Ancient Greek Αλφάβητος Alphabetos, from alpha and beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. Alpha and beta in turn came from the first two letters of the Phoenician alphabet, and meant ox and house respectively. There are dozens of alphabets in use today, the most common being Latin,deriving from the first true alphabet, Greek. Most of them are composed of lines (linear writing); notable exceptions are Braille, fingerspelling (Sign language), and Morse code.

Vowels

Children will enjoy learning about vowels with vowel songs, interactive activitys and games (missing vowel exercise). Students will learn what a vowel is, the sounds of the long and short vowels, and play a vowel game by adding the missing vowel to the word.

Teaching Vowels

Most Kindergarten teachers begin to teach vowels right away with their phonics programs. Once the students have begun to understand consonant and short vowel sounds, teachers can begin this vowel activity, song and game.

Tell the students that in addition to the consonants that they have been learning, there are 5 vowels that have special sounds, sometimes even more than one sound. The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes, y. Today we will focus on the vowels, a, e, i, o, and u.

Ahead of time, write the vowel song on chart paper. This is a song that I have created, although there are many vowel songs on the Internet to choose from.

Introduce the Vowel Song (to the tune of BINGO), by Laurie Patsalides

There are some letters I love to sing

and vowels are their name-o

a, e, i, o, u

a, e, i, o, u

a, e, i, o, u

and vowels are their name-o.

(Just as in the BINGO song, clap as each vowel becomes silent).

This song can also be reinforced later in the year when students begin to recognize that sometimes vowels are silent. Remind the students of this song.

Teach the students that when they sing this vowel song, they are singing the long vowels (they say their name a, e, i, o, and u).

Once the students have understood what the vowels are, then you can introduce the same song using the short sounds of the vowel letters (a, e, i, o, and u). Sing the song the same way as before, only use the short vowel sounds in place of saying the letters. Students enjoy this part, because it's almost like a tongue twister to them.

Play the Vowel Game with the Song

How to Make the Cards for the Vowel Game:

Take an index card (or sentence strip) and print the 5 vowels (in lowercase) on them, and cut them apart so that each student has the 5 vowels.

Provide one small plastic bag with the 5 vowels in it for each student.

How to Play the Game:

Seated in a circle, students place their cards face up in front of them on the floor. Sing the vowel song once again. As the letter becomes silent, the student turns that vowel card over. For example, _, e, i, o, u (the student flips the "a" over.) Continue singing the song until all cards have been flipped over.

Missing Vowel Exercise

Once the students are comfortable in knowing the vowels and their sounds, the teacher can introduce short words with short vowels in them. Create some cards with short words on them, for example c_t (cat), d_g (dog), r_d (red), and so on. Use a short vowel word list with pictures as a guide. I like to include a picture on the back of the card for picture support and self correction. Students practice by placing the correct missing vowel on the card from their vowel bag.

Students will certainly enjoy this hands-on method of teaching the vowels. The games can be adapted to several grade levels. Before you know it, the abstract concept of learning vowels and the vowel sounds will be mastered by your students.

Vowels

		[ éi ]
A a
		[ i: ]
E e
		[ ái ]
I i
		[óu]
O o
		[ iú:]
U u

about numbers!!!

Ten Creative Ways to Teach Your Child Numbers (for mommies)

1. Count items around the house

Gather up items around your house such as buttons, pencils, paper clips, etc. Put them in stacks and count them with your child

2.Play Hopscotch

Use chalk and draw a hopscotch game outside. Make sure to say the numbers out loud as you play.

3. Play "Go Fish"

Play "Go Fish" with a deck of playing cards. You can take out the face cards to play. Kids love playing games. This one is a lot of fun and they will be learning at the same time.

4. Cook with your kids

Include your child when you cook. Have him count the cups of milk, the tablespoons of margarine, or the eggs when you cook. Show him the recipe as you cook so he can follow along

5. Read counting books

Check out counting books from the library. Read counting books to your child. Have him practice counting as you read the book.

6. Have a treasure hunt

Fold up ten pieces of paper. On each piece of paper draw a number of items. For example, draw one fish, two triangles, or three apples. Also write a clue on the paper telling where to find the next number "clue". Start the game with number one and end with the number ten. Have your child count the items on the page before you read the clue.

7. Play a telephone game

Using a toy telephone and a telephone book, have your child call an order a pizza. Help him read the number and press the numbers on the phone. You can also call the florist and have flowers delivered. Let your child use his imagination.

8. Play board games

Play board games with your child like Monopoly. Let him be in charge of rolling the dice. Have him count the dots on the dice and then have him move the piece as he counts.

9. Make a counting book

You can purchase a blank book at an educational supply store or make your own with construction paper and a three-hole punch. On each page have your child draw or trace a number. Have him draw items such as balls, worms, or smiley faces to correspond with the number. Make pages for one to ten or one to twenty if your child is older.

10. Play an "I spy" game

Take turns playing "I spy". Look around your room and say, "I spy something we have two of (or three of)..." It could be speakers for your stereo, cushions on the couch or pictures on the wall, or anything you can count.

How to teach colors to kids and preschool children

Why teach colors to preschool children?

There are many ways to teach your children the basic colors. Some can be fun and interesting and some can be boring. Teaching your children colors by playing games is not only fun but also it gives them different ways to learn something basic.You can also read children’s books that focus on colors. Most children should be able to recognize color differences by 18 months. Here are some tips and ideas to teach colors to kids and preschool children.

Teach colors with bright pencils

How to teach colors using pencils

Tips to teach colors to kids

1. Books: There are many books that reinforce the colors. Find a fun book that focuses on two or three colors with many photos. This is a fun way to teach colors to kids.
2. Flash cards: You can teach colors through flash cards. Flash cards contain pictures of items in various colors. For example, if it is a picture of a banana it would be yellow.
3. Food: Kids also learn colors through food. Foods come in a variety of vibrant colors. When your child asks for something to eat, tell them the color of what they are eating. Some varieties of foods, like apples and peppers, come in many colors, which also teaches the kids that objects can have more than one color.
4. Painting: You can use paints to teach colors to preschool children. Take a giant piece of poster board and lay it on a drop cloth. Let the children dip their hands in the paint and create handprints on the paper. Call out each color after they make a hand print. Wash their little hands and start over. Kids like to be messy so this teaching tool is both fun and educational. Art is the best way to teach your child about colors and develop imagination and creativity as well.

5. Take your child outside. As you pass trees, stones, grasses and cars, identify the colors. After you have seen a wide variety of colors, point to something and ask your child what color it is. This exercise may be slow going at first because colors in nature don’t appear in the same hues as they do on flash cards or in a paint set.
6. Point Out Colors: Another good way to teach colors to kids  is to always point out different colors. Show them the colors in their clothes and shoes, animals, blankets, and anything you can imagine. The more you should your toddler colors the easier it will be to teach him because you are constantly reinforcing the colors.
You should find the way your toddler learns best and go with that. Most toddlers are fast learners, but some prefer to play games, search for colors, or read a book. Spend time every day showing your toddler colors and you will see it won’ t take long before your toddler knows his colors.

Teaching Method

Teaching methods can best be defined as the types of principles and methods used for instruction. There are many types of teaching methods, depending on what information or skill the teacher is trying to convey. Class participation, demonstration, recitation, and memorization are some of the teaching methods being used. When a teacher is deciding on their method, they need to be flexible and willing to adjust their style according to their students. Student success in the classroom is largely based on effective teaching methods.

Diversity in Teaching in the Classroom

For effective teaching to take place, a good method must be adopted by a teacher. A teacher has many options when choosing a style by which to teach. The teacher may write lesson plans of their own, borrow plans from other teachers, or search online or within books for lesson plans. When deciding what teaching method to use, a teacher needs to consider students' background knowledge, environment, and learning goals. Teachers are aware that students learn in different ways, but almost all children will respond well to praise. Students have different ways of absorbing information and of demonstrating their knowledge. Teachers often use techniques which cater to multiple learning styles to help students retain information and strengthen understanding. A variety of strategies and methods are used to ensure that all students have equal opportunities to learn. A lesson plan may be carried out in several ways: Questioning, explaining, modeling, collaborating, and demonstrating.

A teaching method that includes questioning is similar to testing. A teacher may ask a series of questions to collect information of what students have learned and what needs to be taught. Testing is another application of questioning. A teacher tests the student on what was previously taught in order to identify if a student has learned the material. Standardized testing is in about every middle school (i.e. Ohio Graduation Test (OGT), Proficiency Test, College entrance Tests (ACT and SAT).

Learning can be done in three ways- Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. It is important to try and include all three as much as possible into your lessons.

Explaining

This form is similar to lecturing. Lecturing is teaching by giving a discourse on a specific subject that is open to the public, usually given in the classroom. This can also be associated with modeling. Modeling is used as a visual aid to learning. Students can visualize an object or problem, then use reasoning and hypothesizing to determine an answer.

In your lecture you have the opportunity to tackle two types of learning. Not only can explaining (lecture) help the auditory learner through the speech of the teacher, but if the teacher is to include visuals in the form of overheads or slide shows, his/her lecture can have duality. Although a student might only profit substantially from one form of teaching, all students profit some from the different types of learning.

Demonstrating

Demonstrations are done to provide an opportunity to learn new exploration and visual learning tasks from a different perspective. A teacher may use experimentation to demonstrate ideas in a science class. A demonstration may be used in the circumstance of proving conclusively a fact, as by reasoning or showing evidence.

The uses of storytelling and examples have long since become standard practice in the realm of textual explanation. But while a more narrative style of information presentation is clearly a preferred practice in writing, judging by its’ prolificacy, this practice sometimes becomes one of the more ignored aspects of lecture. Lectures, especially in a collegiate environment, often become a setting more geared towards factorial presentation than a setting for narrative and/or connective learning. The use of examples and storytelling likely allows for better understanding but also greater individual ability to relate to the information presented. Learning a list of facts provides a detached and impersonal experience while the same list, containing examples and stories, becomes, potentially, personally relatable. Furthermore, storytelling in information presentation may also reinforce memory retention because it provides connections between factorial presentation and real-world examples/personable experience, thus, putting things into a clearer perspective and allowing for increased neural representation in the brain. Therefore, it is important to provide personable, supplementary, examples in all forms of information presentation because this practice likely allows for greater interest in the subject matter and better information-retention rates.

Often in lecture numbers or stats are used to explain a subject but often when many numbers are being used it is difficult to see the whole picture. Visuals that are bright in color, etc. offer a way for the students to put into perspective the numbers or stats that are being used. If the student can not only hear but see what is being taught, it is more likely they will believe and fully grasp what is being taught. It allows another way for the student to relate to the material.

Collaborating

Having students work in groups is another way a teacher can direct a lesson. Collaborating allows students to talk with each other and listen to all points of view in the discussion. It helps students think in a less personally biased way. When this lesson plan is carried out, the teacher may be trying to assess the lesson by looking at the student's: ability to work as a team, leadership skills, or presentation abilities. It is one of the direct instructional methods.

A different kind of group work is the discussion. After some preparation and with clearly defined roles as well as interesting topics, discussions may well take up most of the lesson, with the teacher only giving short feedback at the end or even in the following lesson. Discussions can take a variety of forms, e.g. fishbowl discussions.

Collaborating (kinesthetic) is great in that it allows to actively participate in the learning process. These students who learn best this way by being able to relate to the lesson in that they are physically taking part of it in some way. Group projects and discussions are a great way to welcome this type of learning.

Learning by teaching

Main article: Learning by teaching

Learning by teaching (German:LdL) is a widespread method in Germany, developed by Jean-Pol Martin. The students take the teacher's role and teach their peers.

This method is very effective when done correctly. Having students teach sections of the class as a group or as individuals is a great way to get the students to really study out the topic and understand it so as to teach it to their peers. By having them participate in the teaching process it also builds self-confidence, self-efficacy, and strengthens students speaking and communication skills. Students will not only learn their given topic, but they will gain experience that could be very valuable for life.