Nursery+Rhyme+Phonics

by Sheila Harris
 * Nursery Rhyme Phonics**

[|Phonics], according to Wikipedia, is an " [|instructional design] for teaching children to read. Phonics involves teaching children to connect sounds with letters or groups of letters (e.g., that the sound /k/ can be represented by //c//, //k//, or //ck// spellings)." One way to incorporate phonics learning in the classroom is through the use of nursery rhymes such as Mother Goose. Rhyming helps develop phonemic awareness in beginning readers and writers. {Carolyn Semet}

I think it’s wonderful to use these rhymes to enhance learning. This will help them identify these words when writing them as well.

The lesson plan is for Grades K-2. The time span is from about 5 – 10 minutes per day. A complete lesson plan for teachers, along with additional web resources, can be found at the International Reading Assn - [|Read, Write, Think Web Site] {Carolyn Semet}.

The theory behind it is that Mother Goose is about a bunch of nursery rhythms that can be used to help children remember letters, sounds, words, and characters from the stories.

For example, let’s take the letter “B” or the word “Bat” a rhythm for that could be:

Bat, bat, come under my hat
Bat, bat, come under my hat, And I'll give you a slice of bacon; And when I bake, I'll give you a cake, If I am not mistaken.

=**Useful Web Links:**= [|Mother Goose Pages] contains a collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes

[|Enchanted Learning] has a collection of illustrated Mother Goose rhymes (scroll down the page)

[|Online Interactive Phonics and Word Study Center] games and activities for students in Grades PreK-6 { links added by Carolyn Semet}