Relating Literacy Instruction to Chapter 4 Theories
The two theories chosen from Chapter 4 are developing phonological awareness and blending. Phonological awareness is the ability of a learner to identify beginning sounds and to perceive separate sounds in words. Similarly, blending is one of the primary skills developed by phonological awareness. It involves placing word parts together and combining them to make reading easier. For example, /h/ + /a/ + /t/ will form the word hat, which is simpler than segmenting (Gunning 570). As a pre-k teacher, these two theories have shaped my literacy instruction by helping me learn that phonological awareness is the foundation of language teaching in pre-k class. By studying these two theories, I have learned diverse strategies to use to develop phonological awareness among my students. For example, developing phonological awareness has taught me to ensure my instructions are fun. Gunning affirms that one of the top ways to promote phonological awareness is by making fun of words (562). Through activities such as role-playing, flash letter cards, and reading aloud, learners can learn words, and as they experiment and play with language, they start knowing it more abstractly. Need help with your assignment ? Reach out to us. We offer excellent services.
Similarly, blending has shaped my current literacy instruction because it has taught me various activities that can foster learner language development. Gunning says that developing blending prepares learners for segmenting and isolating the starting sounds in words (575). As such, through the theory of blending, I have gained new strategies for teaching language and developing learners’ phonological awareness. One of the strategies is using a hand puppet to say the words in syllables or parts as learners listen, then put the word into two words and blend them. For example, for a word like football, the puppet will say foot and ball, and then the students help the puppet join the two words (Gunning 572). Generally, phonological awareness and blending theories are vital in teaching language and improving literacy instruction as a pre-k teacher because they offer great strategies to help me diversify my teaching to meet learners’ level of understanding.
Work Cited
Gunning, Thomas G. Creating Literacy Instructions for All Students. 10th ed., Pearson, 2020.
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Question
Select two theories from Chapter 4 and discuss how they have shaped your current literacy instruction.
BOOK: Gunning, T. (2020). Creating literacy instructions for all students, (10th ed.). New York: Pearson.