Using KIDWARE to support literacy pg. 2

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Learning how alphabet letters are used to represent sounds in words requires that an awareness of sounds that is more explicit than is required for speech. Phonemic awareness activities should be conducted separately from letter recognition, especially in the English language. Letter names and letter sounds are much more phonetic in some languages, e.g., Spanish.

Young children between the ages of four and six, who are developing normally, should be able to say whether two single syllable words rhyme and should also be able to generate rhymes for a given word. At about six- or seven-years-old children are able to blend the phonemes /a/ and /t/ together to form the word "at" their ability to blend increasingly longer stings of sounds will improve as they practice the skill while reading.

The following are specific skills in reading that are generally expected between the ages of four to six:

listen to stories, poems, and non-fiction materials for enjoyment and information respond appropriately to a variety of materials read aloud to them (e.g., frequently told stories, familiar poems, letters)
identify favorite books and retell the stories in their own words
demonstrate understanding of a story by making predictions (e.g., anticipating what might happen next
filling in the next word during collaborative reading)
make connections between their own experiences and those of storybook characters
demonstrate awareness of some conventions of written materials (e.g., text is written from left to right; words have spaces between them; words are spelled with upper- and lowercase letters)
identify some features of books and other written materials (e.g., title, illustrations) and use these features to help them understand the printed text (e.g., tell the story in a book by looking at the pictures)
recognize that words often consist of beginning, middle, and final sounds
identify most of the letters of the alphabet and demonstrate understanding that letters represent sounds and that written words convey meaning (e.g., read short labels, familiar signs; use phonics to recognize words)
use language patterns (e.g., word order) and sound patterns (e.g., rhyme) to identify words and to predict the next word

Section 3: Using KIDWARE to teach literacy skills

KIDWARE is a tool that helps educators positively impact their students' early development of literacy skills. Following are some ideas about how to use KIDWARE as a tool to support literacy:

As part of learning to discriminate colors read Mouse Paint (or other books about colors in the library) with your children. Encourage the children to use the Electronic Easel program to mix as many new colors as they can (green, purple and orange) from the three existing colors (red, blue, yellow) and draw a picture. Print out your picture and take it to the art area. Explore mixing colors with real paint then add to your printout with real paint. How is mixing real paint the same or different than mixing on the computer? To extend the concepts further, try taping red, yellow and blue cellophane over the end of three flashlights. Turn off the lights and shine light through them. How can you make the secondary colors with the flashlights? What other ways can you explore color concepts?
After allowing the children time to explore the program on their own, challenge them to use the I Can Count the Petals of a Flower program to find a flower that has the same number of petals as there are letters in their name (i.e. Mary = 4 petals). Explore real flowers outside to see if you can find a real flower with the same number of petals as letters in your name. Compare quantities with your friends. Counting is everywhere!
Make a neighborhood using printouts from the Farm, City, Alaskan Village and Island programs. Take story dictations about the children's creations using KIDWARE Writer. It's easy to access KIDWARE Writer from any application. Simply click on the picture of the keyboard and your picture automatically is at the top of the writing screen. Children quickly follow this model and begin writing about the many creations they make using KIDWARE.
Take photographs or draw pictures of your own neighborhood to include in the display. How does your neighborhood compare with the KIDWARE Neighborhoods? What makes a neighborhood? Who lives and works there?