Tuesday, 26 April 2016

MASTERY PHONICS FOR ELEMENTARY GRADES


In the patterns below, the teachers do the following:

    Prepare lists of words on sheets for the wall.  Students will read and chant words from the sheet. A flip chart can be used. If students know all words and sentences, they can read. Teachers are to teach words that may not be culturally common in this country - saddle, paddle, ramp, mare, vat, ram, dam, damp, igloo.

The program is being trialled at Milfordhaven Elementary School in Lae Papua New Guinea. It will be validated, polished and expanded on the advice of the head teacher and teachers of the school.

This program consists of words and silly sentences based on the work of Dr Seuss who first promoted Phonics through his books, the most famous being The Cat in the Hat. Please click:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_in_the_HatThe Cat in the Hat is a children's book written and illustrated by Theodor Geisel 
under the pen name Dr. Seuss and first published in 1957. The story centers on .

The word Phonics comes from the Greek Phonos which means sound. The focus of phonics should be on the students chanting words and silly sentences to feel the weak-strong rhythm.

All learning of English should be done with awareness of the beautiful rhythm and music of English. Students learn to read by chanting and word recognition of similar words with the same base structure. Chant the following:

The fat cat ran to the small rat in the tall hat.
The fat can ran to the small rat in the tall hat.
The fat cat ran to the small rat in the tall hat.

I conducted Tok Pisin courses at the RAAF School of Languages in Melbourne 1978-1992. I prepared a phonics program that I posted on internet entitled Tok Pisin Tree. It is my gift to the PNG nation.

The course took 4 weeks of intense drilling of phonic patterns and use of Tok Pisin. Lecturers and students on other courses studied Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and French for one year. 

Many assumed that Tok Pisin was an inferior language if it took only 4 weeks. It was certainly less complex as the words were based on English. 

But the key was that students were on a superior mastery phonics course, now being demonstrated to the PNG Department of Education in Morobe Province.


The Tok Pisin Tree was used by an old friend David Ulg Ketepa as the basis of his tourism blog on internet. 

He has done a beautiful job to the point that my blog has 193, 000 hits and his blog has 250,000 hits !! But the Tok Pisin Tree on David's blog is the ultimate masterpiece in phonic learning. 


It covers the entire Tok Pisin language structure.  It can be learned like nursery rhymes. Students never failed. Past students I met years later had never forgotten the patterns. Tok Pisin has mainly weak-strong stress. Please click:

DUK Tours: Tok Pisin Tree (Pidgin English)

www.duktours.net/2010/05/tok-pisin-tree-pidgin-english.html




By Bruce CopelandTok Pisin Tree (64 patterns). I came to PNG to serve at Igam Barracks during 1976-1977. I had just completed a Bahasa Indonesia course at .

Yumi go
Yumi go
Yumi go long taun
Yumi go long taun
Yumi go insait long haus
Yumi go insait long haus
Yumi go antap long maunden
Yumi go antap long maunden
Yumi go kisim wara
Yumi go kisim wara
Yumi go baim kaikai
Yumi go baim kaikai
Yumi go wantaim em
Yumi go wantaim em
Bai mi go
Bai mi go
Bai mi go long hap
Bai mi go long hap
Bai mi go long hap wantaim em
Bai mi go long hap wantaim em.  ....... and hundreds more

go pronounced gaw. Long pronounced law.

Open the Tok Pisin tree above.

But now for English phonics

an       van can ban ran pan plan plant dance
chance candle handle sandal sand

a.      He ran to the van with a can.
b.    Handle the candle with care.
c.    I had no chance to dance.
d.   Plant the bean in the pan on the sand.


ad     add had pad bad sad dad mad made paddle
          saddle

a.      My dad was so sad.
b.      I had made my dad mad.
c.       He had bought me a paddle.
d.      I wanted a saddle.

at      sat cat rat vat fat bat hat mat match patch
         that water

a.      The rat sat on the mat in the hat.
b.      That bat was too fat.
c.       It fell in the vat.


ar      car bar far star start stare fare care cart part
heart

a.      The car will not start.
b.      I will stare at the star
c.       The star is so far.
         
all     tall fall ball hall call stall

a.       I will call the tall cat.
b.      Where is the tall cat?
c.       Is that the cat ?
d.      It  sits on the mat?

as      was gas has waste wash mash bash gash
cash rash smash

a.      Do not waste the cash
b.      And buy too much gas
c.       The boy has a gash and a rash.

am     jam dam ham lamb ram ramp damp

a.     Do not put jam on the ham.
b.     The lamb ran to the dam with the ram.
c.      The lamb will slip as the ramp is damp.

it        bit fit hit kit little kitten written lit
pit spit

a.      I have written about the little kitten.
b.      The boy hit the kitten
c.       The kitten bit the boy.
d.      The cat will sit with the kitten.

eep   sleep deep creep keep
         
a.      Keep sleeping.
b.      The dog will creep into the deep hole.
c.       He fell into deep sleep.

il       bill still fill will hill pill kill mill
          spill pillow

a.      I will still fill the can.
b.      I will not spill the gas.
c.       I will take the can
d.      to the top of the hill.

ig      dig pig big igloo cigarette wig
         
a.       The big pig will dig.
b.       See the igloo in the snow.
c.        Can you see a cigarette on the mat?
d.      The man will try to buy a big wig.

og     dog frog log fog hog jog

a.       The man will jog with the dog.
b.      See the frog on the log.
c.       He could not jog far
d.      The fog was so deep.

ook   cook look book took hook shook

a.       She took the book
b.      for something to cook.
c.       She looked in the book
d.      I wish for a fish in a dish.
               
et      let bet get net better letter

a.       Better get the letter.
b.      He will go and get a net.
c.       Let the boy get the book.

ail       tail fail mail rail sail hail nail

a.     Nail the sail on the rail.
b.     See the tail on the fat cat.
c.      I will fail to get the mail.
               
ir       girl dirt bird stir

a.       The bird sat in the dirt.
b.      The girl saw the bird on the rail.
c.      Hold the tail of the bird on the rail.

ag     bag rag tag wag flag

a.       Put the rag in the bag.
b.      The bird will wag its tail
c.       The flag was in the bag.

in      bin fin pin tin win finish window
spin skin sin
a.      Put the pin in the tin.
b.      If you do not finish,
c.       you will not win.

un     bun fun gun nun bunny funny sunny

a.       See the funny bunny.
b.      It was fun to run in the sun.
c.       It was sunny.
               
on      one ton won wonder wonderful
bond phone

a.      I wonder who won.
b.      He was told on the phone
c.       It was wonderful that he won.
d.      He was the one who won.

ea     mean clean clear fear bear bean dear
heap

a.      Clean the beans
b.   Is it clear what I mean?
c.   Do not fear the bear.

ee.     been beer keen keep sleep sheep creek

a.       The sheep sleep in the yard.
b.      Keep the beer in the creek.
c.       He has not been to sleep.
d.   Do not sleep in the deep creek.

are     bare care stare share mare

a.     We care for the mare.
b.     They will stand and stare.
c.      The mare is so sick.
               
ai       pain rain main stain pair fair brain drain

a.     He felt pain in the rain.
b.     The rain fell in the main drain.
c.      The pain was in her brain.

ish    dish fish finish wish

a.     The fish is on the dish.
b.     I wish to finish the work.
c.      I wish to cook the fish in the dish.

old    cold bold fold folder gold hold
sold soldier told

a.      Who sold the gold?
b.      The soldier was told to hold the gold.
c.       Fold the folder.

oil     soil boil oil coil spoil

a.       Boil the fish in oil.
b.      Oil fell on the soil.
c.       Don’t spoil the soil with oil.

ell     fell bell well sell shell tell

a.     The bell fell in the well.
b.     He will sell the shell and buy a bell.
c.      Will you tell the man about the well?

ool    school fool pool wool stool tool

a.     I saw the stool at the school pool.
b.     Students made wool at the school.
c.      He left the tool on the stool at the school

ull     full bull pull  

a.       Pull the bull by the tail.
b.      Do not fail to pull the sail.
c.       See the full moon.

ark    park mark dark hark bark spark market 

a.       He will park in the dark.
b.      Dogs bark at the market.
c.       The spark became a fire.

Silly Sentences are based on the strategy of Dr Seuss who started to teach phonics in the 1960s with the book “Cat in the Hat”.

The purpose of the silly sentences is to enable small children to read sentences that contain similar sounding words and to feel the rhythm of words. 

Children will learn spelling more quickly with groups of basic similar sounding words. They can mime and the teacher can draw silly pictures. They can chant the patterns daily by a flip chart. Small children will do basic reading within a month or two.

Children will learn to say the silly similar sounding words.  Basic words above will provide an extensive list for the lower grades to recognise and use.

Teachers can have the students read out the varied sentences below:

The man ran to the van with a can in his hand
Was the can clean?
Will you clean the can?
I will clean the can by hand.
I hold the can by the handle.
He told me to hold the handle of the can.
I will wash the dish and cook the fish.
The small cat sat on the tall wall.
A fat cat fell in the well.
The small cat will fall on the mat.
Share the food and care for the cat.
Cook the food and keep the dish clean.
Put the clean food on the dish.
I wish to cook the fish on the dish.
The funny bunny sat on the hat.
Was the bunny funny?
The bunny was very funny.
It was a very funny bunny.
The day was sunny and I saw the bunny.
It was a sunny day.
The day was very sunny.
See the tall girl sit on the wall.
Was she tall or very small?
The tall girl fell on the mat.
Did she fall on the cat that sat on the mat?
Fan the sick man.
Get a fan and stand at the bed.
Wait for the car at the gate.
Wait for the car to start.
It is hard to start the car.
The car will not start.
We will start the car and go to school.
He sat on a stool at the pool of the school.
Is the pool far from the school?
It is not far from the school.
The boy will wash the fat cat with water in a can.
He was keen to keep the water clean.
Do you mean that the bottle was clean?
It is better to let the boy read the letter.
Will the boy still want to read the letter?
It is still better if he reads the letter?
He will spin the ball in the hall and let it fall
Will he fill the tin with clean and clear water?
The car can go far on a can of gas.
How far can it go on a can of gas?
The small girl had a heap of beans in a clean bag.
I had seen her sell the heaps of beans.
She will sell the beans at the main market.
Will she sell beans in a bag?
How many beans go into a bag?
How many beans will she sell?
Did she sell beans in the hall of the school.
The man sat with his dog on the log with the frog.
He put the frog in clean water.
The man had a chance to dance.
The big bear had no fear.
Rain on the hill will fill the main drain.
Will the main drain fill with water on the hill?
There is still no water on the hill.
Fill the can with water from the drain on the hill.
Will the drain be filled with water from the rain?
I have been keen to keep water clean.
The water is very clean.
He has been seen with a dish of fish.
She will take the dish of fish and boil in water.
Did the dog kill the bird that sat on the wall?
The tall bird will fall from the wall.
How far did the bird fall?
It did not fall far.
It fell from the wall.
It did not fly to the sky.
All the birds will sit and call on the wall.
Go to the van and get the can.
Can you see the can in the van?
A man put the can in the van.
Is the can full of gas?
Is it full of clean water?
The water is not clean.
It is not too clean.
I found a rag in the bag.
Was a black rag in the bag?
It was a red rag.
Who saw the rag in the bag?
My dad saw it.
Where did your dad see it?
He saw the rag in the bag.
He opened the bag and saw the rag.
It was a red rag.
It was for washing the dishes.
It was to wash the dishes.
It was an old rag.
Can I wash the car with the old rag?
Wash the car with cold water.
Clean the car with the rag in the bag.
Hold the rag and wash the car.
Put the rag in the bag.
I put the rag back in the bag.
Don’t park the car by the dark drain.
Park the car at the main market.
Get water from the main drain.
Is the water clean?
Water from the main drain is very clean.
Water comes down the hill and into the drain.
Fill the can from the main drain on the hill.
Can you carry the can?
I will catch a fish in the dark drain.
Bring a dish and get a fish.
Bring a big dish for a big fish.
There are big fish in the main drain.
Fish in the drain come from the sea.


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