Appetizer 1-1 / THE ALPHABET / Day 1 of 2
GENERAL AIMS
- To learn & to remember how to pronounce the letters well.
- Presented at or near the beginning of the course, going over the alphabet is a good ice-breaker. It gets people working together and introduces the students to some of the ways in which the teacher approaches their learning.
STEP SUMMARY
|
A |
Singing |
Introduce letters & song |
|
B |
Sound groupings |
Identify sounds |
|
C |
Teacher/Student |
Practice, taking turns |
|
D |
Sing again |
Closing of activity |
RECOMMENDED LEVELS
Beginner to intermediate
ACTIVITY TIME
15+ minutes
MATERIALS
- Board, screen or flip chart
- Handouts for class:
– HO1 alphabet (given temporarily for pair-work)
– HO2 alphabet sound grouping chart (optional, but it is suggested that Ss copy the information from the board) - Video APPVID1 song
- Video APPVID2 sound groupings
- Video APPVID3 teacher-student
- Audio option APPAUD1 song
- Audio option APPAUD2 letters only (no song)
SPECIAL NOTES
– Note 1
– Note 2
Quickpage
Class Plan
PART A: SINGING
THE ALPHABET LETTERS HO 1
The letters of the alphabet organized to better sing the ABC song
|
A |
1 STEP |
INTRODUCE SONG THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
-optional- You sing (but not the students) the complete song to show them how you want it done. |
||
|
b) |
Go through first grouping of letters (ex A B C D). You sing each letter as you point to it, the students only listen. |
||
|
c) |
After students hear what you want of them, they now sing that first grouping. You accompany them. |
||
|
d) |
You sing the next grouping (ex E F G) by yourself, students only listen. |
||
|
e) |
Students now sing E F G and you accompany them. |
||
|
f) |
Link the two groupings ♫ A B C D E F G ♫ (everybody sings together) |
||
|
g) |
Do the next grouping (H I J K), first you, then the students as in d) & e) |
||
|
h) |
Link that grouping with the previous ones, everyone singing together. ♫ A B C D….. H I J K ♫ |
||
|
i) |
Continue until song is finished. |
||
THE VIDEO
APPVID1 – Check this out to see how it can be done:
(This video is not intended to be used in the classroom. It is for the teacher’s reference only.)
ABC SONG – APPAUD1
Audio only version of the song
A B C D E F G
H I J K L M N O P
Q R S T U V
W . . . X Y Z
ABC LETTERS – APPAUD2
Here is another option: simply the letters without the song.
PART B: SOUND GROUPINGS TABLE
SOUND GROUPINGS HO 2
The pronunciation of the names of the letters of the alphabet can be categorized according to a particular vowel sound
|
B |
STEP 1 |
IDENTIFY SOUND GROUPINGS ELICIT EXAMPLES THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Write or indicate on the board/screen /ei/ and pronounce it. |
||
|
b) |
Have the students repeat the sound. (Students don’t write anything until STEP 2, just pay attention.) |
||
|
c) |
Ask the students which four letters have this sound, eliciting and filling in the lines with A H J K |
||
|
d) |
Continue with the following groups /ai/ I Y /ju:/ Q U W /i:/ B C D E G P T V (AmE) Z in American English (AmE), ‘Z’ is pronounced /Zi:/ /Ɛ/ F L M N S X Z in other dialects ‘Z’ is pronounced /Z Ɛd/ The two remaining letters are O /əu/ and R BrE /a:/ |
||
SOUND GROUPINGS OF LETTERS – APPAUD3
Optional listening for Ss to hear letters grouped by similar vowel pronunciation
/eI/ A H J K /aI/ I Y /ju:/ Q U W
/i:/ B C D E G P T V /e/ F L M N S X Z O R
THE VIDEO – APPVID2
Check this out to see how it can be done:
(This video is not intended to be used in the classroom. It is for the teacher’s reference only.)
|
B |
STEP 2 |
IDENTIFY SOUND GROUPINGS REVIEW / Ss COPY THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Erase the letters you just elicited but leave the sounds (/ei/ etc) to serve as a reference. |
||
|
While it is still fresh in their minds, say the first sound (/ei/) and elicit one more time the letters that correspond ( A H J K). |
|||
|
b) |
Students now write those letters down in their notes (or fill in the blanks if they have HO 2). |
||
|
c) |
Do the same thing with the remaining lines. |
||
|
d) |
Go over the answers to make sure they have it correctly written down |
||
|
B |
STEP 3 |
IDENTIFY SOUND GROUPINGS RANDOM REVIEW THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Ask the class to say some of the more difficult letters as you point to them randomly on the board. |
||
|
b) |
-OPTIONAL- The following ‘difficult letters’ are some suggestions which can be heard on the audio file APPAUD4. (Which letters are more problematic would depend on those students you have in your class.) |
||
PRONUNCIATION DIFFICULTIES – APPAUD4
You may want the Ss to listen & repeat the more difficult letters to pronounce:
A E I O U B V B V Q Q U W
K Q K O K J K J G J J G G G E A E
U V W X I E Y I Y R R R R O O A E I O U A E I O U
PART C: T/S TEACHER / STUDENT PAIRWORK
THE ALPHABET LETTERS HO 1
The letters of the alphabet organized to better sing the ABC song
OR, you could use…
SOUND GROUPINGS HO 2
The pronunciation of the names of the letters of the alphabet can be categorized according to a particular vowel sound
|
C |
STEP 1 |
TEACHER / STUDENT PAIRWORK MODEL THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Model with one student: Approach him/her, indicate one letter and ask how it is pronounced. |
||
|
b) |
Ask the same student four or five more letters. |
||
|
c) |
Ask that student to ask you six letters. |
||
|
C |
STEP 2 |
TEACHER / STUDENT PAIRWORK PAIRWORK THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Divide students into pairs (if odd number of students, one group of three) |
||
|
b) |
Give each pair a handout of the letters (as shown above) and assign the role of teacher to one student. |
||
|
c) |
Tell the teacher to ask the student six letters, then they change roles. |
||
|
d) |
Teachers/students continue changing roles until you tell them to stop (for example until after everyone has had at least one turn in each role). Encourage early finishers to continue changing roles. Monitor the pairs, taking notes and helping students with the pronunciation and carrying out the task. |
||
THE VIDEO – APPVID3
Check this out to see how it can be done:
(This video is not intended to be used in the classroom. It is for the teacher’s reference only.)
|
C |
STEP 3 |
TEACHER / STUDENT PAIRWORK FOLLOW-UP THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Ask the class if they have any questions. |
||
|
b) |
Point out to the class as a whole any letters that some people had some difficulties with. |
||
PART D: SING AGAIN
THE ALPHABET LETTERS HO 1
The letters of the alphabet organized to better sing the ABC song
|
D |
1 STEP |
SING AGAIN CLOSE THE ALPHABET |
|
|
a) |
Sing the song as a class (you included), pointing to each of the letters as you go along. |
||
|
b) |
Repeat, but without pointing to the letters. |
||
