Teaching Tips

The classroom enviroment should be quiet visually as well as verbally. Desks should be arranged so teacher is able to see the hands and lips of each student. A bulletin board displaying each student's best work of the day will give the students a good incentive to do their best. Individual binders will help the students maintain their work. Beginning clock face and letter stroke charts should be in thefront of the classroom near the blackboard. A long pointer will be a helpful tool in the use of these charts. A classroom library containing books which address the students' oral vocabularies and interest levels should be in place. The children will enjoy the presence of the library in the classroom especially when they learn the set of phonogram cards is the "key" to all the words in the books.

Teach proper posture and how to hold a pencil. When students arrive, get immediate attention by talking to them about what they knew about language before they came to school. Ask them if they talk to their families and friends. Explain that the twenty-six letters in the alphabet make *forty-two* sounds by using *ninety-two* phonograms. Be sure students understand the language of instruction. Teach good posture so children work better. Allow children to sit where they want at first. Seating may be altered if children talk with their friends, have inappropriate behavior, physical limitations,etc. Remind the students of the responsibilities involved with choosing their own seats and the potential they have over it. Encourage respect for property by letting them "rent" pencils or other items they may have left at home. The child trades in an item he or she values for the item they need. Once the item they needed is returned, they receive their valued item back.