Growing More with ABC

Growing More With ABC

Written by Yehudit Ogorinsky for the ABC Institute

I. About the Program

Growing More With ABC is a continuation of Growing With ABC, a program for first year EFL learners. In Growing With ABC, the learners acquired basic vocabulary from the following topics: numbers, colors, parts of the body, family, food and animals. They also completed performance tasks through role playing, dramatizations, craft activities, games, songs and chants.

If your learners used an alternative program for their first year of English, you will need to spend part of the first lesson presenting a brief summary of the storyline

in the Growing With ABC program. A summary and suggestions for presentation appear at the end of the introduction along with a list of the vocabulary introduced in the first year program (see point IX of the Introduction). Topics and vocabulary appearing in the content chart of each lesson throughout the course will need to be considered either as review or new material according to the learners' previous EFL exposure.

Growing More With ABC is a reading acquisition and vocabulary expansion program for second year EFL learners. It provides the learners with the necessary literacy, vocabulary and oral/aural skills and serves as a solid foundation for the standards of Stage One of the Foundation Level. The program consists of 7 units which are sub-divided into 62 lessons.

Growing More With ABC is based upon the Synthetic Phonics method of reading instruction and also incorporates many of the Hickey method techniques. Synthetic Phonics is the approach recommended by departments of education around the English-speaking world. Research shows that it is the only approach that works well with children of all abilities and backgrounds. It builds the learners' confidence from day one and teaches them to read and write quickly. In order to read well, children need to feel at home with the letters, internalize their sounds and be able to recognize special letter combinations. Single letters and their sounds are taught first, then the sounds of letter combinations and finally the blending of the letter sounds into simple words.

The Growing More With ABC program also uses the Socratic method of directed questioning that actively engages the learner, encourages critical thinking and improves recall ability.

II. Rationale

Background philosophy

The teaching method used in Growing More With ABC is based on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Approach, which maintains the use of different kinds of intelligences:

Visual-Spatial – utilizes visual aids such as drawing, visualization, pretending

Musical-Rhythmic – utilizes songs and rhythmic chants

Bodily-Kinesthetic –employs physical games, role play and body language

Verbal-Linguistic – uses such tools as formal and informal conversation

Intrapersonal – the use of self-reflection

Interpersonal – the use of team work, cooperative learning, group projects

Logical-Mathematical – acquiring knowledge through the process of seeking and discovering patterns

Howard Gardner's theory suggests that different aspects of intelligence are controlled by different areas of the brain and that an individual may have greater strengths in certain areas of intelligence than others. Therefore, the teaching process needs to facilitate the use of different intelligences in order to provide ample opportunities for learners' prevailing intelligences. Growing More With ABC does this and much more.

Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, New York, Basic Books

Gardner, H. (1999) Intelligence Reframed, New York, Basic Books

The Growing More With ABC program stresses the importance of the development of Emotional Intelligence, which is the individual's ability to manage self awareness, impulse control, confidence, self motivation, social deftness, adaptability and a talent for collaboration.

Teachers are encouraged to find out what intrigues, stimulates and motivates their learners in order to promote a love for learning, an arousal of curiosity and the ability for self-direction on the part of the learner.

The goals of the program:

·  to impart communicative English skills and foster socialization

·  to expose the learners to English in a supportive and anxiety-free climate

·  to acquire English in relevant and authentic settings

·  to cater to varied learning styles

·  to use English in socially and culturally appropriate ways

·  to heighten an awareness of self, the immediate classroom community and the community beyond the school

·  to promote interactive learning

·  to encourage the development of positive feelings towards learning while acquiring skills

·  to facilitate meaningful, authentic and relevant learning experiences

·  to develop phonemic awareness

·  to acquire initial reading skills

·  to acquire letter recognition (naming) and letter formation (writing) skills

·  to acquire letter-sound correspondence skills

·  to develop the ability to blend sounds into words

·  to expand vocabulary

The design of the program

The Growing More With ABC program is designed to help learners make sense of their learning experiences in a developmentally appropriate classroom atmosphere.

Patterns of the lesson plans

Each lesson is divided into 3 sections:

1.  Introduction. This section includes greeting the learners, singing songs, chants, rhymes, reviewing material learned in the previous lesson and checking homework assignments.

2.  Main Activity. This section introduces new material and makes up the bulk of the lesson.

3.  Closure. In this section, new material is reviewed, reinforced and summarized using various media.

Supplementary activities and games relating to the content of the lesson are provided in an additional section at the end of each lesson plan along with suggestions for Native Speaker (NS) involvement.

Special Features

Growing More With ABC contains special features, unique to the program:

·  Letter Creativity Corner –A corner to be set up by the teacher in the classroom consisting of:

1. a sandbox where the learners can write the letters in the sand

2. a container with colorful pipe cleaners/or play dough for the learners to form the letters

3. letter stencils for the learners to trace the shape of the target letter

and decorate it or change it into a picture (mnemonic memory aid)

Note: Letter stencils can be downloaded from the ABC Institute website at: www.abc4u.co.il .

·  Computer Keyboard Introduction and typing practice of the English letters learned. The computer keyboard is introduced in the middle of the program. Learners practice typing the English letters on a model keyboard in the Workbook and further their practice on home or classroom computers. Typing letters and words is encouraged throughout the program.

·  I Can Read progressive reading chart. This chart is to become a part of the English classroom from the moment the learners are able to read words. The I Can Read chart should be placed at the front of the classroom (on the board or on a wall). Each time a new letter is learned and new words can be read, they are added to the chart. This allows the learners to practice their reading abilities whenever they wish. The I Can Read chart can also be found at the back of the learner's Workbook. Words appear in the order of presentation. Learners are to practice reading at home either independently or with their parents from the I Can Read chart. Next to each word on the list are boxes for self-check. If the learner is able to read, pronounce and translate the word correctly, the box is to be ticked.

Activities

The program offers various games, performances, dialogues, songs and chants, so each learner can learn in the most suitable way according to his/her learning style.

III. Content

The Growing More With ABC program begins in the household of ABC's Earth family. A member of ABC's Earth family (a girl called May) finds ABC's picture album under the living room sofa. ABC left it behind when he returned to his planet in the sky. This unfolds many questions about ABC; where he is now, how he will remember everything he learned on Earth and how his friends received him when he arrived back on his planet.

A new character called Bingo (a cute dog in puppet form belonging to ABC's Earth family) is introduced at the beginning of the program. It is Bingo's role to 'sniff out' the sounds of the English language and relate them to their corresponding letters in the alphabet. Bingo also helps the learners with phonemic awareness exercises (see Bingo's Sound Positioning Chart at the back inner cover of the Learner's Workbook).

The learners’ beloved puppet friend, ABC, returns to Earth (and the program) after the learners have successfully mastered the first three letters of the alphabet (the letters of ABC's name). ABC revisits his Earth family as well as the English classroom. He brings with him photos of friends from his planet in the sky. Through these additional 14 friends, the learners are exposed to the remaining letters of the alphabet (d-z), their sounds as well as letter-related vocabulary. The learners become familiar with ABC's friends and enjoy hearing the descriptions and stories told about each one. As they meet more and more friends, the learners improve their ability to read and write. They progress from sounding out and writing individual letters to reading and writing words and sentences.

The storyline of the program is interesting and exciting. Each lesson leads into a new adventure and the learners' attention is captured throughout. Tape scripts, which accompany comic illustrations, are the basis for introducing new topics and vocabulary. There are abundant follow-up exercises, songs, chants, rhymes, stories and games for reinforcing new material. Twice during the school year (once when ABC returns to Earth and again when he goes back to his planet in the sky), the learners organize a class party with decorations, games and refreshments.

The program offers many opportunities for independent thinking, interaction with peers, relating to personal experiences and drawing conclusions. It also introduces the concepts of rhyme and alphabetizing.

As the learners complete their year of English, they receive an award certificate for mastering all 26 letters of the English alphabet. They take home a souvenir photo album of ABC and all his friends which they compile themselves in their final lessons. Learners also prepare letter cards for letter identification practice and reading during the summer months and receive a summer homework assignment to reinforce the material they learned throughout the school year.

The following are the language skills acquired throughout the program:

·  phonemic awareness training

·  recognition, naming and sounding out of the 26 upper and lower case letters of the English alphabet

·  writing formation of the 26 upper and lower case letters

·  understanding the use of upper case letters

·  positioning of upper and lower case letters within writing lines (with special attention given to size)

·  reading words based upon letter-sound correspondence

·  reading and writing of simple sentences

·  comparing the learner's own language to English

·  directing the learners to self-thought; drawing conclusions independently

·  answering yes/no and wh questions

·  recognition of vowels (including y which is sometimes a vowel)

·  learning to alphabetize

·  recognition and sounding out of digraphs: sh, ch, th

·  recognition of pronouns

·  recognition of singular / plural noun forms

·  recognition and use of adjectives

·  use of have/has and the possessive 's form

·  recognition and use of the prepositions: in, on, under, near

·  recognition and use of There is/are

·  learning rhymes, songs and chants for vocabulary expansion and language comprehension

·  ability to discuss social issues (helping friends, eating healthy food, traffic safety)

·  re-call training

IV. Teaching Methods

Presenting and reinforcing vocabulary

·  New vocabulary, words and phrases, are presented by looking at and discussing illustrations. Target vocabulary and new words are to be presented before listening exercises using flashcards and choral repetition. Dialogue content is to be elicited by the teacher and the learners through discussion before tape script listening exercises. Comprehension is confirmed by asking pertinent questions at checkpoint markings throughout the tape script. Translations are to be provided (by the teacher, native speakers or other learners) when necessary.

*Important note concerning translations: Each teacher should use her/his own judgment as to how much translation should be used throughout the course. If teachers find that translation to MT (mother tongue) is not necessary for their learners in order to fully comprehend the material, they should not feel obligated to do so simply because the Teacher's Guide has suggested it be used. However, translation should be incorporated for weak learners and then gradually reduced from the activities as the program progresses according to each teacher's evaluation of his/her learners' abilities. Translation should initially be done only by the teacher or native speakers. As listening and comprehension skills improve, learners should be called upon to provide translations instead of the teacher. Inserts in the Teacher's Guide concerning when to translate and how learners are to reply (in MT or not), have been noted only in the first two units. In the units which follow, 3-7, most translation inserts have been omitted allowing each teacher to decide when translation and the use of MT are needed to assure comprehension according to their own circumstance.

·  New words are reinforced through the use of picture flashcards, picture descriptions in the Workbook, chants, songs and dialogues. New words are combined with words which have previously been learned, thus maintaining the principle of cyclical learning. Further work on reinforcement includes games, performance tasks and activities.

Note: Flashcard illustrations for the Growing More With ABC program can be downloaded from the ABC Institute website at: www.abc4u.co.il

·  Both the vocabulary from the picture stories and the words acquired through songs and chants are re-entered into the dialogues to become an integral part of the learners' comprehensive vocabulary.

Presenting and reinforcing letters

Explicit directions as to presenting letters are offered in the lesson plans.

These are the major points of each presentation:

·  write the target letter on the board and elicit its name and whether or not it is the upper (capital) or lower case (small) letter