In Living Color: Reflection on a Pronunciation Lesson

This blog is a reflection of my last recorded lesson for Methodology class.  Although this is my final recording for STG, it is not my last recording as a professional teacher.  Not only have come to endure self observation, I have grown to value and appreciate the rewards of video reflection.  Here is my last video post as an STG student.

When the color pronunciation chart was introduced in Methodology class, I immediately realized the benefits of such a resource in my own classroom.  The following week I designed a color pronunciation chart for my first and second graders.  Every Friday, students have an e-library class in which books are read and discussed.  The books are not very challenging and have been described as 'boring' by more than a few students.  By incorporating the color pronunciation chart, I hoped to incite some student interest in an otherwise undemanding reading activity.  The proficiency of the learners in this class range between novice high and low intermediate.  

 

The objective was for students to understand and identify long and short vowel sounds of words that appeared during a story book lesson.  It was key that students notice that the sounds of English do not correspond to any particular letter or letter grouping.  Each student was provided with a copy of a chart.  On the top horizontal line were color names that represented the long and short sounds of the five basic vowels a,e,i,o,u.  Specific letters were underlined to emphasize vowel sounds. Each color name was highlighted in the color that was written.  For example the word 'mustard', representing short vowel 'u', was written in black (or white) and highlighted in a yellowish color.  Beneath each color word were ten spaces where students could write words of the same sound.  The colorful chart was of immediate interests to the students.

                                                         Part 1: Presentation and Practice
In the presentation, I gave very clear instructions.  I passed out the charts and students read the title of this new learning resource.  I wrote the word 'pronunciation' on the WB and asked the class to try to pronounce the words.  This groups has a very good understanding of simple phonetic structures and many were able to sound out the word pretty accurately.  I modeled the correct pronunciation of 'pronunciation' and the students repeated the word a few times.  I then directed the class to look at the chart, drawing their attention to the underlined letters of each color name.  We reviewed the long and short vowel sounds and I wrote an example sentence on the board to show them how to fill in the chart.  Once I felt that the students understood the purpose of the chart, I explained that they would fill in the chart while listening to and viewing the e-library stories.

                                                       Part 2:  The Activity (More Practice) Once I began the lesson, their were difficulties that I had anticipated and others that I hadn't.  The classes at my academy are extremely small.  There are too many chairs and table crowded into small spaces.  In an effort to accommodate the growing student population, it has become near impossible to move around the classes.  So when students began to complain about being unable to see the computer screen, I tried to re-seat students.  I anticipated having to move students around.  I did not anticipate having to stop the recording and actually re-arrange to tables and chairs.  In part 2 of my lesson, the tables have been pushed closer together bringing the students closer to the computer screen.

Also, I anticipated that students would struggle with differentiating spelling from sounds.  Some students were concentrating on story words with letters that corresponded to the color name letters as opposed to the color name sounds.  For example, one student wanted to write the word 'my' in the 'gray' column.  In this instance and quite a few others, I reminded students that in English words with similar letters do not always have similar sounds.

I did not anticipate the high level of student interest in this activity.  There are five short stories in the e-library reading lesson.  By the third story most students were standing, excitedly yelling out answers, "Dig is indigo!  Bus is mustard! Room is blue!"  It was an unexpected surprise to see such eagerness among the students.  It began to become a bit competitive so I asked the class to remain seated and speak with less volume.  I should have given instructions about behavior before beginning the activity.  But, really, who knew a lesson on pronunciation could be so much fun!

Since this lesson, I have used the color pronunciation chart in several other classes.  I have also repeated the same activity with this group.  Most students find the a activity enjoyable and are motivated to show their understanding of the task.  Students who struggle at the beginning of the activity, soon notice that English characters do not always represent one specific sound.  When this, "Aha!" moment occurs, there is a noticeable sense of student accomplishment.  Guiding students to these moments is my purpose as a teacher.