Literacy In Foundation

In a foundation classroom at St. Mary's, the implementation of structured literacy involves a well-rounded and detailed approach that encompasses multiple facets of language learning. Here’s how it might look, broken down by each area of focus:

Phonology
Phonology in a foundation classroom centers on the auditory aspects of language and helps children understand the sound structure of spoken words.

Activities might include:

• Identifying Sounds in Words: Students listen to a word and identify its individual sounds (phonemes). For example, breaking down the word "cat" into /k/, /æ/, and /t/.
• Blending Sounds in Words: Teachers model and guide students in blending individual sounds to form words, such as /c/ + /a/ + /t/ = cat.
• Describing Vowel and Consonant Sounds: Students learn to distinguish between vowels and consonants and describe their sounds. They might use visual aids and hand signals to remember the sounds.
• Identifying Rhyming Words: Through rhyming games and activities, students identify words that sound alike at the end, enhancing their phonological awareness.

Orthography
Orthography involves understanding the written representation of sounds and spelling rules.

Activities can include:

• Saying the Most Common Sound for a Single Letter: Students practice associating letters with their most common sounds, such as 'a' with /æ/ or 's' with /s/.
• Reading and Spelling Short Words: Using word lists and flashcards, students read and spell simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words like "cat" and "dog".
• Handwriting Practice: Students engage in handwriting exercises to form letters correctly and legibly, often using lined paper to guide letter formation.

Morphology and Etymology
While morphology and etymology are not taught explicitly in the foundation years, some foundational exposure might include:

• Basic Word Formation: Introducing simple root words and prefixes/suffixes to show how words can change meaning (e.g., "play" becomes "playing").
• Word Origins: Occasionally discussing the origin of certain words to spark interest, even if not a primary focus.

Syntax
Syntax in the classroom focuses on the structure and rules of sentence formation.

Activities might involve:

• Identifying Sentence Types: Students learn to recognize and differentiate between statements (declarative sentences) and questions (interrogative sentences). For example, “The cat is sleeping.” vs. “Is the cat sleeping?”
• Recognizing and Using Punctuation Marks: Practice activities where students place punctuation marks in sentences, such as periods, question marks, and exclamation points.
• Finding Nouns and Verbs: Highlighting and identifying nouns and verbs in simple sentences to understand their roles. For example, in the sentence “The dog runs,” students identify "dog" as the noun and "runs" as the verb.

Semantics
Semantics involves understanding meaning in language, focusing on comprehension and vocabulary development. Activities may include:

• Learning New Vocabulary Words and Idioms: Introducing and practicing new words and common phrases, using picture cards and context sentences to reinforce meaning.
• Writing Simple Sentences: Encouraging students to use new vocabulary words to write their own sentences, thereby enhancing their understanding and use of the words in context.

By incorporating these structured literacy elements into the foundation classroom, St. Mary's aims to create a rich and supportive environment for young learners to develop essential literacy skills systematically and comprehensively.