Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 5

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) 5 - Matching lower case letters to capital letters and to letter names. Finding the secret code, use a blank computer document. Also suggested, use A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton. The ABC Song (tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). Phonics Chart 5. Spy Code Rule 49.

Spy Game – The Secret Codes:
                Spy Mission 5: You’ve already learned the letter sounds, so now is the time to: Uncover the secret world of the capital (upper-case) letters and the letter names. You (child) are the world-famous spy, Cody Breaker! Your fifth mission is to figure out which capital letters match with which lower-case letters. You will crack the code of matching the baby letters to their mommy or daddy letters.

You can decipher this puzzle by using a blank computer document. The letters on the computer keyboard are the moms or dads (capitals). But when you press a key down, its matching baby (lower-case) letter shows up on the screen. See if you can guess what the baby letters will be before you press the mommy key. Are you right? Good job! Try again.

                Use the Phonics chart 5 in the appendix, along with the book, A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton, if desired. Available on www.amazon.com.

Now is also the time to learn the letter names. Learn The ABC Song (tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star). Have the Spy Chief (parent) teach this to you. Have her explain the difference between letter names and letter sounds, if needed.

(TGM discourages learning the alphabet song and letter names before learning phonics. See the Top Ten Myths of Reading in Chapter 2. Here’s why: 1. Do NOT teach the letter names. It is confusing to young children that the letter u (you) doesn’t say the sound “y”, the letter y (why) doesn’t say the sound “w”, and that the letter w (double-you) doesn’t say the sound “d”. Children easily pick up the letter names later, also. 2. Teach only the lower case letters. They are the most common in written language. Children pick up the capitals later, too. Keep it simple for success (KISS your child) with The Godfrey Method.)

                Look for capital letters in the signs, books, and the world around you. Report to the Spy Chief regularly about what you have found. Your next Spy assignment is to practice the capitals and names often. On your paper, write each mommy letter next to its baby letter. Talk about the secret rules of when to use capital letters, and find examples of each type.

Spy Tools:
                Spy Chief, use phonics chart found in the appendix, and suggested book, with your child. You can start introducing the corresponding words as you present each concept with the Spy Code Rule 49 below, so that s/he understands how and when capitals are used instead of lower-case letters. You might not want to do all of them in one sitting. Have your little Spy search for new examples in books, signs, etc. Practice. Let your child practice matching capitals and lower-case letters on the computer or typewriter. Be creative! Have joyous fun with it!

The Spy Code Rules: (just practice one or two capitals and types at a time)

Spy Code Rule 49: Capital letter rule: Use capital letters at the beginning of names of:

·         people (Shannah B Godfrey, Cody Breaker),

·         places (Independence, Missouri),

·         organizations (Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts),

·         brands (Amazon),

·         titles (A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton),

·         languages & nationalities (Spain, Spanish, etc.),

·         religions (Christian, Jewish, etc.),

·         etc.

Spy Code Book:
                The Spy Code Book is the chart found below in the appendix. The Spy Chief must follow it for optimum mission success.

Spy Reporting:
                Show your Spy (child), Cody Breaker, how to report what s/he has found by writing down the capital letters that s/he has found so far. And/or practice a few from Chart 5 in the appendix. To truly understand the code, s/he must master writing the code him/herself. Using the computer keyboard is not enough. Writing by hand strengthens the mind and ability to remember things. Practice two or three words with capitals each session, or more if the child desires. Use the Century Gothic font (lower-case) as your letter-shape guideline. For example, 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, matching with 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, is the easiest style to learn to write. Remember to print each letter in its left-to-right sequence, and in its proper bottom-to-top or top-to-bottom orientation, like cursive does, as explained in the Chapter 1 HELPS. Use lined paper.

                Help your little Spy enjoy making and looking for the capital letters in words. Keep It Simple For Success (KISS your child). Reward his/her efforts regularly; a hug, a pat, a bit of praise, a treat. Encouragement goes a long way. Keep it happy!

APPENDix

Phonics Chart 5. Use “A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton” with either “A Funny Boy Was Prince River,” or “A Pretty Girl Was Alpha Bette.”

Phonics Chart 5: Capital Letters for the first 26 sounds (Short Vowels: ă, ĭ, ŏ, ŭ, except ē)
A Nutty Man Was Uncle Upton

Ă     Ălligator                         (with ăpple & ănt)

B     Beetle                 (with boot & baseball bat)

C     Camel                (with cat & cup cocoa)

D     Duck                   (with door & dinosaur)

Ē     Ēlectric cord      (with ēat & ēar)

F     Flag                      (with feather & flute)

G     Gorilla                (with girl & grape)

H     House                 (with horse & hut)

Ĭ     Ĭnches                   (with ĭtch & ĭnsect)

J     Jug of Juice       (with jewels & joy)

K     Key                      (with kangaroo & kite)

L     Letter                   (with line & licorice)

M   Monkey               (with mountains & mouth)

N    Noodles              (with knee & nose)

Ŏ    Ŏstrich                (with ŏctopus & ŏlive)

P     Policeman         (with pop [lolli-] & penguin)

Q     Quarter              (with quail & queen)

R     Rooster               (with railroad & rod reel)

S     Spiral Stairs         (with snake & string)

T     Tent                      (with telephone pole & tree)

Ŭ     Ŭncle Ŭpton      (with ŭmbrella ŭpside-down & ŭp [balloon])

V     Violin                   (with vest & valentine)

W    Waves                (with worm & water)

X     aXe                      (with box & tux)

Y     Yarn Yellow        (with yak & yacht)

Z     Zebra                   (with zigzag & zipper)

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