Our first term in Prep has been "Seriously Sparkly"....lots of colour, sparkles and fun. That's what Term 1 in Prep is meant to be about...right?
Like many other Prep classrooms, we spend a week focusing on a letter, identifying things that begin with the letter, practise the sound it makes and the fun part comes when we start making things that begin with the letter of the week. During 'Ss' week, we made 'Silver Sparkly Stars, Snakes and Suns. The kids love the craft activities during the literacy block but it has got me wondering whether they actually identify the relationship between the letter 'S' and all these craft activites we are doing.
Later on in the term I have been making a conscious effort to repeatedly remind or ask them...."Why would we be making wombats today?" or "What letter does fish start with?" to help them see the link. Of course we also explore songs, books, interactive resources, develop charts and practise handwriting with the letter of the week focus, but I'm still worried that we aren't doing enough to 'teach' the sounds and perhaps are we wasting our time with these craft activities? I love that they brighten up the room and look fantastic but are they beneficial to learning?
I would love to hear what people think!
