Sounds are the bases for the further word formation and sentence compiling. Accordingly, at the K-3 level, sounds, i. e. phonics, should be studied first of all. To start the lesson, it is necessary to define the approach used. For my class, I will use the word-building approach. Thus, introducing one of the phonics elements, for example [b] sound, it is necessary to provoke students’ associations with the sound. In other words, students should recall the words they remember with this sound. The next step might be creation of the chart with the number of sentences coinciding with the number of students in the class. Each of them should fill in the gap in his or her sentence, even if their words repeat or if they use their names starting with [b] as examples. After several lessons of the kind, [b] sound will be memorized, and the vocabulary of the students will be enriched with the words they recalled for the chart filling. The most useful books for this purpose include “Phonics that Work! New Strategies for the Reading/Writing Classroom” by Wagstaff, Learning Phonics and Spelling in a Whole Language Classroom (Grades K-3) by Powell, Big Book of Phonics Fun, and the Phonics slide show developed by Letter Box.
Further on, to introduce new items of the vocabulary, it will be necessary to develop the approach applicable to all the students in the class. The most universal one is the method of contextual associations demanding the teacher to show the students how a new word relates to them personally, their backgrounds, interests, etc. The objectives of the vocabulary class are the enrichment of students’ vocabulary, training of phonics elements studied, and preparation for the phrase and sentence levels of reading or writing classes. The source for the vocabulary class will be “Vocabulary, Grades K-3” by Elaine K. McEwan, which is a book for teachers to understand the ways in which K-3 students memorize words and to implement these ways in class. The techniques to use will be reading of new words aloud by the teacher, asking students to recall when and why they might or might not use these words before, and asking them to use the words in sentences of their own. Moreover, there will be an assignemnt to color or underline a word studied in the sentences offered, and create word-cards with/without pictures.
Moving further, the vocabulary lesson can be developed in accordance with the concepts of the morphemic and contextual analysis, checking students’ dictionary skills, listening comprehension abilities, etc. In more detail, these concepts will be implemented by the subsequent introduction of several words, for example such as “whale”, “school”, “painting”, and “computer”. After this, the students will have to find the similar phonics elements in these words. Further on, the contextual analysis will involve the teacher’s hints to students and their memories of the situations when they used or heard somebody use this or that word. Also, students will have to look for the words in the dictionary after the teacher reads these words aloud and uses them in sentences for students to memorize them better. Finally, the listening comprehension skills will be practiced as students listen to the teacher reading a text in which they will have to recognize the words studied in class.