Have you ever thought of how hard it is to teach a 5 year child where a properly made Capital O starts ?
What can you tell a kid who only has a Top Line, Bottom Line, and a dashed Middle Line? Do you remember the newsprint ruled paper with the 3 blue lines?
You might try to tell them it starts "under the Top Line," but when they ask you "Where?" instead of "How much under?" you might realize that there is a really big problem. I was a little slow at realizing how impossible it is
to teach kids how to print with 3 lines and alphabetical order. So I started showing them and made 3 permanent black lines on 10 foot rolling green blackboard. Then I had them all take turns making big "Letters of the Day" on the blackboard with chalk, discussing and circling the better ones, having some kids try again, and then following that by having them tracing the little ones with their pencils on the own papers. So on Day 1 we did capital A. On Day 2 we did capital B. On Day 3 we started capital C and the wheels came off the our little educational bus.
No matter how many times I showed my kids where a capital C started on their papers, they would "forget" within five minutes; despite the fact we were all doing it together and had just done them on the board and discussed it.
It was then it dawned on me:
You cannot teach most 5 year old fractions, or fractional parts, when they are still learning to add and subtract.
In my case my 18 5 year olds could already add and subtract and they knew the 45 sounds of English and their spellings, but they were still "concrete thinkers." This means they see it, touch it, and make it but they can't
"abstract" it. Fractions are abstract--so are the mythical places "under the Top Line," I needed them to see.
So I made them up, and created and designed The Teacher's Alphabet---so thousands of hours later and years and years of teaching I am steeming:
Here's the front of Upper Case O Student "Special Spot" Card
Here's the back of the Upper Case O Student "Special Spot" Card--this is what we call the "Letter Recipe"
we have "Letter Recipes" for each of the Upper and Lower Case Letters and their related Numbers.
Come join us! Check us out!!
[TeachersAlphabet] (http://theteachersalphabet.com)
Go STEEM!!!