In today’s educational landscape, teaching the alphabet and phonics effectively is more crucial than ever. Traditional methods often fall short in addressing the complexities of English phonetics. However, Bjorem Better Letters™, combined with Laurie Berkner's engaging songs and videos, is setting a new standard by tackling common problems head-on. Here’s how these innovative resources are transforming the learning experience for parents and educators.
- Revamping the ABC Song
The traditional ABC song lumps letters together, particularly "LMNOP," often confusing children into thinking it’s one letter. To combat this common misunderstanding and enhance the learning experience, Bjorem Better Letters™ introduces a color-coded deck of cards designed to complement Laurie Berkner's six-song series. Each video in the series focuses on a small group of sounds and letters, providing a multisensory learning experience that supports sound to letter correspondence. The Bjorem Better Letter Cards and Laurie’s Songs and videos separate and highlight each letter and sound, ensuring that learners understand the distinctiveness of each.
- Addressing Variable Sounds
English phonics is complex, with letters often representing more than one sound. For example, the letter g can sound like “g” as in "goat" or “j” as in "giraffe." Our materials clarify these variations, enhancing a child's phonetic awareness and decoding skills.
- Clarifying Multiple Letters for a Single Sound
The Bjorem Better Letters help children grasp the idea that different letters can make the same sound. For example, the "j" sound can be represented by both j (jungle) and g (giraffe) letters. Our songs/videos and corresponding cards cover these patterns, helping children grasp the flexible nature of English spelling and sound correlation.
- Introducing Digraphs
Digraphs are commonly found in English, yet traditional songs and ABC learning cards skip these. Our resources incorporate digraphs (sh, ch, th, ph), helping children understand how combined letters represent a single sound early on.
- Correcting Misrepresentations
Many educational tools misrepresent sounds; for instance, some wrongly associate the letter s with the "sh" sound (s is for sheep). We ensure our letter-sound correspondences are accurate and common, avoiding rare exceptions that can confuse learners.
- Balancing Letter Names and Sounds
While many educational songs focus solely on letter names, our approach emphasizes both names and sounds. This dual focus is crucial for developing reading skills.
- Enhancing Multisensory Learning
Sounds are abstract, making them hard to grasp. Bjorem Better Letters™ include sound associations for each sound, making abstract sounds tangible through multisensory learning. Learning sounds can be abstract and challenging. We introduce multisensory elements: visual speech sound associations and hand motions to help solidify understanding and retention of sounds and letters.
- Teaching Meaningful Hand Movements
Connecting sounds to physical movements helps anchor phonetic concepts. Laurie Berkner’s Better Letters music videos incorporate meaningful hand movements, making each sound more memorable and understandable.
By addressing these eight core problems, Bjorem Better Letters™ and Laurie Berkner's music videos are not just teaching children to sing an alphabet song; they are building a foundation for early literacy. These tools are not only more engaging but also align with best practices in educational theory, ensuring that children grasp the complexities of English phonics from the start. This approach fosters early literacy but does so in a way that is fun, interactive, and deeply educational, setting children on a path to reading success with confidence and joy.
For any educator, parent, literacy specialist, or speech pathologist aiming to offer the best in phonetic and alphabetic education, Bjorem Better Letters™ represents a leap forward in teaching methodologies. Explore our resources and watch as your young learners discover the joy and power of reading through music and motion!
