The Beginners Project:Contents: - Dolch Word Lists
- Haiku
- Tongue Twisters
- Short Narrative Pieces
Dolch Lists: Word recognition is the beginning of reading. Beginners Project is designed to be a patient parent, allowing infinite repetition of the smallest units of meaning in the English language, words. Beginners Project contains the 220 most common words, known in the education business as the Dolch Lists. No one who starts here should be expected to progress quickly. Learning to walk took a year, learning to talk at least two years. Mastery, as with all Sunshine Readers, must be demonstrated independent of the computer program. The parent or teacher can ask the student to read the assigned words from the computer screen or printed page. The folder entitled Questions, Answers and Text will contain a file of these words that can be printed ad libidum. Haiku poetry was chosen as a vehicle for teaching beginners to read because of the visual imagery evoked by these little diamonds. Also, the form remains fixed allowing structure to fade into the background, leaving the content and sound to make their impressions. The three-line structure with five, seven and five syllables is rigid and thus defines the Haiku style, but like any game, it is most fun if you follow the rules. Thus, children, once having learned the form, can be asked to write their own poems. It is a lovely exercise, both because of its rigid requirements and because of the color that shines from such productions. Tongue Twisters are a challenge that can frustrate adults as well as children, but they give pleasure, even in the absence of complete understanding of the content. Many of the best Tongue Twisters contain archaic language and imagery ? Sheep that shilly-shally are not frequently seen these days unless you are a shepherd. Nonetheless, getting your tongue around such phrases is more important than their meaning. It?s about as good as a video game. Narratives are stories or poems or didactic pieces. Their structure is important for the beginning reader. Whether in style or content, a repetitiveness that is common to them qualifies these pieces as appropriate for beginners. ?Inside an Eye? is an example of this section?s contents. It is a poem that contains a myriad of facts about the structure and function of the eye, but combines the factoids with a softness that appeals to the very young. It has been included here for your perusal because it is a favorite of the staff at Vaudio Media.
Inside an Eye I look at you, you look at me.
But when you do, what do you see? You see my eye looking at you.
My eye is brown, (Your eye is blue). My lashes, with short curly hair,
Keep out the dust that's in the air. My eye stays closed when I'm asleep,
And tears drop if I cry or weep. I see an ant, I see a star.
One's on my floor, and one is far. But I see both so very clear
Whether it's far or it is near. How can it be that I can see
Things that are near and far from me? In the brown iris of my eye
There is a hole. Do you know why? It's called a pupil. It looks black.
The sights go through to eyeball's back. And from there they go to our brains,
And what we see, our mind explains. And since I'm seeing you, I smile.
Now let's go out and play awhile. Return to Topics Index |
