MODULE 4

2. Explain how word building is introduced to children using movable alphabet and
alphabet boxes at pink, blue and green levels.

LARGE MOVABLE ALPHABETS (LMA): When a child has learnt the phonetic sounds of the
alphabet and has developed the ability to identify them in words, he is ready to build
words with the large moveable alphabet.

Exercise: Material required includes a large box with 28 compartments, one for each
letter of the alphabet, stiff cutouts of plastic letters. Vowels should be blue and
consonants red for contrast. The directress starts by spreading a mat out on the floor.
She opens the box of LMA, allowing children to observe the alphabets as she pronounces
alphabets by sounds and asks them to find the pronounced letter. When a child
successfully does so, the letter is placed on the mat and exercise is repaired for all the
alphabets ensuring maximum student participation.

PINK LEVEL WORD WORK: At this level, word activities involve three-lettered CVC
(consonant-vowel-consonant) and two lettered phonetic words. All the alphabets used in
this level should give their basic sounds.

Pink Level Segmentation:

Exercise: Materials required for this exercise are Pink boxes containing attractive small
objects whose names are three-letter phonetic words, for example, cat, box, cup, pig, pot
etc. The directress spreads out a mat on the floor. The alphabet box is opened with its lid
set aside. The teacher shows the child how to take an object, put it on the mat and build
its name beside it, and then take another object and put it under the first one and build
its name. As soon as the child has understood the exercise, he works alone. He puts the
objects down one at a time on the mat and builds their names. The child can use any of
the pink boxes in the same way.

Pink Level Blending (beginning phonetic reading):

Exercise: Materials required are a pink colour-coded box, containing objects with three
lettered names. Words including middle level graphemes can be included such as ball,
moon etc. Name cards of all the objects should be printed on light pink paper card or
laminated cardboard. The teacher takes out all the objects one by one, asking their
names or telling them herself and placing them on the table. She then takes out the
name cards one by one, placing them in front of the child, pronouncing individual letters
one by one, pronouncing the whole word and asking the child if he could match the name
cardwith the object. Finally she allows them to do the same independently.

BLUE LEVEL WORD WORK: After the child has been successfully reading three letter
phonetic words, he is ready to begin building and reading four or more letter phonetic
words in the blue level.

Blue Level Segmentation:

Exercise: For this exercise, materials required are a large moveable box and blue boxes
containing small objects with names that are longer phonetic words. The teacher places
the LMA and the blue box on the mat, allowing children to name the objects in the blue
box. The teacher takes one object, builds the name using the LMA, and pronounces it.
Finally she allows the child to do the same.
Blue Level Blending (beginning phonetic reading):

Exercise: Materials required for this exercise are the same as for the exercise above. Now
the teaching aim is for the children to learn how to read the phonetic words and give
them ample practice through use of phonetic booklets, secret boxes, sentence strips,
word lists, picture cards etc.

GREEN LEVEL WORD WORK: The child is finally introduced to the green level comprised
of phonograms, after the successful completion of the pink and blue level. In this level,
phonetic words with one phonogram are used. For example, while teaching the
phonogram “sh” the teacher introduces the child to words like brush, shell, shrub, fish
etc. Less common phonograms are only introduced to the child as and when he comes
across them.

Exercise: First off, green boxes containing green colour-coded picture and word cards
containing phonetic words with only one phonogram are arranged. Phonograms
themselves are in red while the rest of the alphabets are in black. The phonogram is
written on the top of the box. Each phonogram has a different box dedicated to it. The
directress shows the phonogram written on the lid to the child. She spreads the picture
cards and piles the word cards on the table. Then she shows the word cards to the
student turn by turn, asking him to pronounce each word and then place it beside the
corresponding picture.