Linking Writing to our BSLA Learning

This week I have began making explicit links between the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) lessons which are structured around a sequence of phonemes and graphemes.  The focus letters are practiced with whole class lessons and are the focus of the readers.  Each reader allows the learner to practise the skills of blending sounds to decode words.

My inquiry is centred around making links between the letter knowledge gained and encoding words.  The BSLA whole class games allow students to practise the skill of segmenting words into sounds.  My hunch is that this will be easier for students if the words they are encoding is a word they have encountered in their reader.  I suspect that this will be the case for non-decodeable words and CVC words.

So I have made these planning changes.

1. I have chosen a focus high frequency word to use in our writing. E.g see, the

These words are encountered in the weeks reader and are practised with flashcards, and writing on whiteboards.  Each of these words are planned to be used in our sentences during writing. 

2. I have planned a writing lesson which includes shared reading of the weeks text and writing out a sentence of the story.

This will allow the learners to practise writing the target HFW and encoding CVC words from the text which they have seen. 

3.  One of our lessons is based on the BSLA shared text and focus vocabulary introduced in text which is shared over the week.

This is an example of one of my students work.