An elementary reading manual

The National Weekender
BOOK REVIEW
The University of Papua New Guinea produces a guide on the different sounds of the letters in the English alphabet

By TUKUL WALLA KAIKU
A BOOK titled ‘Different sounds of letters A – Z; A Reading guide for Papua New Guinea Elementary School Readers’ has been produced by the Information and Communication Sciences Strand of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea. It provides guidance on the sounds of letters A-Z as they appear individually and when combined with other letters in words.
The book has been developed for Papua New Guinea Elementary School Readers or Grades 2 and 3 level readers or pupils. Before using the book, children should have learnt to recognize and identify the 26 letters of the English alphabet by name, shape and form. Having learnt the letters A-Z, through the use of this book, children can then learn the different sounds of each of the letters.
Most find it hard to hard
It is believed that most Papua New Guinea children find it hard to read because they do not know the different sounds of a letter or the sounds of a combination of letters. Some children struggle to pronounce the sound of a letter without scanning an entire word and find it equally difficult to pronounce and connect the sounds of the letters in words
The book is 68 pages long and presents the sounds of letter Aa first, followed by the sounds of letter Bb and so on all the way to the sounds of letter Zz. It consists of; a table of the 26 English alphabet letters (A -Z), big and small, vowels and consonants, vowels and consonants blend sounds, different sounds of the letters of the alphabet from letter A -Z, a quick reference table of the different sounds of letter ’Aa’ by itself and with other letters, a table of other letters with letter ‘Aa’ sounds, and there are two quick access reference lists of the letter sounds.
The sounds are all in one book making it a reading tool to assist Papua New Guinea elementary school readers, parents, teachers and mentors to have in one location the letters of the alphabet and the different sounds of each of the letters as they appear individually or when combined with other letters.
The objectives of the book basically are for the early learner to be able to know that a letter has different sounds and to be able to recognize the sounds a letter makes individually and or when combined with other letters, and for the early reader to be able to see a word and connect the letter sounds in words to pronounce the word and eventually start reading.
The three learning environments that the book can be used as a tool for teaching and learning to read can be either, in a classroom learning group under the supervision and coaching of a teacher, a home group, under the supervision of a mentor/trainer, and or an individual learner under the supervision of a guardian.
Some suggested steps for use of the guide are provided, however, a teacher create reading activities using the book to assist in the children’s reading abilities.
For those who know of a child who is having trouble reading, and those who may need a guide to assist them to teach a child or children to read, copies of the book can be requested by emailing: Tukul Kaiku at: [email protected]. A price list and payment requirements will be provided to interested buyers or persons.
The UPNG Information and Communication Sciences Strand believes that Papua New Guinea children will definitely learn to read after learning and being taught the different sounds of the letters A – Z and ultimately fulfill the university’s mission which is to impart and raise the knowledge level of Papua New Guineans.

  • The writer is lecturer in the Information and Communication Sciences Strand, School of Humanities and Social Sciences at UPNG