Reading and writing are essential skills for preschoolers and primary 1 children to develop.
One effective strategy that I have been using to help my 5-year-old to enhance these skills is the Read-Draw-Label (RDL) strategy. This strategy involves three simple steps: reading a short text or sentence, drawing a picture to represent the word, and then labeling the pictures to describe the drawing.
The first step of the RDL method is reading a short text or sentence to the child. In this case, I wrote a simple sentence for my 5-year-old to read and draw.
The second step of the RDL method is getting my child to draw the word that I wanted him to learn. Drawing helps to develop fine motor skills and creativity.
To complete the read, draw, and label strategy, the last step is to add labels and write a sentence or two to describe the drawing. If a child is unable to write, parents can assist them in labeling their drawings, which will help them become more confident in reading. Children who are more advanced can try writing on their own, beginning with simple sentences and gradually moving towards more complex ones as their writing skills improve.
Using the RDL method, parents and teachers can help preschoolers and primary 1 children develop their reading, drawing, and writing skills simultaneously. This method is especially helpful for children who struggle with writing and reading, as it provides them with a visual representation of the text, making it easier for them to express their thoughts and ideas in writing.
In this activity, my learning objective is to help my 5-year-old child to recognise the Chinese words "车" and "巴士".
To start, I prepared a simple activity where he had to paste the words onto a picture that I drew. Then, using the "read, draw, and label" strategy, I wrote a simple sentence for him to practice with, and he drew pictures of "车" and "巴士".
After he finished drawing, I labeled the objects to help him with reading.
How about using the Read-Draw-Label strategy for English?
Recently, I used this strategy, with my 5-year-old by providing him with a template of objects and getting him to label them. This template is from @learninglittlebylittle. I love the CVC short families template from @learninglittlebylittle. It acts as a reinforcement for small I to recap on how to spell short I words.
Once, he had mastered the labeling task, I introduced a sentence construction template (ownself template) and asked him to write a sentence.
After writing the sentence, he drew a picture and then used the RDL strategy to label his drawing.
By following this process, my child was able to reinforce his understanding of spelling short I words in an engaging and interactive way.
It is important to clarify that the goal of the lesson was not to improve grammar, which is why I did not place a strong emphasis on correcting my child's grammar mistakes. Additionally, I did not want to overwhelm him by pointing out that the correct word in the context should be "fixes" instead of "fix", as he had only recently learned how to spell the word "fix".
In conclusion, the Read-Draw-Label method is an effective strategy to enhance reading, drawing, and writing skills in preschoolers and primary 1 children. Parents and teachers can use this method along with other strategies to create a fun and engaging learning environment that promotes literacy skills.
I hope you have the opportunity to implement this strategy with your young children!