Children learn through stories so we are going to create a tiny story (called a rule) for the letters g, p, q. Repetition is the key to learning.
Gg rule: g loves to look down at g's fancy tail. Ask your child to draw a giant letter g. Tell your child that g's circle is a face. Letter g loves to look down at g's fancy tail. Ask your child to draw many giant letter g's with eyes looking down at g's fancy tail. Repeat the Gg rule together over and over so that your child can remind himself of the g rule when he is reading and you are not nearby to help. Also take turns saying g words: gorilla, goat, girl, green.
Be aware: lowercase q as written at school has a tiny hook at the bottom of q's tail, curved up and away from q's face. Handwritten lowercase g and handwritten q are reverse images. This can be a problem in learning names and sounds. Online and in print, lowercase q has a straight tail, not a fancy tail - which is why the words fancy tail is the clue for g.
**Now sit down with your child and a storybook. Tell your child you are going to talk about a special letter g. Show your child that letter g in storybooks has a special fancy tail: g.
(Commercially printed materials used Times New Roman font. The school g is Arial font.
I am naming the fonts because this blog may self-correct. I do not know what you will see. Both symbols for g have a fancy tail, providing your child with a reliable clue. Also notice different fonts for capital I. Arial capital I looks to a child like the l in lamb. Times New Roman font capital I has lines at top and bottom. Help your child feel sure of both forms for g and I.)
Pp rule: p's eyes look the way words go in a story. Ask your child to draw a giant letter p; start with the straight line then draw the circle. The circle is p's face. Letter p is looking the way words go. (Be sure your child knows the way words go >>. Ask your child to point to each word as you read stories together.)
Tell your child to draw many giant p's with a smile and eyes looking the way words go when we read stories together. Words go this way >> and p's eyes look the way words go >>. Repeat the Pp rule together. Also ask your child to find p in the words of the stories you read together: porcupine, penguin, puppy, pet, apple, sleep, creep, etc.
Qq rule: q's tail blocks q's face from seeing the way words go. On a sheet of paper, ask your child to draw a capital Q and a lower-case q. Ask your child to point to his Qq as the two of you say q words: question, quick, quiet, quill (porcupine quill). Ask your child to draw a giant lower-case q. Start with the circle, then draw the straight line. Tell your child the circle is q's face. Explain to your child that q's tail blocks q's face from seeing the way words go. Ask your child to point to q's tail to be sure he knows what you are talking about. Ask your child if q's tail is blocking q's round face? (Yes.) Tell your child to draw sad eyes and a sad mouth for q; q is sad because q cannot see the way words go in a story.
Ask your child to draw many giant q faces, then block q's face with q's tail. Draw sad q eyes and a sad mouth. Repeat q words together. Help your child watch for lowercase q in the words of a story: squirrel, squeak, squeal, quiet, quick. Help your child learn that your child makes lowercase q with a little hook curving away from q's face but in storybooks q has a straight tail blocking q's face. (This clue separates lowercase q from lowercase p - the eyes of p can see the way words go because it does not have a line blocking p's face.)
Tip: Do not ask your child to stop to sound out when your child is reading to you. Tell your child any unknown words and have your child read onward. This will build better comprehension.
If you would like a book, I use eBay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up. All are brand new and include my contact info: email or call for help.
Thank you, Mary Maisner
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