GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A PRIMER TO EACH THE SOUNDS OF THE LANGUAGE 1

What is the purpose of the primer?

Learning to read, and become a fluent reader, requires two separate processes:

1. We need to understand that a printed text has meaning; it communicates a real

message.
2. We need to understand that the letters on the page are associated with sounds and
that letters go together to form words, just as sounds go together to form words.

The best way to help new readers understand that printed texts have meaning is to provide
them with a variety of short, easy-to-read stories about people, places, and activities that are
familiar to them. This helps them learn that they can use their own knowledge and experience
to help them read (when they know the language and story is about familiar topics.)

But they also need to know how to use their knowledge of the individual parts of words-
syllables, letters and other marks-to sound out words that are not familiar to them.

This is the purpose of the “primer” – to help new readers get acquainted with the letters of
their alphabet and learn how to use that knowledge to help them get meaning from print.

How do we create the primer?

Three of the most important qualities of a good primer:

1. The primer teaches only one letter at a time. (If you absolutely must use an
unknown letter in the keyword, make sure it is in the syllable that is not
emphasized.)
2. It builds on what the learners have already learned so they can use what they know
to learn something new.
3. It starts and ends with meaning. (Each lesson…
 begins with a picture of an object that is familiar to the learners
 then introduces the keyword – the name of the object in the picture
 then breaks the keyword down to the new letter and builds it back to the
word
 then uses the new letter, along with other letters that have been learned to
“build” some new words
 then uses known letters to make sentences, breaking the sentences down
and building them again

Adapted from MULTI-STRATEGY APPROACH, Mary Stringer, SIL International, 1986

  and finally, has time to practice spelling and handwriting using the new
letters and words

Identifying the key words

The first column in the chart /matrix below says the lesson number. The second column shows
the letter that is in focus in this lesson. The third column shows the key word that you will use
to teach the new letter. The fourth column shows the words that you can build with the letters
that you have introduced so far. And, the fifth column shows the short story formed from the
generated words using the previously learned letters.

Lesson New Letter Key word/Key Picture Built Built Story

No. Words
Lesson 1 n
Lesson 2 a
Lesson 3 i
Lesson 4 Review of an An Naani
n, a, i ani Ini an ani.
ina Ini an ani na naani ni
naani Nana.
ini Ani! ani! ini an naani.
Ana

ani
Lesson 5 g gana An Gana
gaga Gana! Gana! Gana si
aga Gaga!
agi Naaga an gana ni
nag Gaga sa Naga.
gana naga Nag-agi-agi an gana
naaga na si Gaga sa Naga.
nag-agi
nag-ani
iga

Lesson 6 o oni Anino ni Gogo

nigo
gono Ini an anino ni Gogo.
Nana Nasa nigo ni Nono an
gona anino ni Gogo.
igo “Nono! Nono! Naigo
oni nono mo an nigo”.

Adapted from MULTI-STRATEGY APPROACH, Mary Stringer, SIL International, 1986

 naigo Naigo ni Nono an
ano nigo na may anino ni
gogo Gogo.
Nognog
anino

Note: Teach only one letter a day. If you must introduce 2 new letters at a time, add review day
to make sure the children know the 2 letters well before you move to the next letter.

Identifying Sentence-Making Words and Sentences Using Learned Letters

Identify a “Sentence Making Word (usually a verb, often which cannot be pictured) that uses
ONLY LEARNED LETTERS. Compose a very short sentence using the sentence-making word.
NOTE THAT ALL THE WORDS USE ONLY LEARNED LETTERS.

Note that it will not be possible to make sentences until the students have learned five or more
letters. In English, you could make a sentence with letters m, a, p, s, w (mama saw papa – with
“saw” as the “Sentence-Making Word)

Lesson No. Sentence-Making Sentence Letters used (that

Word have been taught)

Prepared by:

Nemia Bulao-Cedo
NCS 1, Naga City Division

Adapted from MULTI-STRATEGY APPROACH, Mary Stringer, SIL International, 1986