The Effects of Intensive Sand Writing on Phonemic Awareness in Kindergarten By Coby Long

Research Question Will sand-writing letters prove more effective with Kindergarteners memorizing phonemes than traditional methods?

Study Focus 10 Kindergarten Students 9 males, 1 female All struggling with phoneme recognition

Duration Research lasted four weeks. Each session included 5 or 6 students and lasted between 20 and 25 minutes

Variety of Letters Used All 26 letters were both tested on and studied. Their order was random every day so as not to form a pattern.

Percentage Correct of Phonemes and Graphemes per Student

Procedure Students were each given a tray full of sand. For 20-25 minutes, random letters were typed, one at a time, on a computer screen in 300 font. Only the phoneme of the letter was given, and the students were to trace the letter and say the phoneme repeatedly.

Results: Phonemic Awareness

Percentage Differential

Reflection There was no consistency to improvement in phonemic awareness over the entire group. Some students improved while others actually regressed. If possible, students might need to be assessed using the sand instead of normal, visual cues.