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

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

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

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

5. 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.

6. Percentage Correct of Phonemes and Graphemes per Student

7. Procedure
Students were each given a tray full of sand.
For 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.

8. Results: Phonemic Awareness

9. Percentage Differential

10. 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.