Chewing+gum

Chewing gum is a teaching strategy that we use in tutoring program for some Year 6 students that have a low literacy level.

We introduce the word on the SMART board then ask students if they know the word and can read it out aloud to the class, if they do not know then we model the pronunciation. After modeling the pronunciation a couple of times and having the students try to pronounce it. Then we stretch out the sound for the students. We then get the students to pretend to grab the chewing gum in their mouth and get ready to stretch it out. In unison we say the word and stretch out the sounds, as the word is being stretched out, everyone in the class moves their hand from their mouth extended and away from the mouth as if stretching out a piece of chewing gum. We repeat the process of stretching out the word with the students a couple more times to ensure the students have the correct pronunciation. Then we talk about the sounds in the word and the syllables in their word, we have the students volunteer their answers as to how many syllables are present. If the students are unsure we then stretch the word out again and then if needed place our hand under our chin to count the number of times it drops down.

The chewing gum teaching strategy is a fun physical process of exploring an unfamiliar word, and although this was a Year 6 class participating, the engagement level was very high and could easily be used for students in lower grades.