1Benedictine University

WHAT DIFFICULTIES DO STUDENTS ENCOUNTER WHEN LEARNING TO READ WORDS?

EDUC 603Week 2

Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 8– Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc

• Students are expected to master the basics of phonics by the end of Second Grade

• Struggling readers often:–Have generalized difficulty processing words phonologically–Are slower to learn phonics–Rely on smaller units of sound–Have difficulty applying phonics–Scan words less efficiently–Tend to over-rely on phonics• Fail to integrate context clues with phonics use

Phonics and the Poor Reader

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• Poor decoding skills is a primary cause of poor reading, even among older students• In a study of 4th graders who failed a state

proficiency test, 41% had significant difficulty with decoding (Valencia and Buly, 2004)

Decoding

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• Deficient Decoders–Lack basic decoding skills–Need systematic instruction with lots of practice

• Disabled Decoders–Learn new patterns slowly or not at all–Need long-term, intensive instruction that includes techniques for

improving attention and memory• Inaccurate Decoders–Misread patterns due to poor phonemic awareness or little practice–Need systematic instruction, lots of practice, and instruction in

monitoring for meaning• Non-automatic Decoders–Have solid word recognition skills, but they are not automatic–Need lots of practice with easy material and emphasis on reading for

meaning

Types of Word Recognition Difficulty

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• Decoding involves…–Sounding out words

• Analogy involves… –Recognizing the similarity between words like:• “Hat” and how it reminds the student of the word “Cat”

• Prediction involves… –Using the first letter of a word and the context or the use of

illustrations on a page to predict the meaning of words

• Memory/Immediate Recognition involves… –Using familiar “sight” words

How Words Are Read

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6Benedictine University

WHAT ARE THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING PHONICS?

EDUC 603Week 2

Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 8 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc

• Early systematic instruction in phonics should be balanced with application in context

• Avoid over-emphasizing phonics– 10-15 minutes of phonics per day is

sufficient• Tip: Incorporate the phonics skills

learned recently in authentic text situations

Teaching Phonics

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• Part-Whole Approach–The correspondence or pattern is presented and

then is applied within the context of a whole story• Whole-Part Approach–Start with the whole story and then break the whole

into parts• Whole-Part-Whole Approach–Start with the whole story, then break into parts, then

go back to the whole

Approach to Teaching Phonics

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9Benedictine University

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING CONSONANTS?

EDUC 603Week 2

Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 8 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc

• There are 26 letters in the alphabet• But…there are 41 speech sounds in English– 25 are consonant sounds – 16 are vowel sounds– These sounds may be spelled in different ways• (This is a significant complicating factor for ELLs)

• Consonants are usually introduced or presented first in most phonics programs–Often the first letters in words provide usable clues in

words–In invented spelling, consonants often appear first

Consonants

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‘C’ Clue…

• Explicit /synthetic approach–Students are taught isolated sounds and then blend the

sounds together to create a word–Problems with this approach:• Distorts sounds • Blending poses a short-term memory problem

• Implicit /analytic approach–Teaches letter-sound relationships in the context of whole

words–Problems with this approach:• Students must be able to segment the first sound in the word

Approaches to Teaching Consonants

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After learning a variety of initial consonant correspondences, students are taught other consonant elements:• Consonant Digraphs–Two letters that represent one sound (e.g., “sh”)

• Final Consonants–Introduced after most initial consonants and consonant

diagraphs• Consonant Clusters–Composed of two or more letters that represent two or more

sounds (e.g., “scr”)• Confusing Consonants–Representing different sounds is trickiest (e.g., C can be /k/ or

/s/)

Other Consonant Elements

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• Struggling readers tend to have difficulty with auditory discrimination and perception –Best practice suggests starting with continuants (articulated with a continuous

stream of breath), which are easier to say and detect in isolation– /f/, /y/, /h/, /v/, /s/, /m/, /f/, /r/, /n/, /w/, /sh/, /th/, /wh/, /zh/

• Consonants and vowels should be taught together–After presenting four or five initial-consonant correspondences, then introduce

– ‘at’ (vowel pattern) or another vowel pattern and begin to form words–Then gradually introduce other high frequency patterns

• Figure 8.4 in Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties (page 233) presents recommended sequences for phonics instruction

Sequence of Teaching Consonants

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• Reading–Use children’s books, especially alphabet books

• Sorting sounds–Can help children discover basic principles of word construction

• Ask students to look for a specific consonant in book titles, signs, food labels, etc.

• Create alphabet books• Multi-sensory approaches may help students who have associative

learning disabilities

Reinforcement Activities for Consonant Correspondences

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Further information on reinforcement activities for consonant correspondences can be found on pages 234-237 in Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties

15Benedictine University

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING VOWELS?

EDUC 603Week 2

Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 8 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc

• Vowels may be taught implicitly or explicitly, in pattern or a word-building approach

• Vowels tend to be easier to teach because they can be pronounced in isolation without distortion

• A popular approach is to present elements in patterns or phonograms

• Read pages 240-248 in Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties to become familiar with the similarities and differences between the three approaches to teaching vowels:

– Word-building Approach– Sound by Sound Approach– Make and Break Technique

Approaches to Teaching Vowels

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• Poor readers often have trouble applying the five vowel spelling generalizations:

1. Short vowels (1 in 4 words)• A vowel is short when it is followed by a consonant: bat, sit

2. Open Syllables (1 in 5 words)• A vowel is long when it comes at the end of a word or syllable

3. Final-e Markers (1 in 20 words)• A vowel is long when it is followed by a consonant and a final silent-e marker:

cane, time

4. Unstressed Syllables (1 in 5 words)• A vowel is given a schwa pronunciation when it occurs in an unaccented

syllable: a-bout, di-vide

5. Digraphs (1 in 6 words)• A vowel sound that is spelled with two or more letters. Because blanket

generalizations don’t work well with these, vowel-decoding charts can be helpful (page 239)

Vowels

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• Short-vowel correspondences–Often CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant)

• Long-vowels– Easier to perceive auditorally – Easier to learn to read and spell if introduced via the

simplest patterns– Save the final-e spellings and digraph-

plus final consonant spellings until later

Sequence for Teaching Vowels

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CVC

• As students learn phonics elements and decoding strategies, it is essential that they apply them to reading whole sections of text• Materials to reinforce phonics are:–Children’s books–Decodable texts

Application Through Reading

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• Foster self-correction–Avoid the urge to jump in immediately!

• Promote the effective use of strategies–When students overuse phonics cues:• Check that the level of text is appropriate• Construct cloze passages to practice using context clues to fill in the

blanks–When students overuse context clues:• Check that the level of text is appropriate• Encourage wide reading of easy materials for practice• Before reading, review key phonics patterns in the piece

Using Prompts to Foster the Use of Balanced Decoding Strategies

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21Benedictine University

HOW DO STUDENTS APPLY WORD ANALYSIS STRATEGIES TO READING?

EDUC 603Week 2

Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 8 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc

• Pronounceable Word-Part Strategy– Student looks for parts of the words that he/she can

pronounce and starts there• Analogy Strategy– Students work out the pronunciation by

comparing it to a known word• Decoding Strategy– Students are encouraged to read the word sound by

sound and then to blend the sounds together

Word-Analysis Strategies

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• Context–Students should use verbal and picture clues

• Prompting Strategy Use–Use a “pause, prompt, pause” to give the students a chance to

work out the word on his/her own • Review the chart on page 270 in Assessing and

Correcting Reading Difficulties for prompts to encourage using the word analysis strategies

Word-Analysis Strategies

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• Teachers may need to prompt students with different questions, depending on the cueing system you want them to use:–Semantic: Does that make sense?–Syntactic: Does that sound like real language? What would

sound right here?–Phonic: “Zebra” begins with a “z,” but what sound does

it end with?• Review the case study on pages 267-269 in Assessing and

Correcting Reading Difficulties for an example of how to use prompts

Using Prompts to Foster the Use of Balanced Decoding Strategies

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25Benedictine University

HIGH-FREQUENCY (SIGHT) WORDS? EDUC 603

Week 2

Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 8 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc

• Sight words are the 200 or so most frequently used words in printed English

• Often, sight words are the most difficult words for struggling readers to learn

• Sight words: – Look alike (was, were, where, are)– Are abstract (the, of, with)– May have spellings that give little or no clue to their

pronunciation (one, of)

High-Frequency (Sight) Words

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• Readabout high frequency words on pages 274 – 278 in Assessing and Correcting Reading Writing Difficulties

• Consider teaching techniques that can be useful for Ken as you read pages 274 – 278

• This information will assist you with Ken’s Case Study in your discussion question this week

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Learning High Frequency Words

• Shared Reading• Singing High Frequency Words • Predictable Books• Holistic Programs (series of predictable books)• Creating Little Books around familiar themes• Read-Along with accompanying audiotapes

Indirect Teaching Techniques for High Frequency Words

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For more information about these techniques, see Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing

Difficulties, pages 279-285