Phonics/Word Recognition
Chapter Summary
Chapter 5 of the book by Temple, Ogle, Crawford, Freppon, and Temple (2018) describes what children need to know to start reading and explains how they should be taught reading. The chapter mentions that phonics deals with relationships between graphemes and phonemes, while word recognition is a broader term that includes phonics as a part. Teaching reading in English is more difficult than in Spanish since English has deep orthography, which implies that one letter can mean different sounds, and one sound can be spelled by different letters.
Children are considered emergent readers when they start recognizing words as wholes. This phase is called the logographic stage, and children do not yet understand the concept of letters and try to remember words similar to memorizing faces. Teaching children at this stage should utilize a whole-part-whole approach, which can be subdivided into the language-experience method and guided reading. After that, in grades, K and 1, comes the letter-by-letter, or alphabetic stage of reading, which aims at learning to notice more and more letters. The techniques utilized for this stage are shared writing, soundboards, word walls, sight words, and word wall chants.
In the middle of the second grade comes the orthographic phase, during which children stop matching one letter to one sound and start looking at chunks of letters. During this stage, teachers can use word sorts, memory games, onset and rhymes for word study, flip cards, and word wheels. Fourth comes to the morphological phase, during which children start to divide words into meaningful parts.
During this stage, students are taught structural analysis. Finally, comes the derivational period, during which the histories of words are explored. The chapter concludes with the notion that teachers should help children recognize words in context and connect words understudy with those already known by the learner.
YouTube Video Summary: How to Teach Sight Words | Reading Lessons
The YouTube video is presented by Ann Glass, a reading and learning specialist in one of New York City’s private schools. The video discusses sight words, which are high-frequency words that do not follow the conventional phonics rules. Children usually learn these words by repeated exposure to reading and spelling them as well as practice. To memorize a word, Mrs. Glass suggests creating a discussion with children about why the word is complicated. In practice, a sight word should be put on the board, and every letter should be analyzed. Learners need to identify what words do not follow the conventional phonics rules and explanation why. After the discussion, the learners need to spell the word several times out loud and practice skywriting it.
Children need much practice with writing and spelling the word on their own as well as recognizing it in the text. The number of learned sight words should increase every day; therefore, teachers should consider creating word walls and word rings that include sight words. These words should be revised every day in order to achieve proficiency in writing and reading these words. The most common words that are not phonetically regular are “is,” “was,” “does,” “said,” and “have.”
Website List
A web search generated numerous links that can help educators teach phonics and word recognition to children of different ages. First, “The Classroom” website was found extremely helpful for the purpose. In particular, an article by Ashley Friedman (2019) that focused on strategies and specific activities that teach children word recognition are advantageous. In the article, the author suggests that children learn word recognition best when they are repeatedly exposed to the same words (Friedman, 2019).
Therefore, teachers need to select texts carefully so that they contain the words under study in different contexts. At the same time, children need to be aware of sounds and should be able to recognize phonemes (Friedman, 2019). This will allow students to identify different word families, depending on what sounds are represented by the letters (Friedman, 2019). In short, the article is coherent with Chapter 5 of the book by Temple et al. (2018) revised above.
Second, the website ReadingRocket is also a helpful resource for educators as it provides specific guidelines about how children with reading disabilities should be taught to read. An article by Chad and Osborn (2019) provides a revision of all the stages of word recognition mentioned by Temple et al. (2018). In particular, the article describes the types and examples of activities necessary to develop alphabetic awareness among children with disabilities, which include games, songs, lower and upper case letters identification, special writing activities, and introduction of a sensible sequence of letters (Chad & Osborn, 2019).
Similar instructions are given about phonemic awareness, sound-letter relations learning, and word identification (Chad & Osborn, 2019). At the same time, the article includes specific recommendations about teaching reading fluency (Chad & Osborn, 2019). The article was found helpful by many reviewers and can be used by teachers in K-4 classes.
Finally, the website ReadWriteThink is useful for reading teachers as it provides specific lesson plans for teaching word recognition. For instance, a publication by Prior (n.d.), proposes a coherent lesson plan for utilizing nursery rhymes in K-2 classrooms to teach word recognition (Prior, n.d.). The lesson plan includes four 20-minutes sessions with specific lesson structures and expectations for the students.
At the same time, the website has a source list for each lesson and attached printouts. Moreover, the website relates outcomes and instruments to standard documents justifying the methods against common core standards, state standards, and NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts (Prior, n.d.). The website is extremely convenient for teachers as it provides practical knowledge rather than theory.
Response
The analysis of the material presented above provided significant insights into the word recognition aspect of teaching literacy in children of different ages. I learned about the progression through various stages of word recognition learning, which include logographic, alphabetic, orthographic, morphological, and derivational phases (Temple et al., 2018). I also learned specific strategies for different stages of word recognition, such as word walls, word banks, skywriting, nursery rhymes analysis, phonemic analysis, and morphological analysis. The internet search was also helpful for defining the needs of children with reading disabilities, which is especially helpful for inclusive classrooms.
Finally, the research provided me with an excellent example of how to organize a series of classes dedicated to literacy learning in K-2 grades (Prior, n.d.). In summary, the sources provided above provide holistic information about theoretical and practical approaches to teaching word recognition.
The acquired knowledge was coherent with my personal literacy philosophy. In particular, I believe that every child can be taught reading. However, in order to achieve this, standard techniques mentioned by Temple et al. (2018) and Friedman (2019) should be altered according to the guidance provided by Chad and Osborn (2019). This will help educators address the unique needs of disabled students, which is vital in inclusive classrooms. At the same time, the review of the literature demonstrated that technology could be integrated into the teaching process. For instance, a teacher can show educational videos, make digital word walls, and play literacy video games (Chad & Osborn, 2019). The teacher can also send links with exercises to students’ parents to practice them at home.
Fluency
Chapter Summary
Chapter 6 in the book by Temple et al. (2018) describes two elements of fluency in reading and provides strategies for helping students achieve it. According to the National Reading Panel, fluency in reading is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly without considerable effort so that it sounds natural (as cited by Temple et al., 2018). In other words, fluency consists of effortless word recognition and the ability to read expressively, which involves the understanding of prosody. Additionally, fluency refers to a reasonable rate of reading and meaningful grouping of words according to punctuation. In order to help students achieve fluency, a teacher should model fluent reading, provide explicit instructions, offer opportunities to read, supply appropriate text, and guide and monitor students’ reading.
When modeling fluent reading, a teacher needs to bring characters to life by reading in different voices and demonstrate how prosody affects the meaning of words. Additionally, students should engage in discussions about the emotional qualities of passages, stress the importance of punctuation, and honor important words. When choosing texts, it is wise to consult librarians that have suggestions about read-aloud. It is recommended that teachers do not overlook text about different cultures and informational books. Educators should also pay special attention to discussing the meaning of texts to promote reflection.
Teachers should support the children’s reading for fluency with appropriate methods suggested by research. Teachers need to make a proper mix of Uninterrupted Sustained Silent Reading, Scaffolder Silent Reading, repeated reading, and guided repeated oral reading. Students should be encouraged to read with, and without teachers’ guidance through paired reading, buddy reading, radio reading, and the Fluency Oriented Oral Reading technique. Teachers should also promote repeated reading in performance, which includes readers’ theater and choral reading voice choirs in unison, parts, or rounds. The effectiveness of all the strategies introduced in the chapter was confirmed by research and years of practice.
YouTube Video Summary: Why Fluency?
The YouTube video published by reading Naturally (2009) touches upon the importance of fluency in life. The central point of the video is that reading fluency is highly correlated with comprehension. A large body of research confirmed that reading fluency measured in words read in a minute could predict how well a student will do on a comprehension test. In fact, the correlation coefficient can be as high as 0.91, which is almost a direct correlation.
Such a phenomenon can be explained by the theory of automaticity, which claims that a person can devote a limited amount of attention to any particular task. A person who dedicates too much attention to reading and pronouncing separate words, will not have enough attention to give to deciphering the meaning of a text. This implies that to become a proficient reader, a person should be able to recognize the words automatically and spend the effort on decoding the meaning of a text.
The automaticity theory can be confirmed by a simple activity demonstrated in the video. A group of students is given spelled out colors in ink that do not match the name of the color. For instance, the word “blue” is written in red, while the word “red” is written in white. The students have no problem with reading the names of the colors; however, they experience significant difficulty naming the colors of the text. This implies that the human brain prefers to read rather than assess the color, which supports the automaticity theory.
Website List
Various websites can help with acquiring additional knowledge about fluency teaching strategies. First, the “Portable On-Demand Teaching Strategies” (PODTS, n.d.) site is a valuable source for teachers to acquire information about free services that can help educators facilitate the teaching process. The website provides a short overview and links to ten services that help to increase fluency using the technique of audio-assisted reading.
The services included in the list include Lit 2 Go, Flocabulary, Storyline Online, Storynory, and others. Additionally, the website provides a list of classroom ideas to teach fluency to students of different ages. For instance, the website suggests recording a reading of the text and asking the students to do the same. The recordings can be uploaded to a forum and discussed online.
Second, the “Scholastic” website provides additional strategies for teachers to practice fluency. An article by Blau (n.d.) gives five suggestions for improving fluency in students in grades 1-2 and 3-5. The author suggests that teachers should model fluent reading, do repeated readings in class, promote phrased reading in class, and try a readers theater, which is similar to the suggestions made by Temple et al. (2018). However, there is an additional idea that can be useful, which is to create a list of tutors to help students learn fluency. The tutor list can include instructional aides, volunteer parents, or even older students. However, it is vital for a teacher to give specific instructions and recommend texts to the tutors.
Finally, a teacher can always use governmental websites, such as the official website of the Department of Education. Specifically, a presentation by Hudson (2008) provides step-by-step instructions about how to improve fluency using the Timed Repeated Readings technique. The strategy includes nine steps that should be repeated for every student. Their central aim is to create a graph of individual achievements in fluency measured by repeated one-minute reads of various texts. During the session, a teacher should preview the text, review the individual graph, set goals, make notes about the student’s reading, provide feedback, calculate the score, add new information on the graph, determine the next goal, and celebrate success.
Reflection
After reviewing material concerning fluency, I acquired a significant understanding of this aspect of literacy and its components, which are automatic word recognition, reading rate, a meaningful grouping of words, and expressive reading (Temple et al., 2018). I also learned that there is an almost direct link between reading fluency and comprehension, which can be explained by the automaticity theory. My experience as a teacher confirms that children have a limited attention span, and in order to be able to comprehend new material, they need to be fluent at reading. The review of the material also provided a significant amount of strategies and techniques that can be used when teaching fluency. Even though I knew almost all these techniques, the review of literature helped me systematize my knowledge.
I also learned that technology could be used to help my students be more fluent in reading. In particular, PODLS (n.d.) provides an abundance of links to free websites that can be used for audio-assistive reading. This is especially helpful for me as I often do not have time to record texts myself; however, I want to provide students and their parents with the ability to develop fluency at home.
One of the crucial parts of my literacy philosophy is that students are given a reading culture at home. This implies that parents should take an active role in developing children’s literacy skills. The services suggested by PODLS (n.d.) can help parents with the task. Additionally, my experience shows that children engage in activities that involve technology more willingly. Therefore, all the reviewed information will help me become a better teacher.
Vocabulary
Chapter Summary
Chapter 7 of the book by Temple et al. (2018) discusses the importance of vocabulary learning and strategies for teaching new words. The chapter opens by stating that vocabulary is knowledge of words and their meanings. Vocabulary is divided into receptive and expressive, which refer to the words a student can understand and use, respectively. Learning English vocabulary is associated with considerable difficulties due to an abundance of synonyms and polysemous words. Additionally, words have denotations and connotations that develop incrementally, which negatively influences the learning ability of students.
Vocabulary knowledge is of extreme importance as it is one of the most common predictors of reading comprehension. Moreover, richer vocabulary is associated with increased success in English classes. Therefore, attention to vocabulary should be given early and continue throughout grades. Studies show that vocabulary mastery depends on various factors, including socio-economic background and amount of reading. Research demonstrates that children from families with lower income experience less exposure to the conversation. At the same time, written language is a richer source of new words in comparison with television, radio, or oral communication.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts include three specific standards for vocabulary acquisition and use include understanding different meanings of words, comprehension of figurative language, and acquisition of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases. Teachers should understand these standards and use them in their teaching practice.
The most efficient strategy for teaching vocabulary is associated with five steps, including the promotion of respect to the language, creation of a language-rich environment, teaching specific words, teaching strategies for learning new words, and monitoring vocabulary learning. Vocabulary can be taught using different techniques, such as read-aloud, building vocab-o-grams, reviewing terms, morphology brainstorming, and cluster webs. The best way to assess vocabulary learning is through determining how familiar are the words to the learner before studying a specific topic and after studying it.
YouTube Video Summary: Explicit Vocabulary Teaching
The video published by AmericanGraduateDC (2012) features Dr. Curtis, a specialist in the education of students who have difficulties reading. Her research and experience have shown that students who have problems learning and comprehending new information also have the underdeveloped vocabulary. Dr. Curtis mentions that every language has three tiers of words, which are basic (Tier 1), academic (Tier 2), and domain-specific (Tier 3) words. Every content area teacher aims to teach these words; however, students may have difficulty learning them when they struggle with Tier 2 words, which are common to all content areas. Teachers can help students to develop a list of Tier 2 words to improve their learning ability of students.
Dr. Curtis provides several suggestions about how teachers can help their students in learning vocabulary. First, the teachers should give explicit instructions, which implies that students have the chance to understand the meaning of new words and then use them together with the teacher and independently. Second, learners to be provided with multiple opportunities to practice new vocabulary in varied contexts. Finally, the tasks that are given to the students should be very active, so that students get a chance to work with the information, instead of merely being lectured about new concepts. Teachers can help their students develop their vocabulary by engaging in discussions, developing writing activities, and graphic organizers. Multiple right answers are the key to success in the area.
Website List
After conducting an internet search, three websites were found extremely helpful for suggesting new strategies about vocabulary teaching. First, the “Busy Teacher” website suggests ten ways to teach new words in English in an article by Claudia Pesce (n.d.). The activities are divided into three groups associated with steps in learning words. These stages are noticing and understanding new words, recognizing new words, and producing vocabulary.
For learning new words, Pesce (n.d.) suggests activities with flashcards, illustrations, and real objects, as well as synonyms and antonyms. For recognizing activities, Pesce (n.d.) recommends bingo, matching, and fill-in blanks tasks with options. For the new word reproduction, Pesce (n.d.) insists on descriptions, brainstorming, mind maps, and fill-in-blanks activities without options.
Second, the “Gifted Guru” website was also found helpful for revisiting theories and techniques about learning vocabulary. An article by Gemert (2017) outlines the importance of teaching vocabulary and provides some useful guidelines for creating activities. Gemert (2017) suggests that an effective vocabulary program needs to have four components, which are teaching individual words, providing rich and varied language experiences, teaching word-learning strategies, and fostering word consciousness. Gemert (2017) also advocates the EASE method, which is an acronym for enunciation, association, synthesizing, and emphasizing.
The article is particularly valuable for describing commonly used methods by language teachers that do not work, such as copying the word several times, guessing the meaning, or asking students to look up the meaning in the dictionary.
Finally, the “LDOnline” website was found helpful as it contains scholarly articles about teaching children with learning disabilities. An article by Dalton and Grisham (2011) suggests ten strategies to incorporate technology into teaching vocabulary. Some of the suggestions are to make a word cloud using specialized software, take digital vocabulary field trips, and play fun online vocabulary games. The article reviews a considerable body of research and concludes that using high-tech solutions leads to increased interest from students of all ages. Technology can be especially helpful for students with English as a second language, as they can obtain quick translations of new words into their language using digital dictionaries.
Reflection
The review of the material deepened my understanding of why vocabulary is of extreme importance for the learning process. I came to realize how strong the link between vocabulary and comprehension is. Additionally, I learned new strategies about teaching new words to children of different ages. One of the most valuable insights for me was that a teacher needs to promote respect to the language.
Indeed, most students speak carelessly and avoid using new words because they do not appreciate the beauty, richness, and uniqueness of the English language. In my opinion, every teacher should devote time during classes to develop an interest in the history and peculiarities of the English language. Such an endeavor will make students inquiring when it comes to learning new words.
The review of the literature was also helpful for understanding how technology can help in teaching vocabulary. For instance, Dalton and Grisham (2011) suggest that teachers combine social services and vocabulary learning. The idea behind the advice is that learners will have fun learning vocabulary if they participate in online community activities (Dalton & Grisham, 2011). The idea that learning should bring joy is coherent with my personal literacy philosophy. I am a strong supporter of the idea that dull lessons and assignments lead to low engagement in activities and poor academic outcomes.
The review of strategies about teaching vocabulary provided me with valuable information about how to make teaching diverse to motivate my students. In the future, I will aim at trying all the new strategies and techniques to understand what works best for my students.
References
AmericanGraduateDC. (2012). Explicit vocabulary teaching strategies.
Blau. L. (n.d.). 5 surefire strategies for developing reading fluency.
Chard, D., & Osborn, J. (2019). Phonics and word recognition instruction in early reading Programs: guidelines for children with reading disabilities.
Dalton, B, & Grisham, D. (2011). eVoc strategies: 10 ways to use technology to build vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 64, 306–317. Web.
Friedman, A. (2019). Activities to teach word recognition.
Gemert, L. (2017). Strategies for teaching vocabulary: Theory and technique.
Howcast. (2011). How to teach sight words | Reading lessons [Video file].
Hudson, R. (2008). Reading fluency intervention strategies to build automaticity at multiple levels. Web.
Pesce, C. (n.d.). Teaching English vocabulary: 10 fabulous ways to teach new words.
PODLS. (n.d.). Literacy: 10 free technology tools to increase fluency with audio-assisted reading. Web.
Prior, J. (n.d.). Word recognition strategies using nursery rhymes.
Read Naturally. (2009). Why fluency? [Video file].
Temple, C. A., Ogle, D., Crawford, A., Freppon, P., & Temple, C. (2018). All children read: Teaching for literacy in today’s diverse classrooms (5th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.