Phonics I: Letter-Sound Relations EDC424. Why teach letter-sound relations?

Phonics I: Letter-Sound RelationsEDC424

Why teach letter-sound relations?

Case 1: What does this student struggle with?Words knownandbatcuthehotmomnoWords not knownanbutmenot

Good sight word knowledge, but its masking students lack of understanding of the alphabetic principle: (1) sounds are represented by letters and (2) those letters represent the sounds rather consistently

Case 2: What does she struggle with? PseudowordkotswipgandreeshubflatemeepChilds responsekasgadaerserfamech

Some knowledge of first sound in a syllable, but little ability to decode the vowel and final phoneme Needs: teach vowel sounds; how to blend sounds into a word; words need to make sense*

Case 3: What does this 3rd grader struggle with? WordcoldsoonwarfigurecertainmineralparagraphChilds responsecouldsamewearfingercurturmaterialpotograph

Paying attention to beginning and final grapheme but ignores middle grapheme and pulls from words he knowsNeeds: attention to medial letters/sounds and monitoring

What do children need to know and be able to do to read words? Know the speech sounds associated with written letters in wordsKnow how to put those sounds together to form a pronounceable wordHave a strong sense of English spelling/writing patternsRecognize words rapidlyIsabel Beck, 2006

Principles of Teaching Letter-Sound CorrespondenceInstruction should highlight letter-sound relationship at all positions in the word (e.g., beginning, middle, end) Instruction should link phonemic awareness with letter sound correspondence

Three perspectives: Phonemic awareness DecodingDecoding Phonemic awareness** Phonemic Awareness Decoding No evidence that engaging children in sophisticated speech-only tasks (substitution/manipulation) will improve decoding. In fact, some evidence that knowledge of letters helps complete these sophisticated tasks (Isabel Beck, 2006).

Isabel Beck, 2006

Letter-Sound InstructionSequence: Consonants > Vowels > Sounds represented by more than one letter (ee, ai, ph, ng)Lesson Sequence for Teaching Consonant Letter-Sound Correspondence Develop phonemic awareness by focusing on the sound represented by a particular letter in the initial position.Connect the printed letter with the sound the letter represents.Discriminate among words that have letter-sound in the initial position and those that do not. Develop phonemic awareness by focusing on the sound in the final position. Discriminate among words that have letter-sound in the final position and those that do not.Discriminate among words that have the letter-sound in the initial and final positions.

Isabel Beck, 2006

Vowel-Sound Correspondence(same as consonants but focus on initial & medial)Focus on short vowel sound in initial positionConnect sound with letterDiscriminate words that have that vowel sound at beginning and other words that do notFocus on short vowel sound in medial positionDiscriminate words that have that vowel sound in the middle and other words that do notDiscriminate among words that have the letter-sound in the initial and final positions.

Isabel Beck, 2006

Once you teach, provide LOTS of practice (model, shared, interactive, guided, independent)Model/Shared (Sharing Circle > Centers) Mrs. Jones Kindergarten Letter Names and Letter SoundsSong Lyrics for Children (more on YouTube) Guided/Independent (Center activities) Read Write Think: Picture MatchStarfall: ABC AlphabetMonitor/ReteachPALS Phonological Awareness Literacy Activities (that correlate with PALS assessment)

Empty versions of slides for handouts

Case 1: What does this student struggle with?Words knownandbatcuthehotmomnoWords not knownanbutmenot

Case 2: What does she struggle with? PseudowordkotswipgandreeshubflatemeepChilds responsekasgadaerserfamech

Case 3: What does this 3rd grader struggle with? WordcoldsoonwarfigurecertainmineralparagraphChilds responsecouldsamewearfingercurturmaterialpotograph