The best place for teachers to start on their path to supporting struggling decoders is to listen to the child read. Teachers may choose to use a running record to gain information or simply listen to the student read a list of words or sentences while identifying which of the child’s decoding skills are weak (Logsdon, 2018). For example does the student struggle with vowels or ending sounds or is it their ability to segment syllables that is lacking? Once you have determined who is struggling and with which skill an effective literacy program is required. Teachers should develop an effective literacy program that focuses on teaching sounds explicitly and systematically. An Effective Literacy Program: The National Reading Panel Report research shows that students require a minimum of 90 minutes of uninterrupted reading instruction each day if they are to become strong readers. This instruction time must be explicitly taught in a systematic manner and be differentiated for different levels in the classroom (2000). In the table below, you will see how a literacy block can be created using 100 minutes. “An effective reading program includes whole-class and small-group instruction as well as large-group, small-group, and individual activities” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2005, p.2.21). Not only is variety of grouping size important to consider, but also the mix of students in each grouping. For small group guided reading and writing, consider grouping students with similar instructional needs. For other lessons and activities, a range of abilities may be more appropriate and instead shared interests might be the common factor. Morning Greeting/Group Check-in is a time for teachers to welcome students to school and give them an opportunity to share together. This could include exciting news, plans for the day, or even a song or video that gets them moving! The broad purpose of a morning meeting is to transition students between home and school, to greet them as you would a guest in your house and to informally reacquaint them with the expectations of the classroom. “A sincere greeting is the first step in making a connection … it establishes a positive climate for the classroom” (Wong, 2013, p.1). Whole Group Read Aloud is a wonderful activity for encouraging language and literacy development. During a read aloud, teachers can model expressive reading and reading fluency for students. By doing read alouds, teachers are able to challenge students with new ideas and meaning that they would not be able to access by reading independently (Beck, 2001). To support struggling decoders, teachers should focus on clear pronunciation and reiterating letters and sounds. During the read aloud teachers can model breaking a word apart, saying each of the letter sounds, and finally blending the sounds back together. It is important that students hear letter sounds being made correctly and in isolation whenever possible. Some letter sounds cannot be made in isolation without adding an /uh/ sound to the end. For example, the /b/ in “but” is distorted to /buh/. For students to become successful decoders, they must receive instruction on blending letter sounds. Helping to isolate the sound and teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together to try to identify words are useful instructional strategies. Whole Group Instruction is provided through teacher-led direct instruction on a topic. The teacher provides the class with the same lesson on a topic and is designed to reach the average student in the classroom. It is a great tool for introducing new concepts. It gives the teacher the opportunity to share the new information to everyone at once before working in smaller groups to help extend their understanding depending on the needs of the particular students. Whole group instruction also helps to determine a baseline for learning and assessment. Teachers can use the information they gain from whole group instruction as formative assessment and future planning. Finally, whole group instruction is most effective when it is immediately followed by small group instruction. For students who struggle to decode, a whole group lesson may seem overwhelming. To support these students, try including auditory, visual, tactile, and kinaesthetic representations of sounds. Movements and gestures can be created to go along with different letters and sounds. For example, put your hands together and move your arms like a snake while make the /s/ sound. A variety of phoneme recognition and substitution games can be utilized during whole group instruction as well. Songs such as “ Willaby Wallaby Woo” and “Apples and Bananas” can be incorporated into each lesson as a fun way for students to practice phoneme substitution.
Small Group Instruction helps solidify the concepts learned in the whole group setting, allows the teacher to identify students struggling with the content, and take a different approach with them to help them master the new ideas. It is important to remember that the grouping are fluid and flexible. The groups will change based on student need and performance as observed and assessed by ongoing evaluation. Since some students may require different support than others, consider grouping students by strengths and areas of need in decoding, word recognition, and/or comprehension (Fisher & Frey, 2014, 239). For students who struggle with decoding, small group instruction can be extremely powerful. It allows the teacher to continue to model decoding skills and have the students watch closely and practice with support. Small Group Activity Centre is a time where students will work independently on different activities. This is the perfect opportunity for students to work on strengthening their decoding skills. Teachers should utilize a variety of word work activities, letter games, and audiobooks to support student learning. Please see "Decoding Strategies for in the Classroom" for activities to include in this Small Group Activity Centre. The activities at this stations will be varied to fit with the different needs of each student. Small Group Partner Reading/Tutoring is a time for students to be interacting with one another to improve each of their own understanding. When partner reading, have students re-read a book they are familiar with. The partners can take turns reading, supporting one another on difficult words and encouraging fluency or expression. Teach students to ask their partner questions about what they just read or about their favourite part. This will help encourage both students to pay attention, create conversation, and improve comprehension. Small Group Independent Practice is intended as a time for students to work independently on an activity that will support their learning needs. Students should be encouraged to use the decoding strategies that were taught during the whole or small group lesson. References:
Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2001). Text Talk: Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children. The Reading Teacher, 55(1), 10. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.proxy.queensu.ca/apps/doc/A78825058/AONE?u=queensulaw&sid=AONE&xid=1d3496e7 Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014a). Addressing CCSS Anchor Standard 10: Text complexity. Language Arts, 91(4), 236–250. Ontario Ministry of Education (2005). A guide to effective writing instruction, Kindergarten to grade three. Retrieved from http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/resources/guides/Guide_Writing_%20K_3.pdf Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction, 2000 , U.S. Government Printing OfficeNIH Publication No. 00–4769 Wong, H., & Wong, R., (2013). How to start class everyday. Teachers Gazette. Retrieved from https://www.teachers.net/wong/OCT13/
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Students who struggle with decoding must engage in strategies that help build their phonological awareness while still focusing on decoding written text. Students must gain an understanding of the importance of print as it carries a message. Printed words are composed of letters, and that letters correspond to the somewhat distinctive sounds heard in a spoken word (Beck & Juel, 2002). Below are a few strategies and activities to try with students who struggle to decode. Other children in the classroom could benefit from this activities as well. Manipulatives: Play Dough: Children can learn to hear and count each sound in a word. Roll play dough into small balls, one ball for each sound. The child squishes a ball for every sound he or she hears. Magnetic Letters: Magnetic letters can be used in a variety of ways. Students can use the letters to show letters and sounds they are familiar with. They may also use the magnetic letters to easily create and change words. Mirror: Since many letter sounds appear very similar, it is important that students receive intensive instruction focusing on the correct modelling and sound of the letters. Have students practicing making sounds in front of a mirror. For example, when working with the sound /f/ versus /th/, students must see and feel how their lips and mouth move. Alphabet Chart: Have an alphabet chart readily available for students who struggle to decode. The chart may act as a reminder that the letter 'f' makes the sound/f/ as shown by a flower on the chart. Word Families: Word families allow students to compare and contrast words that they do not yet know to words they are familiar with. Word families help students see that words that sound the same are often spelled the same too. With enough practice, support, and explicit instruction children will begin to hear rhyming words and manipulate letters to create new words. Begin by pre-selecting a few words from a word family. Have your student(s) create one of the words together with your support. For example, "Let's start with the word 'cat'. Can you hear all the sounds in 'cat'? /C/ /A/ /T/. Touch each letter as you say the sounds. Now let's see if we can change one letter to make a new word, 'rat'. /R/ /A/ /T/ Which letter should we change?" Once the students are able to change beginning sounds and recognize ending patterns they can begin to change to a new word family. For example, "Let's start with a word we know, can you please write (or build) the world 'mat'. /M/ /A/ /T/ Let's see if we can change one letter to make the word 'map'. Which letter do you think we should change? Now that we have 'map' let's try to change one letter to make the word 'sap' /S/ /A/ /P/" Teachers can use word family strategies while students are reading books as well. Continue to encourage the word family strategy when students come across a new word in their own readings. Syllables: When children are learning to decode it is important that they have an understanding of syllables. Syllables help students learn to divide words into parts or "chunks". When students can easily break up a word it will help speed up the process of decoding. There are many ways children can practice syllable identification in the classroom: 1) Jumping Syllables: To include movement in activities, have students jump the syllables. If a word has three syllables, they have to jump three times while separating the syllables correctly. 2) Clapping Syllables: To begin, think of a word the student will know. Tell them the word and together practice clapping the syllables. "Associating syllables with a beat can help students to better learn the concept of syllables within words" (Janice et. al., 2019). 3) Drumming Syllables: To continue utilizing beat, have students drum or bang the syllables using an instrument. Again, ensure you begin with words that are achievable for each individual student. The words can become more difficult as students' confidence and abilities grow. Reading Strategy Friends: When students struggle to decode, they may need extra support or resources. Another strategy to try in your classroom to support students who struggle with decoding skills is to introduce "Reading Strategy Friends" to your classroom. These "Friends" can be introduced using a bookmark or anchor chart. You may also wish to find stuffed animals for students to hold while they read and attempt the strategies. 1) Eagle Eye: When a reader gets stuck on a word, encourage them to use their picture for clues. Before they make a guess using the picture, they can look at the unfamiliar word and check - does the picture start with the sound that I see on the page? 2) Lips the Fish: When a student is having trouble figuring out a word, tell them to get their lips/mouth ready. Instruct students to start by making the sounds of each individual letter. Tackle the word slowly to hear each individual sound. 3) Stretchy Snake: This strategy goes along with Lips the Fish. When students are trying to stretch the words they emphasize each letter sound to stretch the word out. 4) Chunky Monkey: This reading strategy may utilize pieces of previous instruction such as word families and syllables. Teach students to break up the word into familiar or manageable parts. For example, if students come across the word "adaptable", it will look really big and intimidating especially for early readers. However, when students "chunk" the word up it can be read. Students should hopefully recognize /ad/ and /ap/ from previous word family instruction. Students may even wish to clap the syllables to help them chunk a word. "A-dapt-a-ble". Once the child has identified the word, they should go back and re-read the sentence to build word recognition, meaning, and fluency. 5) Skippy the Frog: Sometimes children just need to skip the word. If a student has tried a few different strategies and is still really struggling with reading a word, have them skip the word and continue reading the sentence. Sometimes after reading a little bit further, the meaning will become clear and the student can go back to the skipped word. Have the child re-read the sentence once they know the proper meaning and pronunciation. 6) Flippy Dolphin: There are many words in the English language that do not follow the "rules" taught to our elementary learners. For example, the word 'have' should have a long vowel sound if that sneaky, bossy, magic E at the end was doing its job. If a student comes across the word 'have' and pronounces it with a long /a/ sound, have them FLIP the vowel. Instruct students to try another vowel sound if the first one does not sound correct. 7) Tryin' Lion: This strategy tells readers not to give up, to keep trying! Some students will have to re-read a word or sentence several times in order to make sense of it. Emphasize to all of your students that this is okay! It’s a good thing to be persistent while reading. What isn't okay is giving up. If a student has to re-read a word numerous times in order to understand it, each attempt is benefiting them. They are practicing different strategies, letter sounds, and once they learn that word they will be more likely to recognize it quicker the next time they see it. The free reading strategies bookmark can be found at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Reading-Strategies-Bookmarks-2353244 Practice, Practice, Practice Finally, students need time to practice! Children need time to develop their decoding skills in an environment that is positive and encouraging. Allow students time to practice identifying letters and sounds or chunking, blending, and manipulating words by using activities that are fun and engaging while remaining at an appropriate level for difficulty. Teachers and students both need to stay positive. Consistent practice and explicit instruction will help those students who struggle with decoding. References: Beck, I. L., & Juel, C. (2002). The Role of Decoding in Learning to Read. Scholastic Red. Retrieved September 24, 2018, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aed9/5c4d2b4ddb11d4199e4ab91ac0ee41fb2219.pdf.Select Gorski, D. (n.d.). Tiered Instruction and Intervention in a Response-to-Intervention Model. Retrieved from http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tiered-instruction-and-intervention-rti-model. Janice, Drinkard, E., & Bryant, A. (2019, September 19). Syllable Games: Classroom Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/syllable_games. For some students, Tier 2 Intervention may be necessary to move forward with their decoding development. Tier 2 Intervention provides students with more intensive, explicit instruction. During this intervention, a teacher works with a very small group of students for roughly 30 minutes a day, taking time away from Social Studies or Science. It is important that Tier 2 intervention does not take away from the classroom literacy program. Student's accomplishments will be assessed using effective progress monitoring measures. “Progress monitoring is used to assess student progress or performance in those areas in which they were identified by universal screening as being at-risk for failure” (Gorski, n.d.). In our case, struggling decoders will be monitored throughout their classroom (Tier 1) and Tier 2 intervention. Teachers may use a checklist or progress sheet to track decoding progress. Progress monitoring will allow teachers to determine if Tier 2 intervention can be discontinued or if further, more intensive intervention is required. For more information on Tier 2 and 3 intervention please visit the website: http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tiered-instruction-and-intervention-rti-model References:
Gorski, D. (n.d.). Tiered Instruction and Intervention in a Response-to-Intervention Model. Retrieved from http://www.rtinetwork.org/essential/tieredinstruction/tiered-instruction-and-intervention-rti-model. Below are a list of websites that teachers may find useful on their journey to building strong decoders:
1) Balanced Literacy Diet: The Balanced Literacy Diet is a framework for understanding and teaching literacy. It provides information for teachers on different components for literacy development. Looking under the "Food Groups" tab, teachers will find information on Phonemic Awareness, Oral Language, and Motivation to name only a few. The "Recipe" tab provides educators with hundreds of literacy activities to use in their own classroom. 2) Reading Rockets: Reading Rockets offers a variety of information, videos, and activities for supporting literacy development. Teachers can search different literacy concepts, such as decoding or fluency, to find information to use in the classroom. 3) Teachers Scholastic: Teachers Scholastic provides activities based on a "Curriculum Category". Teachers can access resources to support phonics and decoding, emergent reading, cause and effect, as well as many more areas. Grade level recommendation is provided as well to ensure the activity is appropriate for your students. 4) Reading Horizons: While Reading Horizons is a product available for teachers to purchase, the website still provides a great deal of information on literacy concepts. Teachers can access information and activity ideas while having the option of purchasing the program for their classroom. 5) ReadWriteThink: The ReadWriteThink website provides educational material that covers a variety of literacy areas. Teaches can search literacy concepts or activities based on grade level, resource type, theme, etc. |