Structured literacy instruction includes six pillars or parts of language development-oral and written. Structured literacy instruction is taught explicitly and systematically, beginning with Pillar 1. Structured literacy may be used to teach literacy at all levels of instruction, such as Tier 1-general classroom, Tier 2-intervention usually taught in small groups, Tier 3-intervention usually taught in one-on-one group setting, or special education. The number of levels for instruction in a RTI model may be different for each school, depending on the learning needs of the current students and the available resources.
Pillar 1 is phonology, the study of spoken sounds (phonemes)—rules of how sounds are encoded, such as why these sounds follow this pattern to form this sound(s). Individuals should have phoneme awareness skills before learning how to read. This is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulated individuals sounds in spoken words. Phoneme awareness is part of phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is the ability to process and manipulate letter sounds, rhyming words, and segmenting of sounds within words. The study of phonology usually increases student ability to spell, pronounce, and comprehend written words.
Pillar 2 is sound-symbol correspondences or the relationship(s) between phoneme(s) and grapheme(s). This may be referred to as phonics instruction that teaches predictable or the constant rules of sound-symbol correspondences to produce written language. At this stage students learn one-on-one correspondence, for example the written letter B represents this phoneme or sound. Students begin decoding and encoding words as they begin to learn the sound-symbol correspondences. Student knowledge of the phoneme(s) and grapheme(s) relationships usually increases student ability to read, comprehend, and spell written language.
I will include pillars 3 and 4 of structured literacy instruction in my next post.
References
Birsh, J.R. (2011). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub Co.
Henry, Marcia K. (2010). Unlocking literacy effective decoding and spelling instruction. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub Co.
International Dyslexia Association, dyslexiaida.org/what-is-structured-literacy/
Moats, L. (2000). Speech to print. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub Co.
