Author: Jennifer S. Ray, PhD, C-SLT

Teaching literacy became a passion of mine while raising my children. The knowledge that I learned through my experiences in teaching literacy at home and in the classroom over the past 28 years fueled my drive to earn a PhD in Education with a focus in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. My graduate work centered on the curriculum, instruction, and assessment of literacy acquisition. I have a particular interest in dyslexia and discovering those students who may benefit from early intervention through a response to intervention program. I also enjoy reading, visiting state and national parks, and shopping.

Reading Fluency: Part 3 Prosody—Expression

In the previous blogs, I have discussed the rate and accuracy of reading fluency. In this blog I will discuss the third part of reading fluency – prosody. Prosody is the personality of written words. It gives the listener the ability to better comprehend what the writer is trying convey. Prosody, although just one part of reading fluency, is complex. Prosody includes the differences of pitch, duration, stress, and pausing of the reader (Karageoros, Wallot, Müller, Schindler, & Richter, 2023). Proper comprehension depends on those intricate pieces of prosody synchronizing. Research has concluded that prosody usually predicts student reading comprehension abilities (Paige, 2020).

When reading written words, a person instantaneously processes them for pronunciation and meaning. They use multiple skills and sections of the brain, such as orthographic mapping, personal lexicon, syntax and decoding skills. Some of these skills are learned naturally through the environment or the modeling of individuals. Some may also need instruction in how to transfer the expression of oral language to written words. Most prosody skills need to be explicitly and systematically taught.

Types of Instruction that Help Students to Learn Prosody Skills

1. Instruction of foundational reading skills. These skills should be explicitly and systematically taught.
a. The first foundational skill is phonological awareness – the ability to process and manipulate letter sounds, rhyming words, and segmenting of sounds within words.
b. The second foundational skill is phoneme-grapheme correspondences. This gives students the opportunity to learn the visual representation of oral sound.
c. The third and fourth foundational skills are syllables and morphemes. These skills give students the power to chunk words in to parts instead of individual letters. This also gives students the power to link meaning to those chunks.
d. The fifth foundational skill is syntax, which is the study of sentences structure – punctuation, sequence, and function of words within a sentence.
e. The sixth foundational skill is semantics. The study of how parts of words, words, and groups of words create meaning to written passages.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice! Choral, echo and whisper reading are ways to practice oral reading. Students might also read to an animal, person, tree, etc.

3. General conversation – allowing students the opportunity to visit or collaborate about common subjects or projects.

4. Reader’s Theatre – Students practice reading and giving expression to written words. Students usually practice their lines over and over to make sure that they accurately bring the person they are emulating to life. This allows the student to practice the pitch, duration, stress, and pausing of the different words.

5. Teacher modeling of prosody, such as reading a story, passage, or phrase aloud with and to students. Teachers model how readers might bring written words to life, as they read aloud. This strengthens the comprehension of the listener. Most students “soak in” teacher verbiage and often mimic their prosody.

6. Partner reading – when two students take turns reading to each other at their learning level. Partner reading has many benefits, one being the ability to model and observe different ways written language might be brought to life.

7. Purposeful, direct instruction in relation to prosody. This might include a lesson on punctuation – how punctuation of a sentence will change the inflections of words. This might also include poetic reading.

References
Hasbrouck, Jan (2024). Fluency principles for practice. 2024 IDA Conference.

Karageoros, P., Wallot, S., Müller, B. Schindler, J., & Richter, T. (2023). Distinguishing between struggling and skilled readers based on their prosodic speech patterns in oral reading: an exploratory study in grades 2 and 4. Acta Psychologica, 235(May 2023), 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.103892.

Paige, D. D. (2020). Reading Fluency: A Brief history, the Importance of Supporting Processes, and the Role of Assessment. ERIC: ED607625.

Wilson, B. (2011). Instruction for older students with a word-level reading disability. In Birsh. J.R. (Ed.), Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills (3rd Edition, pp. 487-516). Brookes, Pub Co.

Appropriate Reading Rate

What is the appropriate rate when reading a passage? The short answer is that an appropriate rate for reading is the rate in which a person might speak when having a conversation. This may be slightly different for each individual based on their processing abilities. Many mechanisms or tools must work together for an individual to read at a conversation rate. Research suggests what the “normal” rate of reading should be for students at each grade. For example, in August/September a Grade 2 student who reads 111 words per minute is in the 90 percentile for reading rate (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2017). A Grade 2 student who accurately reads 84 words per minute during the Fall screening is at the 75 percentile of reading rate. Reading words too fast or too slow compromises the comprehension of the words read (White, 2024; Hasbrouck, 2024). Students who are reading too fast do not allow their brain to fully process the meaning of the word, sentences, or passage. Students who are reading too slow are usually focusing more on how to accurately pronounce the words. When a student reads words at a good rate, they are more able to think deeper about the passages that they read. This increases their comprehension ability, as students usually synthesis while they read to make smarter conclusions and choices.

The rate of reading involves several mechanisms working together to provide the intended outcome. Why do we read? We usually read to communicate and learn, which involves understanding the words read. The mechanisms are located in different parts of the brain to process written language. One mechanism is phoneme awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds of a spoken word. A second is phonics knowledge. This is the rules of phonemes and graphemes that give students the power to decode words. A third tool is orthographic awareness. The rules of how letters are ordered to create written words of meaning. A fourth mechanism is morphological knowledge. The smaller parts of words that form the meaning of words. A fifth tool is semantics. The meaning of a word, sentence or passage read. A sixth mechanism is syntax. The rules of how a sentence should be formed – grammar. When one of the above mechanisms is lacking age-appropriate ability (under developed) the rate of reading will be affected. An under developed tool usually means intervention instruction to increase student ability. Students begin to automatically divide and conquer multisyllabic words based on their knowledge of phonemes, graphemes, syllables, and morphemes. Student deficits will be different based on their educational and environmental experiences, and their genetic make-up.

There are a couple more tools that have important roles in student reading rate. Student retrieval rate (cognitive processing ability) of known words from long-term memory. This may be affected by multiple factors, such as how information is categorized in the brain. This will be unique for each student based on their genetics and environmental experiences. Another tool that may cause havoc on student reading rate is their working memory (short-term). The amount of information that each student is able to hold in their working memory.

Reading fluency involves student ability to read the words at the rate and prosody of conversation without error. These are not naturally acquired skills. These are learned skills that require the brain to create connections between different brain tools.

Orthographic mapping is “the process of storing a word permanently in memory for instant retrieval” (Reading Rockets, 2024).

References
Hasbrouck, J. (2024). International Dyslexia Association Annual Conference, Dallas, TX. Reading Fluency: Principles for Practice. Session GS02-24.
Hasbrouck & Tindal (2017). Hasbrouck & Tindal Oral Reading Fluency data 2017. Read Naturally, www.readnaturally.com
Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation Walden University). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/
Reading Rockets (2024). Basics: sight words and orthographic mapping.
https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/sight-words-and-orthographic-mapping
White, N. C. (2024). International Dyslexia Association Annual Conference, Dallas, TX. Reading Fluency. Session IPP59-24.

 

What is Reading Fluency?

Reading fluency requires many different components working together to produce accurate reading fluency. Reading fluency is defined as “reading skills that involve the ability to read text aloud with accuracy, appropriate rate, and good expression” (Ray, 2017). The skills necessary and the degree of dependency on those components for reading a written passage change over time. Students will rely more on letter-sound correspondences to decode words when they are beginning to learn how to read and more on orthographic mapping as their reading abilities increase. Students will also depend more on their oral language or phonemic awareness abilities when they are first learning how to read. All students begin to read at the same point, no matter the age. In this blog I will focus on the accuracy part of reading fluency. In the future blogs, I will discuss the rate and good expression of reading fluency.

Reading fluency is dependent on how accurate the passage is read. This is the ability to read aloud written words or symbols on a page with little or no mistakes. Reading accuracy develops in layers, beginning with the foundation – oral language ability. This is developed through student environment, with their immediate or home environment having the largest impact on their oral language development. This means that students begin learning how to read through the individuals that they spend the most time interacting with. These individuals assist in their development of phonological awareness skills; the ability to recognize and manipulate sound parts of words, like phonemes and on-set rimes. Student phonological awareness skills before learning how to read written words usually dictates their rate of acquiring reading skills.

Another vital skill in the development of reading accuracy is knowing each individual phoneme and how it is represented by grapheme(es), which is letter – sound correspondences. This skill is essential for initially learning how to read. This skill gives students the power to decode written words. Student will combine this skill with their phonemic awareness skills, such as rhyming to decode words. Some students will learn this with little instruction. The majority of students need explicit, direct instruction accompanied with lots and lots and lots of practice. And still, some will need direct one-on-one instruction that includes oral, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile components. Students will continue to rely on their knowledge of graphemes and their corresponding phonemes through-out their lifetime.

Another skill that is necessary for reading accurately is the ability to break down multisyllabic words into more manageable parts, sometimes called chunking. Students begin to automatically divide and conquer multisyllabic words based on their knowledge of phonemes, graphemes, syllables, and morphemes. This skill becomes more relevant after students learn how to accurately decode CVC, CVCe, CCVC and CCVCe words. Students use their knowledge of syllable types and morphemes to breakdown a multisyllabic word. The different syllable types have recognizable patterns that help the reader to decode words. Over time the student brain develops a “catalog” of rules and patterns about letters and groups of letters (orthographic knowledge) to increase the speed in which a person conquers new or previously introduced words that still need practice. Students use their orthographic mapping skills to permanently store a word for instant retrieval. Over time students will naturally depend less on the individual phonemes to decode words and rely more on their orthographic knowledge and mapping abilities.

Why worry about reading accuracy? Student usage of the words read in a passage is compromised when students are unable to accurately read at least 95% of the words. The inaccuracy usually causes a cognitive overload, similar to an overload on an energy circuit. The connection is disabled.

Learning how to read is not a naturally phenomenon. Each person has to learn, develop new skills in order to read written words. These skills are usually taught in a systematic format beginning with oral language knowledge and skills.

In my next blog I will discuss the appropriate rate necessary for reading fluency.

References
Apel K. What is orthographic knowledge? Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2011 Oct;42(4):592-603. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0085). Epub 2011 Aug 15. PMID: 21844399.
Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/
Reading Rockets (2024). Basics: sight words and orthographic mapping.
https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101/reading-and-writing-basics/sight-words-and-orthographic-mapping

Reading Development – Stage Three of Cognitive Maturation: Concrete Operations, Ages 7 – 11

The research states that students reach a pivotal stage in cognitive development about the age of seven (Binet & Simon, 1916; Fowler, 1983; Piaget & Inhelder, 1966; Vygotsky, 1934). Students are moving from symbolic to concrete stage of cognitive development. Student cognition connections (networks) are growing in a layered fashion. Students move from processing information externally through discussion to internally processing information. Students are better able to form pictures in their mind and transfer those images on to paper. Students become better able to collaborate and their conversations become heavier in substance as they grow through this stage. Students develop more complex connections about their senses-seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling and moving (Fowler, 1983). Students are better able to concern themselves with other people, than just themselves.

Vygotsky’s (1929) cultural-historical theory of psychological development, particularly in relation to cognitive development suggests that there are two forms of speech, inner and external. Each type of speech has its own function. Processed external speech is purposeful speech for interaction between other people. Inner speech takes place within the brain and is non-verbal. Students move from egocentric, self-centered speech to a more communicative speech that is processed internal. Piaget and Inhelder (1966) also noted that student oral language begins a new role during the concrete phase of maturation. Children begin to have conversations of depth about collaboration. Children begin to understand the concept of working together for the shared purpose of a single cause. The shift from self to team begins the development of operational processing in the brain. Growth in higher mental functions happens through the collaboration between students and the teacher (Vygotsky, 1934).

Student oral language matures using a seriation process that begins during the sensori-motor level of cognitive development around age one. Seriation is the arranging of items in like categories and building the categories in a systematic order (Piaget, 1966). Children have a solid understanding of a one digit or a one item category before understanding two digit or two item categories at age seven. Children will grow cognitively in the ability to process the tasks of classification and numbering parallel to learning seriation, which Piaget (1966) noted involves stretching cognitive processing in order to increase the level of operatory functions. Each level of seriation requires that cognitive skills be stimulated through social interaction.

In addition, students begin to transfer images from within their minds to paper (Piaget, 1966). Their drawings become more defined and increase in complexity around age nine. Children also begin to develop drawings that show depth and correct geometrical proportions to the other objects in the drawing. Students are better able to reverse the order of operations, such as adding and subtracting. Children become able to comprehend and discuss that liquid compounds can change shape and appear to change amount while remaining constant (Piaget, 1966). Students begin processing more abstractly as they move into the next stage of cognitive development, about age 11 – preadolescent stage (Piaget, 1966).

Regarding learning how to read, spell, and comprehend written words. Students are at the beginning of Stage 2 of Chall’s (1983) reading development theory in Grades 2 and 3 or the ages of 7 and 8. Students entering Grade 2 usually know their letter and sound correspondences and are able decode CVC and CVCe words. Students usually know some sight or irregular words. Students are usually beginning to decode more complex words, like multisyllabic. Their fluency begins to increase through practice of familiar stories and genres. Most students are using pictures to produce the correct written word and comprehension of the story. Students are beginning to move from letter-sound correspondences to “chunking” words into syllables and morphemes for better pronunciation and comprehension. Students are comprehending at a higher oral language level than they are able to read and process written language.

Students begin to read for gaining and using information about mid-way through this stage of cognitive development. Students are also reading books of higher complexity that include less pictures, which is often a difficult transition for students. By the end of this stage, student comprehension of written language usually has increased to match their verbal comprehension skills.

Instruction should include “direct instruction in advanced decoding skills” (Chall, 1983). Students should continue to hear books of higher levels to increase their knowledge of vocabulary and other concepts not yet within their own reading ability.

References

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children.             Williams & Wilkins Co.

Birsh, J. R. & Carreker, S., (Eds.). (2018). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills (4th ed.). P. H. Brookes Pub. Co.

Chall, J. S. (1983). Stages of reading development. McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Ehri, L.C. (2022). What teachers need to know and do to teach letter-sounds, phonemic awareness, word reading, and phonics. The Reading Teacher, 0(0),1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2095

Fowler, W. (1983). Potentials of childhood (Vol. I). D.C. Heath & Co.

Healy, J. (1987). Your child’s growing mind. Broadway Books.

Johnson, G. (2010). Internet use and child development: validation of the ecological techno-subsystem. Educational Technology & Society, 13(1), 176-185.

Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (2000). The psychology of the child. Basic Books.

Vygotsky, L. (1934). Thought and language. MIT Press.

Reading Development, in Relation to Cognitive Maturation Stage Two, Semiotic or Symbolic, 2 – 6

Cognitive development during the semiotic or symbolic stage is dependent on the amount and type of social interaction that takes place during the maturation process (Vygotsky, 1934). Children usually develop in a blurred manner. Each individual will move through the natural layers of maturation at different speeds, dependent on their environment and genetics. All children use a different formula to analyze knowledge and a different way of integrating the knowledge into their brains. All children demonstrate different tempos for processing information. Children will comprehend higher levels of oral language before using higher levels of oral language. The cognition of children will increase as they master social processes. Children begin imitating or playing the roles of other individuals. Children begin to process abstractly. At the end of this stage students should be able to complete more multi-layered tasks, like a simple two-step task or first take out the trash, then bring the trash can back in, and put a new liner in the trash can.

Symbolic play helps children work through their unsolved conflicts and self-identity. Children usually possess the desire for symbolic play within their genetic design. Piaget and Inhelder (1966) argued that there are four different types of symbolic play. The first type is exercise play, which involves repeating previous activities that children enjoyed learning. The second kind of symbolic play is actually called symbolic play. Children mimic other characters or individuals. They enjoy dress-up or make-believe. They often play out unresolved situations. The third form of symbolic play is playing games with rules, which children learn by playing with other individuals. Learning and playing games increases their social connections. This type of symbolic play typically begins during the first years of formalized schooling. The fourth type of symbolic play involves solving equations or playing games that involve more abstract thought. Children begin being able to visualize pictures or images not physical seen within their minds. The fourth type of symbolic play signals a transition into the next phase of cognitive development.

Regarding literacy development, learning how to read begins in the womb through genetic wiring. The environment stimulates and effects the genetic wiring. When this stage begins children have been soaking in their environment for about two years, gaining knowledge and assembling the wiring to express comprehendible words. Oral language usually increases as their cognition abilities increase. Children usually include two or more words in a sentence by the end of age two, when children begin developing syntactical rules. Children usually speak what has been modeled in their environment. Piaget and Inhelder (1969) argued that language is acquired through assimilation and “requires both linguistic and psychological competence” (p. 89).

Reading written words begins with oral language knowledge that is transferred to written language. Children at this stage of development are in the pre-alphabetic phase of learning how to read written words. Children are manipulating language sounds to develop coherent sentences. Children are listening and mimicking their environment about how sounds make words and sentences to communicate their needs and wants. Children at this age will also begin using pencil and paper type objects to convey their thoughts through pictures and letters. Children begin transferring images from within their mind to paper in the form of scribbling and drawing. The pictures become clearer as the child moves closer to age six (Piaget & Inhelder, 1969). Children at this age usually move from little to greater explanation of their drawing. They will also begin “pretend” reading books. Children begin to learn that the written symbols or letters on a page represent oral sounds. The items related to reading and writing in their immediate environment usually impact the rate of growth.

In a formal learning environment, like pre-school children are usually receiving instruction in phonemic awareness. They are listening to books that are usually increasing their vocabulary and comprehension. Pre-school usually begins to teach grapheme-phoneme correspondences. Children usually begin the writing process through pictures before moving to letters and words. Children learn the correct way to hold a book. Children learning that English is read from left to right.

At this stage of learning how to read, we begin to see major signs cognitive processing issues that tend to clog or place road blocks for students learning how to read. One processing deficit that may become more apparent at this stage of learning how to read written words is phonological dyslexia. These children lack the natural wiring to begin learning how to read. They need certain ingredients to be present to develop the necessary wiring or processing routes to learn how to read. This type of dyslexia is genetically driven. Children with phonological dyslexia typically use the non-lexical route to process grapheme-phoneme correspondences, instead of the lexical route. Another processing deficit is surface dyslexia. Surface dyslexia is more environmental developed. These children typically have a lexical route in place that may increase their ability to learn to read. At this stage of learning how to read, identifying and providing intervention or explicit direct instruction is cost effective, in relation to both later emotional and instructional intervention needs.

References

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children. Williams & Wilkins Co.

Chall, J. S. (1983). Stages of reading development. McGraw-Hill Book Co.

Ehri, L.C. (2022). What teachers need to know and do to teach letter-sounds, phonemic awareness, word reading, and phonics. The Reading Teacher, 0(0),1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.2095

Fowler, W. (1983). Potentials of childhood (Vol. I). D.C. Heath & Co.

Healy, J. (1987). Your child’s growing mind. Broadway Books.

Johnson, G. (2010). Internet use and child development: validation of the ecological techno-subsystem. Educational Technology & Society, 13(1), 176-185.

Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (1969). The psychology of the child. Basic Books.

Vygotsky, L. (1934). Thought and language. MIT Press.

 

Reading Development, in Relation to Cognitive Maturation (Sensori-Motor, Birth – 2)

The development of cognition and cognitive processing begins in the womb according to genetics. Most individuals have a unique genetic design from the mixing and matching of their maternal and fraternal genetics. The exception would be identical twins, who have the same unique genetics. Disabilities linked to genetic dispositions will begin to form at this stage. The child’s environment may alter (increase or decrease) possible impacts of a genetical directed disability. Children gain their intelligence through familial genetics. Their intelligence is usually altered through the environment before and after birth (Binet & Simon, 1916). Genetics also plays a role in child motivation (Fowler, 1983). Infant environment both in and out of the womb will also affect the beginning stages of cognitive growth (Binet & Simon, 1916; Piaget, 1966).

Cognitive development takes place in a layered manner (Binet & Simon, 1916; Vygotsky, 1934; Piaget, 1966; Fowler, 1983). Systematic in nature, building each skill upon the previously learned skill. Children learn how to move their limbs before, rolling over. Children learn how to say sounds before a whole word. Children usually begin to verbalize one-word sentences, before using two or more-word sentences. Students learn how to comprehend oral words and sentences before reading and comprehending written passages. The brain begins to prune the unused cognitive connections or highways and byways at about 12 months (Fowler, 1983). This begins and defines the structure of how an individual’s thoughts will be organized. New connections will develop based on their environmental layers of influence (Johnson, 2010).

Oral language develops naturally from different types of babbles or cries towards comprehendible sentences. Children develop oral language that echoes their immediate environment. For example, if a child hears simple words like pretty or yellow to describe a flower, the child will usually use those same words to describe the flower. If a child hears higher-level words, like elegant or marigold in their immediate environment then the child will follow the modeled use of those words. The child is dependent on the accuracy of the modeled use of the word to learn the meaning and use of the word. Children who hear a word often mispronounced will usually use that pronunciation of the word. Most children learning to speak words will initially mispronounce words, as some letters are naturally harder to learn how to pronounce correctly. If a child’s environment continues to correctly pronounce the word, they will usually make the self-correction.

During the Sensori-Motor stage of cognitive processing development children are developing their foundation for reading written words. Children are developing their oral language skills that are necessary for reading written words. They are learning how to manipulate sounds to form words and sentences to communicate their needs and thoughts. Most environments provide the right climate for individuals to learn how to manipulate sounds to make different words. This is the beginning or foundation of learning how to encode and decode written words. They are developing the highways and byways of oral comprehension. This is when written comprehension begins. They are developing subject categories and connections. This is the prerequisite of learning how to read written words.

The brain is a muscle that needs to be nurtured and exercised on a regular basis, similar to going to the gym and focusing on increasing the strength of a person’s leg or arm muscles. Some individuals need more exercise or practice to accomplish the goal of strengthening their leg muscles. This concept also applies to learning how to speak and comprehend oral words. The time spent exercising or practicing usually determines oral language growth. Genetics begins the process; environment assist in the growth process.

Reading is not a natural phenomenon. Reading is a taught skill that has a few prerequisites that need to be learned and practiced before actually being taught to decipher written symbols or the written form of oral language. One prerequisite is a solid foundation in phonemic awareness skills, which children begin building in the womb.

Definitions

  • Cognition – thinking skills
  • Cognitive processing – how the brain processes information – synergizing stored and gathered information to make conclusions. Individuals use the highways and byways of their brain to process and comprehend their environment.
  • Cognitive development – is how a brain typically maturates/grows over time within its environment.
  • Cognitive flexibility – “Ability to shift attention among competing stimuli and consider alternatives” (Birsh & Carreker, 4th, 2018, p. 818).

 

References

Binet, A. & Simon, T. (1916). The development of intelligence in children.             Williams & Wilkins Co.

Birsh, J. R. & Carreker, S., (Eds.). (2018). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills (4th ed.). P. H. Brookes Pub. Co.

Fowler, W. (1983). Potentials of childhood (Vol. I). D.C. Heath & Co.

Healy, J. (1987). Your child’s growing mind. Broadway Books.

Johnson, G. (2010). Internet use and child development: validation of the ecological techno-subsystem. Educational Technology & Society, 13(1), 176-185.

Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B. (2000). The psychology of the child. Basic Books.

Vygotsky, L. (1934). Thought and language. MIT Press.

Observation – A Powerful Tool

Teacher observation is a powerful tool available to assist educators in providing the best instructional practices for a student or groups of students. Teachers usually keep anecdotal notes to help ensure accuracy of their observation. An anecdotal note is a written account of a person’s perspective of what they have witnessed through a variety of different venues. The notes are then used to create a more valid picture of student abilities, both socially and academically. Educators will have a clearer view of those differences when we take the time to write down our observations.

Teachers might take notes of social interactions, classroom environment, and student personalities. This piece of the observation pie is critical to the success of student outcomes. Some students have interventionist at home, some don’t. Some students may be able to sit for instruction longer than others. Some students may need more movement to accomplish the task placed before them. Some students work better with other students than their neighbor. Some students love science, but dislike all other subjects. These differences should become part of teacher considerations for instructional practices in the classroom.

In addition, teachers might take notes about traits that they witnessed during instruction or when students are independently working. They might take notes about their letter knowledge or decoding skills. Teachers might take notes about comprehension of passage read or ability to use the information read. They might also take notes about their reading fluency, like are they stopping to sound out each word or are they skipping and adding words.

Teacher observations are a vital part of the response to intervention (RTI) or multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) process. Anecdotal notes assist in writing academic goals for Tiers 1, 2, and 3. Anecdotal notes assist in the decision process of whether a student should be given a diagnostic assessment(s) and what types of these measurements would be most viable for this student. Written notes also assist in progress monitoring as they work towards their goal(s).

Teachers might establish key traits to watch for during the day-to-day practices in the classroom. Student learning level will help establish the traits to look for, like in kindergarten students should know their phoneme and grapheme correspondences. Student learning goals will also assist in the development of the key traits that you may look for during the school day.  Observing and making note of which students are able to name each letter and its sounds or not being able to decode words will help to establish which students will need additional instruction or have mastered the skill in this area. Teachers might use this information to establish small group instruction or further assess student capabilities in this area.

Teacher observations usually help to validate different types of assessments that educators use for a variety of reasons. They might use them to measure student growth overtime. Assessments may also be used to measure teachers’ ability to develop and deliver student instruction. They might also be used to find students who may be struggling in literacy acquisition. Assessments may also be used as a diagnostic measurement to dive deeper into student learning abilities. Unfortunately, these assessments are just a picture of student knowledge (on a particular day and time, this student is capable of reading or writing at this level). Students have good and bad days. Their absorption and use of taught skills may adjust during their good and bad days. Usually, students who have ownership of their skills will be able to use them on bad days, but not always. This often creates false-negative data that needs to verified.

Teacher observation is a form of validity to validate assessment outcome. Research supports the use of this tool to validate student progress and best instructional practices. Teacher perceptions of student social behaviors may play a significant role in the preparation and delivery of instructional lessons and in the prediction of later reading achievement (Wanzek, et al., 2013). When teacher observations of student reading abilities are combined with student assessment data the validity of the assessment results increase (Snowing et al., 2011; Speece et al., 2011; Wanzek, et al., 2013).

Teacher’s knowledge and experience usually have a play in the strength of their observations. Educators gain their knowledge:

  • through their environment – both past and present
  • during environmental interactions
  • participating in professional development – personal research, attending conferences, college courses, or teacher collaboration, reading
  • while making observations
  • through creating and developing purposeful instructional opportunities for students

Each person snaps pictures of moments throughout their daily journey. People use those moments to make quick or more well thought-out decisions. Educators may use the power of their snap shots to increase student academic success.

Reading and Comprehending Pictures-Inferencing

In a single day individuals analyze many moments of time. Individuals take in a new view very quickly, usually not seeing all of the details within that moment of time. Pictures allow people to stop time, capture a moment, and “deep-read” the captured moment. Pictures usually provoke questions or spark collaborative discussion. Asking question like: What is this picture about? How would you describe the moment? What do we know from this picture? What can we guess or infer from this picture? This is much like reading and comprehending written words, except the reader must develop the picture of the written words.

Comprehension of pictures or words requires a student to play detective, examine the unseen and seen information and analyze it against their stored information—what you already know. This is “deep reading” the story or moment of time looking in between and behind the scene of a picture. Many individuals learn how to infer naturally through their environment and will be able to infer or comprehend what the picture or words are trying to convey.  Some students will need explicit, purposeful instruction to learn and practice the skill, especially those in the primary grades.

Inferencing is harder for younger students who think concretely. Most students begin moving from concrete thinking to abstract thinking during Grade 2 or 3. Each student will have a different perspective of the picture – which is dependent on their personal experience. Whole group discussions help students to understand the picture from different perspectives and build knowledge about the picture topic. In some incidences, teachers may need to scaffold the discussion by adding background information or asking leading questions that may allow for student comprehension of the picture. The discussion often lends support for students to think abstractly.

Discussion or collaboration with others about a picture will increase student lexicon. This is especially true when “brainstorming” words that may help to describe the picture in a group setting. Students enter the classroom with different backgrounds and experiences that usually assist in developing each participating members individual vocabulary. The discussion also helps students to connect familiar words with a different topic. Students will often use these words within their writing, which begins the process of ownership or using the unfamiliar words within their speech and writing without much thought.

Picture reading in collaboration with others usually assist in developing writing skills. Many students struggle to incorporate descriptors or adjectives in their writing. Students who write down the gathered words from the group discussion, may use them to write sentences or a paragraph to describe the picture. A descriptive word list generated by students might be placed on an anchor chart, so that multiple learning levels may participate in the writing process. The length or complexity of the sentence will be different depending on academic level of student and the intended writing outcomes of the lesson. When student ownership of vocabulary increases, the complexity of the sentence usually increases. The writing outcome is their interpretation of the picture.

Learning how to read and comprehend pictures helps students to accurately comprehend written words. Analyzing moments of time usually happens naturally, while learning how to read and comprehend written words does not. Comprehending written words is a learned skill.

 

The Benefits of Utilizing Word Ladders to Teach Literacy Skills – Spelling, Vocabulary, Writing, Fluency, Comprehension

Word Ladders were first created in the late 1800’s by Lewis Carroll, as a two-person game. The original game was called Doublets. Players were given the beginning word and the ending word, like head – tail. Each player had five moves to change the first word into the last word. Players were only allowed to change one letter of the previous word to create their next word or move toward the target word.

There are a few differences between the original word ladder game played in the late 1800s and the Word Ladder curriculum developed by Dr. Timothy Rasinski. One difference is that only the beginning word is given. Another difference is that Rasinski ladders usually require more than five moves. Another difference is that solvers of the “puzzle” must use a clue and the previously developed word to discover the next word in the puzzle. Another difference is that Rasinski’s Word Ladder allows for different amounts of letter changes, instead of a set amount. The clue states how many letters need to be added or subtracted to the previous word of the puzzle to form the new word. Another difference is that there may be different amounts of letters within a word in the same puzzle. The puzzle shows solvers how many letters are in the word that they are solving for. Rasinski’s Word Ladders are published as literacy curriculum for students in Grades K-6. Each ladder has a focus or topic.

The benefits of using Word Ladders are many. Word Ladders usually help to increase student knowledge of spelling—encoding of words. Students must think about the letter order of possible words. Students must link graphemes to phonemes and analyze written letter structures within possible words, as they discover the next word. Another benefit is vocabulary. The clues require students to think about different words that are described in the clue. Students must retrieve possible words from their lexicon. Student collaborations about possible words usually help students to retrieve the necessary words. These conversations also help to link other possible words to words of similar meaning. Students also benefit from learning the meaning of words that are unfamiliar to them. The conversations grow, broaden and deepen student lexicon. This growth assists in student comprehension of both oral and written communication. This growth also strengthens student ability to write more complex sentences.

Many students will be frustrated until they understand how to complete the puzzle. Modeling or completing the process of the solving the ladder puzzle together a few times usually creates a student interest of completing the task independently or in collaboration. Matching student ability with the right grade level curriculum will also decrease student helplessness of solving the mystery. I usually use them as a whole class exercise. Students are allowed to collaborate and we usually go over the puzzle, so that every student feels included. When a student asks, I will give clues – leading questions or statements – that might help them to accurately solve the current clue.

Rasinski’s Word Ladders may still be used as a game. Students are usually motivated to solve the clues within each ladder to complete the puzzle. Many students like the competition of seeing who can solve the puzzle first. The puzzles may be a hard challenge for struggling students, when given as a whole class assignment. Allowing student collaboration usually eases the frustration. Some of that will depend how the puzzle(s) are used.

Teachers use Rasinski’s form of the puzzle to strengthen student spelling, written comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, oral language and or motivation to participate in literacy activities. These puzzles might be used in the regular class at grade-level to increase student knowledge of the previously noted. These puzzles might also be used as an intervention for student who are struggling with vocabulary knowledge or the other mentioned benefits.

Why Teach Spelling?

Spelling knowledge is a gateway to higher student achievement in literacy. Individuals begin learning how to spell, as they begin manipulating sounds. Individuals begin to encode words as they begin writing symbols that represent sounds. Individuals are not initially wired to encode words they must be taught how the sounds are represented in print – for any language.

Spelling instruction enables students to become better skilled at decoding and encoding written words, which usually increases student reading fluency. Students also increase their lexicon, building depth and width of knowledge about different subjects. Students also increase their ability to write and use higher level words within their writing. Students also build or strengthen their synthesizing skills and become more self-assured.

Spelling instruction should encompass several different components that are known to increase student retention of how individual words are spelled. These different components assist students in completing “word studies” of how words are encoded. Spelling instruction should increase in complexity as students grow academically—moving in a systematic, sequential manner. Spelling instruction should include the following components:

• 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” (Ray, 2019).

• Morphology – the study of the smallest units of meaning. Word analysis helps students understand how the smallest units of meaning dictate a word meaning. The word meaning determines spelling pattern. Morphology increases student lexicon and comprehension abilities of both oral and written language.

• Syllabification or syllable knowledge – how words are divided into different chunks or parts. There are six major syllable types in the English language. Understanding how words are divided into syllables usually increases student decoding and encoding skills. Syllable knowledge also increases the accuracy of language pronunciation and comprehension.

  • Orthography – the rules of how letters form written words. The internal structure of a word in print. Encoding words requires knowledge of how the letters and letter patterns of a word dictate its sound and meaning. In some cases, the same sound within words is generated by different letters, for example the long /ā/ sound is generated using these different letters or combination of letters:
  • -eigh (weigh)
  • ai (rain)
  • a – e (cake)
  • a
  • ei (vein)
  • -ay (stay)

Another example is the letter k that uses different single or combination of letters to create the /k/ sound, for example:

  • c (cut)
  • ck (back, chick)
  • k (kick)
  • ke (bake)
  • Orthography Mapping – “the mental process we use to store words for immediate, effortless, retrieval. It requires phoneme proficiency and letter-sound proficiency, as well as the ability to unconsciously or consciously make connections between the oral sound in spoken words and the letters in written words.” (Redding, 2023, slide 6). Instruction in orthography usually leads to faster retrieval of how words are spelled, which typically increases student reading fluency rates. Students memorize the letter layout of words and store them to be retrieved for later use—sight words.
  • Etymology – the study of word origins. English is deprived of many different languages that may have different rules of how letters are ordered within a word to create the same sounds. For example, words of the German or Latin language use different letters to form the same sounds of different origin. Some languages are more transparent than other languages. English is less transparent than other languages.

Students often resist being taught purposeful lessons about how to accurately encode letters into the “right” word. Students usually show less resistance to spelling instruction when it is embedded within other lessons.

Spelling should be taught systematically and explicitly. Students begin learning how to spelling written words through oral language. Students increase their knowledge of how to spell words when they begin bridging their oral language to written letters or combination of letters.

References

Redding, N. (2023). The importance of spelling instruction. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA).

Ray, J (2019). Structured literacy teacher, instructional knowledge. The Literacy Brain. https://theliteracybrain.com/category/structure-literacy-instruction/page/2/

Rosenberg, D. (2023). The forgotten skills needed for literacy success: spelling and handwriting. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA), Wilson Language Training.

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