Category: literacy instruction

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.

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.

Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) Phonics Instructional Theory, Part II

This is Part 2 of a two-part blog on the phonics instructional theory of Anna Gillingham and Bessie Stillman (1956). The first part was published on this platform (The Literacy Brain) on July 5, 2023. There are eight linkages or steps to their theory of teaching phonics. I wrote about the history of their theory and linkages one and two in Blog 1. Gillingham and Stillman suggest that these steps should be used as initial instruction during Grades 1 and 2 and remedial instruction in Grade 3.

Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) instructional method involves the close association of components that form a language triangle. These components are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. These components work together to record information in the brain.

An additional note about linkage two, which is about how to properly write graphemes. Gillingham and Stillman (1956) emphasized the importance of proper penmanship. They stated that “no symbol is really serviceable for easy writing until it can be formed without visual supervision” (p. 41). Tracing letters may take place for several weeks before students begin to write them on their own. Writing letters incorrectly lends to poor writing and spelling.

The third step asks the teacher to show the student a grapheme (visual) of a letter and asks the student to name (auditory) the grapheme. Occasionally, the teacher moves (kinesthetic) the student’s hand to form the letter. The student is not supposed to watch the process, but name (auditory) the letter that his hand was guided to form. The teacher asks the student, what sound (auditory) does this letter make? Student needs to know both the visual and kinesthetic feel of a letter.

During the fourth linkage, the teacher asks the student to write (auditory/kinesthetic) the grapheme (auditory/visual) for a spoken sound, like d for /d/.

In step five, the teacher shows (visual) the student the grapheme from Step 3 and asked them to stated what it says (its sound) (auditory). The teacher moves (kinesthetic) the student’s hand to form the letter, while the student looks away and says (auditory) the sound of the letter that his hand was guided to form. The teacher asks the student, what sound (auditory) does this letter make?

In step six, the teacher states (auditory) a grapheme.  Then the student states the phoneme of the teacher stated letter or groups of letters. This is an exercise of auditory recall, along with the connection of auditory and kinesthetic.

In step seven, the teacher says (auditory) a phoneme and the student states (auditory) the name of the grapheme. This is similar to Linkage 6 in how the brain is processing the information.

In linkage eight, the teacher states a phoneme (auditory) and the student writes (kinesthetic) down the grapheme (visual) of the phoneme. Students should practice this step with and without looking at their paper. The student should name the letter(s) as they write the symbol(s) for the sound.

Gillingham and Stillman (1956) suggest that linkages of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 are less important than linkages 5, 7 and 8. They stated that the latter steps of their phonics instructional theory require daily practice. They also discussed that teacher observation will assist them to provide or repeat other necessary instructional steps. Students are building connections between the graphemes and phonemes during the steps of the instructional process. In step five, students are translating the written symbol(s) in to the symbol’s phoneme. In linkage seven, students are listening to a sound and naming the written symbol(s) for the sound heard. This is done orally. In linkage eight student are translating from an oral sound to a written symbol or letter. Students who struggle with any of these tasks (linkages 1-7) usually have a language deficit.

References

Gillingham, A, & Stillman, B. (1956). Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship. Cambridge: Education Publication Service, Inc.

 

The Necessary Components of Learning How to Spelling

Writing is often hard for students. Writing in general requires a higher level of cognitive skills. Writing requires students to synthesize known information. This is easier to accomplish orally. Individuals often speak (especially young children) at a higher cognitive level than they can write. Oral language is usually developed naturally through one’s environment, whereas writing words on paper requires instruction. Students often orally convey their thoughts in fragments, whereas most thoughts on paper must be put into complete sentences. One piece of the writing pie is correctly spelling or encoding words on paper. Students will often use lower-level words that they might be able to spell correctly. Students who struggle in spelling words correctly usually avoid writing words on paper. This is when creative instruction needs to be brought in play.

English is not a transparent language; it has stable rules and many exceptions to those stable rules. In transparent languages like, Finish or Italian the graphemes and phonemes are more consistent, with little expectations of the graphemes changing sounds within words. English is derived from multiple languages. Most American English words are derived from Latin, Greek, and Anglo-Saxon languages. These languages have stable rules that can be learned through studying letter-sound correspondences, syllable patterns and morpheme patterns. When a student knows where the word is derived from and the “rules” of that language assist in spelling the word accurately.  Webster brought more constancy in how we spell American English, while he creating the first instructional spelling books in the early 1800s.

Spelling requires students to know about phonology, orthography, and morphology to correctly encode a word. Phonology is the study of the sounds of letters that develop words. Students need to know the one-on-one grapheme-phoneme correspondences of the 26 letters in the English alphabet. During the study of phonology students begin learning how each letter may change its sound depending upon where the letter is placed in a word. Students should know these norms by Grade 2. They will use this information throughout their lifetime.

Orthography is the “rules” of how words are spelled within a language. The rules dictate if a letter will remain a one-on-one correspondence or change based on other letters within a word. Orthography is the visual representation or graphemes that represent words spoken orally. Students should have background knowledge of the “norms” of how letter placement creates the sounds of words. Orthographic knowledge increases student lexicon, which increases student reading fluency.

Morphology is the study of the meaning of the smaller parts of words, such as re- meaning again and -ing meaning an action. These different parts usually dictate its meaning. Students need to know the meaning of how something is spelled as American English has many words that are spelled differently, but sound the same (homophones).

Phonology, orthography, and morphology should be taught simultaneously. Phonemic awareness or oral language ability is the prerequisite in which these vital elements of learning how to decode and encode words is built upon. Some students will need to review some or all of the parts of phonemic awareness to effectively learn how to decode and encode words. Decoding is an easier skill for most students to grasp and use, than encoding words. Each of these components of learning how to spell words correctly increases with complexity as students mature. Teaching lessons about semantics along with lessons of morphology, usually increases student ability to effectively spell words that convey a more accurate meaning. These components are part of the Structured Literacy Method of effectively teaching students how to read and write.

References

Redding, Nancy. (2023). The Importance of Spelling Instruction. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA).

Rosenberg, Dee. (2023). The Forgotten Skills Needed for Literacy Success: Spelling and Handwriting. Presentation International Dyslexia Conference (IDA), Wilson Language Training.

 

 

 

Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) Theory of Teaching Reading-Phonics

During the 1950s, there was much debate over which reading instructional methods were the most effective for teaching students how to read. The debate remains the same today, phonics or whole word. Gillingham and Stillman’s theory (1956) of teaching students how to read suggests that all students should be taught literacy using her phonics instructional method. They state that students should receive this type of instruction as preventive measure in Grades 1 and 2. Teaching students how to read was not emphasized until Grade 1 in the 1950s. Today educators begin teaching students how to read in pre-kindergarten/kindergarten. They also stated that this method should be used for remedial instruction beginning in Grade 3. In the 1950s most students were not identified as behind until Grade 3. Today we can begin to identify students as young as pre-kindergarten. If all students were taught to read beginning in pre-kindergarten/kindergarten using a phonological instructional method less students would need to be remediated.

Gillingham began her work in the field of dyslexia or with students struggling to learn how to read under the direction of Dr. Orton a pathologist who studied individuals with brain issues. Students who struggled at learning how to read were referred to Dr. Orton for evaluation. These students were often of higher IQ, with normal sight, and functioned “normally” other than not being able to learn how to read. Most of Gillingham’s work centered on how to effectively teach this type of student how to read. Stillman was a classroom teacher that worked with Gillingham to formulate how to teach students struggling to learn how to read. She also discovered that all students benefited from being taught using her phonics instructional method.

Gillingham and Stillman (1956) believed that remedial students did not learn reading skills through the normal route of instruction. Gillingham and Stillman found that students who were placed in remedial classes often had normal or higher levels of intelligence but were struggling with the acquisition of reading skills. Gillingham and Stillman noted that remedial students often have “normal sensory acuity, both visual and auditory” (p. 20).  They argued that remedial students need to be taught by a trained remediation teacher who can present alternative methods in learning how to read.  When the same students are taught using the phonics method, for example, the results are vastly different. Gillingham and Stillman noted that students who are provided with remediation for four or five years have a greater chance in improving their reading skills.  Students who are remediated early in their school career will often not have memories of failing to learn to read. Students who are remediated early will usually be more confident in their reading abilities and in learning other subjects.

Gillingham and Stillman’s Phonic Instructional Theory

Gillingham and Stillman (1956) stated that students should first be taught the grapheme-phoneme or letter-sound correspondences, followed by the encoding of phonemes to form words. She stated that whole word instruction cannot take the place of “word-building” or phonics instruction. One student stated that “Until I had these Phonic Drill Cards, I never knew that the letters in a word had anything to do with pronouncing it” (Gillingham & Stillman, 1956, p. 39).  Gillingham and Stillman’s method involves the close association of components that form a language triangle. These components are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. These components work together to record information in the brain.

The first step or linkage is letter-sound correspondence instruction (Gillingham & Stillman, 1956). Students are taught the name of the written symbol (visual), then the sound (auditory) of the written symbol while looking (visual) at the written letter. Students are also taught to feel (kinesthetic) their vocal cords to understand how their body is producing the associated sound. Gillingham and Stillman stated that there is not a set order that letters must be taught. It is suggested that letters should be introduced beginning “with unequivocal sounds and non-reversible forms” (Gillingham & Stillman, 1956, p. 44). She also suggested that teachers should have a plan to follow for the introduction of new symbols.

The teacher first models each process, then completes the tasks with the student, before the student is ask to complete the task independently. Emphasis is placed on learning the correct pronunciation of each letter phoneme, which is modeled by the teacher. Gillingham and Stillman (1956) discussed that teachers should study the correct pronunciation of each letter sound, using pictures that show the correct pronunciation-mouth, tongue, and teeth position. They suggested that each grapheme should be introduced with a “key word” that models the correct pronunciation of the symbol in the initial letter position, like /b/ bear. Students practice correspondences until they become fluid in each letter-sound correspondence. Today we know that phonological awareness plays a major role in students learning the correct pronunciation of each letter sound.

The second step or linkage is learning how to write (kinesthetic) the symbols (visual) of the learned sounds (auditory). The teacher models how to write the symbol; how to hold a writing utensil, where to begin, where to end, etc. Students then trace over the teacher’s model of how to write the symbol. When students become fluid in how to correctly form the symbol through tracing, then they begin copying the symbol on their own.

There are six more steps in Gillingham and Stillman’s (1956) phonic instructional theory, which will be addressed in future blogs.

References

Gillingham, A, & Stillman, B. (1956). Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship. Cambridge: Education Publication Service, Inc.

Gillingham, A. (1955). The prevention of scholastic failure due to specific language disability, part I. Bronxville: N.Y. Academy of Medicine.

 

 

Has reading instruction really changed in the last 200 years?

Has reading instruction really changed in the last 200 years? Webster’s main push was to unify an American literacy curriculum that was different from the literacy curriculum used in the mother country of England; the current push is to unify reading curriculum through national standards in reading. Webster utilized phonics within his reading curriculum; phonics is still a major portion of reading instruction today. Educators have been pushed and pulled in different directions regarding reading instruction, with the goal that every child will be blessed with the gift of reading. This national effort is a laborious undertaking, because each child is unique and reaches the school door with a different learning style, different learning challenges, and a different home environment. Over the last 200 years, there have been changes to accommodate the needs of a growing society in learning to read, despite a dependence on old ideals.

Webster (1843) saw language as a way of conveying one’s thoughts and feelings from one person to the other. Webster thought that America needed ownership of their own language, a simpler language to read and write apart from the language of the “mother country” of England (preface, 1790, p. x,). Webster noted, “America must be as independent in literature as in politics, as famous for its arts as for arms; and it is not impossible but a person of my youth may have some influence in exciting a spirit of literary industry” (as cited in Blinderman, 1976, p. 32). Utilizing British grammar as a model, Webster wrote an America version of language and spelling instruction called A Grammatical Institute of the English Language in 1783.  Webster would continue to improve his methods of teaching language and spelling until his death.

Webster (1790) saw that the strength of the United States was dependent on the education of its youth; his patriotism led him to remold the education of young people, noting that no person, regardless of their social economic status, cultural heritage, or sex, should be excluded from educational opportunities. He saw language arts as the center piece of educating youth, adding moral issues, science, history, government, and the arts to the curriculum. As Webster’s curricula progressed, he introduced other subjects into standard teaching lessons, and this curriculum was the beginning of an instructional approach to teaching subjects separately and purposefully.

Webster (1843) also saw a need to improve the separate entities of language, spoken and written. He simplified and regulated the spelling of words, utilizing didactical marks for punctuation; this method improved student ability to spell and to pronounce words. Webster also noted that spoken language involved the correct articulation of words, utilizing an intricate team of the throat, tongue, palate, teeth, and lips. Teachers were looked upon to model correct articulation and to correct students on the spot in order to ensure correct articulation of words spoken or read. A student’s body language was seen as a part of how words were articulated correctly. Written language was the part committed to paper, written to communicate a variety of thoughts, and to be utilized in a global sense that could be transported from place to place.

Webster (1843) believed that grammar made logical sense of words and provided the rules for both spoken and written language. Webster also saw grammar as the science of organizing words together, utilizing firm rules that were seen as a model of organized language in order to communicate effectively. Webster saw four major parts to grammar: orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody.

“Orthography treats of the letters, their powers and combinations in syllables; or, it teaches the true manner of writing words, called spelling. Etymology treats of derivation of words from their radicals or primitives, and of their various inflections and modifications to express person, number, case, sex, time and mode. Syntax explains the true mode of constructing sentences. Prosody treats of the quantity or accent of syllables and the laws of versification (p.7).”

Each portion of the language puzzle was taught in a “systematic, sequential, letter-based, and learned by rote—would not be challenged until 1820’s” (Monaghan, E. J., 2010, p. 4, para. 4).

Webster (1790) felt so strongly about the need to improve education in the United States that he shifted from his role as a lawyer to an educator in order to devote his energy to the transformation of the reading curriculum in America. To protect his own writings, Webster helped to develop the copyright laws, holding the first copyright of a book; these laws ensured that the money from the sales of publishing through his efforts to develop, improve, print, advertise, and distribute would be protected and placed in his hands. He standardized orthography, spelling, articulation, and other portions of grammar in America, leaving heavy footprints within the reading curriculum and instruction of today.

References

Blinderman, A. (1976). Three early champions of education: benjamin franklin, benjamin rush, and noah webster. Bloomington: Phi Delta Kappa Ed. Foundation.

Monaghan, E. J., Ed. (2010).  Noah webster (1758-1843) – webster’s innovations, perfecting the spelling book for reading instruction, other works. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2544/Webster-1758-1843.html.

Webster, N. (1800). A grammatical institute of the English language; comprising an easy, concise, and systematic method of education. Boston: Thomas & Andrews.

Webster, N. (1814). An American selection of lessons in reading and speaking: calculate to improve the minds and refine the taste of youth. Philadelphia: Hogan.

Webster, N. (1843). An improved grammar of the English language.  New York: Webster & Clark.

Webster, N. (1790). Collection of essays and fugitive writings on moral, historical, political and literary subjects. Boston: Fauet’s Statue.

 

Relieve Student Stress—Teach Spelling

The stress and anxiety that students often feel when they are trying to spell words without the proper tools usually diminishes when students learn how the letters work together to form words of meaning. Students begin learning the sounds of letters and words as they begin mimicking the conversations of their environment. Students begin learning the rules of how letters are encoded into words through their daily interactions with people and their environment. Some letter phonemes are consistent, some phonemes or chunks of words are influenced by other letters within the word. Parents and educators often model how to orally sound out words to provide students the opportunity to mimic words and learn a new tool. This tool usually assists students to more accurately pronounce words. This is called phonological awareness, which is defined as “a reading skill that involves a range of understandings related to the sounds of words and word parts, including identifying and manipulating larger parts of spoken language such as words, syllables, and onset and rime. (Ray, 2017, pp. 13-14).

Students build on the foundation of phonological awareness when they begin to attach graphemes to the spoken sounds. This is when students begin learning letter-sound correspondences. Letter-sound correspondences is the second pillar of structure literacy (Ray, 2020, p. 38). Some graphemes are constant, some have variances that are dependent on how the letters are placed within a word. The rules of how letters influence other letters within a word is identified as phonics. Ray (2017) defines phonics as:

A form of instruction that cultivates the understanding and use of the alphabet, which emphasizes the predictable relationship between phonemes (the sounds in spoken language) and graphemes (the letters that represent those sounds in written language) and shows how this information can be used to read or decode words.” (p. 13)

There are many ways to teach how the letters are encoded to develop words. One type of instruction that may strengthen student sound-letter correspondences and how letters may change individual letter phonemes during the primary grades is to write the symbol(s) that represent the individual sounds of a word. Students begin to understand how letters change their individual sounds based on where they are placed in a word. There are many benefits of teaching students the letter-sound correspondences, such as improved spelling and comprehension. This practice should be taught throughout a student’s formal education, beginning when they start encoding or writing down the graphemes to build words. The complexity of how the letters create different sounds and words increases with each grade-level.

The following is an example of how I often model/instruct later primary students to examine the relationships of phonemes and graphemes. These students usually can read the words that they are examining.

Sound out the word gym.

What letter sounds do you hear?            /___/   /___/   /___/

What letters or letter diagraphs are used to

represent those sounds?                   ____   ____   ____

 

Sound out the word gym.

What letter sounds do you hear?              / j /   / i /   / m /

What letters or letter diagraphs are used to

represent those sounds?                        g       y       m

 

another example:

Sound out the word tardy.

What letter sounds do you hear?                / t /   / ä /   / r /   / d /   / e /

What letters or letter diagraphs are used to

represent those sounds?                          t       a       r       d      y

I usually use spelling words that students are expected to know how to spell at their particular grade level.

Educators might use a different format for teaching students at different grade-levels or complexities of words. When systematic, direct, explicit instruction is used students usually learn the “rules” of how letter placement affects the sounds of words and the spelling of words that are new or hard become natural. When teaching spelling you are essentially teaching all of the pillars of structured literacy (phonemic awareness→letter-sound correspondences→syllables→ morphology→ syntax→semantics).

References

Ray, J. S. (2020). Structured Literacy Supports All Learners: Students At-Risk of Literacy Acquisition – Dyslexia and English Learners. Texas Association for Literacy Education Yearbook, Vol. 7, pp. 37-43.

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/

 

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