unit 6: teaching letter-sound associations barriers to learning letter-sounds teaching...
TRANSCRIPT
“…teaching children all the letters of
the alphabet is not easy, particularly
when they come to school knowing
few of them.”
National Reading Panel
Letters are abstract shapes that convey no meaning to the uninitiated.
A B C D E F G HA B C D E F G H
Letters Are Abstract Shapes
“...There are 52 capital and lower-case letter shapes, names, and sounds to learn.”
Shape: H h
Name: aich
Sound: /h/
National Reading Panel
Letters Are Abstract Shapes
H h
Letter-Shapes Are Often Similar
b d p qb d p q h n u mh n u m
V W MV W M l i jl i jl i jl i j
The shapes of many letters are similar, and, therefore, easily confused with one another.
G g G g ggG g G g gg
D d D d
Letter Forms Are Often Different
A a aA a a
E e E e
Each letter has two or more forms that may look very different.
7 pairs of letter-sounds differ only in that 1 is unvoiced and 1 is voiced.
/b//p//p/
/d//t//t/
/v//f//f/
/g//k//k/
/j//ch//ch/
/z//s//s//th//th//th/
Quiet SistersQuiet Sisters Noisy Sisters
Unvoiced and Voiced Letter-Sounds
Letter-names that begin with the letter-sound:
b - “bee” k - “kay” t - “tee”
Letter-names that end with the letter-sound
f - “eff” l - “ell” x - “ex”
Letter-names not containing the letter-sound:
c - “see” h - “aich”
Letter-Sounds In Letter-Names
b d j k p t v z (c, g)
f l m n r s x
Letter-names that begin with the letter-sound:
Letter-names that end with the letter-sound:
Letter-names not containing the letter -sound:
c g h q w y
Sounds In Letter-Names
Barriers To Alphabet Learning
Letters are abstract.
Shapes for different letters are similar.
Capital/lowercase may be different.
Relation of letter-name to sound inconsistent.
pbdq
R r N n
dubuyu /w/
More Barriers: Slow Retrieval Of Letter Names And Sounds
“Letter learning requires retaining
shapes, names, and sounds in
memory and in fact, overlearning
them so that letters can be
processed automatically in
reading and writing words.”
“Letter learning requires retaining
shapes, names, and sounds in
memory and in fact, overlearning
them so that letters can be
processed automatically in
reading and writing words.”
National Reading Panel Report, 2000, p. 2-125
Instructional Principles Applied To Letter-Sounds
Assessment
Sequential & Systematic
Direct and Explicit
Teach to Mastery & Automaticity
Multisensory Strategies
Felton & Lillie, 2001
Strategies For Students With Naming/Retrieval Problems
Begin with a small set of items
Provide cues
Provide extensive practice - over learning
Practice in two directions: Sound to letter and letter to sound
Avoid guessing
Felton & Lillie, 2001
Activity
Review sequences of letter-sound associations
What are the key things to consider when determining appropriate sequence? Is a vowel taught? Types of Consonants (continuants/stops) Voiced/unvoiced Names of letters
How many words can you make using the first 11 letters?
Recipe for Reading: c, short o, short a, g, m, l, h, t, short I, j, k, p, ch, short u, b, r, f, n, short e, s, sh, th, w, wh, y, v, x, and z.
Letterland: c, short and long a, d, m, t, s, short and long I, n, g, o, p, e, u, k, l, f, b, j, r, q, v, w, x, y, and z.
Fundations: t, b, f, m, c, short a, short I, r, short o, g, d, s, short e, short u, l, h, k, p, j, w, z, q, y, x.
Carreker: short I, t, n, s, short a, l, d, f, h, g, short o, k, c, m, r, b, short e, y, j, u, w, v, x, z, qu
Begin With A Small Set Of Items
Possible set of letters:
vowels: a i a i consonants: b t s f mb t s f m
Appropriate words: Appropriate words:
at am it if bat bitat am it if bat bit
tab Tim sat Sam sit fat tab Tim sat Sam sit fat fit fib matfit fib mat
Inappropriate words: Inappropriate words:
is as Ma aimis as Ma aim
a
a…a…a… Oh, no, here comes Bossy
R. He’s such a bully.
R...r...r…r
rYou vowels think you are so special—just because you have to be in every word.
From now on when you come before me, you have to say my
name.
The Story of Bossy R
car
art
star
bark
hard carpetharmony
o
oe i u
Did you hear what he did to a? Hey, O, come
over here. Right now!
I like you, kid. You remind me of a smiley face.
I am going to let you say a word with me. OR
The Story of Bossy R
forkhorseborn
pork dormant orderOkay, O. Now, scram!
Now for the rest of you vowels! I’m going to put a spell on you, e, i, & u. a
Uh-oh, there’s that Bossy-R.
r
The Story of Bossy R
erer irir urur
skirtdirt
circleswirl
furspurt
urgentcurtain
betterfeatherblenderskater
I-R and U-R, you just fight it out to see who’s going in the rest of the
words.
rEr…er...er Ir...ir…ir Ur…ur…urYou all sound alike!
Now, let’s see what words you can be in.
Ha, ha!! all of you are roosters!!!.
E-R, you are the noisiest, so I am going to make you stay on
the end of words.
Solution: Provide Extensive Practice In 2 Directions
DEMONSTRATION:
Teaching a new letter-sound
Letter-sound drill
Avoid Guessing
Many students with reading problems have learned to impulsively guess until they get the right answer. “That’s a b, no d, no, I mean p.”
“There, where, here…”
Remind students to use cues when they are unsure of a letter or sound. “What’s your key word.”
“Make your hand motion.”
“Check your sound notebook”
Tell them the answer if necessary to avoid guessing.
Letter-Sounds Are Not Just For Beginners
More advanced students need letter-sound cues for more advanced spellings:
For example, by Wilson Reading Step 5, when shown the letter a, the student can proudly recite the following as well as similar key words for each vowel:
a apple /a/
a safe /a/
a acorn /a/
a Alaska /u/
• Automatic letter recognition is the key to automatic word recognition
• Berninger (2000) reports that at-risk children were found to need over 20 times more practice
Perspectives, Winter, 2002
Letters Are the Building Blocks for Words
Automaticity Practice: Letter-Sound Level
For initial learning, provide picture cues
For fluency practice, use plain letters
Use a key word for vowels
Use visual drill for reading
Use auditory drill for spellingFelton & Lillie, 2001
Review
What makes learning letter name, shapes and sounds so difficult?
What are some strategies to make this learning easier?
Why are cues for short vowels especially important?
What is the sound of each of these r-controlled vowel combinations?
ar er ir or ur
How can you help a student avoid guessing?
What is the difference between a visual drill and an auditory drill?
Review Continued
Sources
Felton, R., & Lillie, D. (2000). Teaching Students with Persistent Reading Problems (a multimedia CD-ROM). Greensboro, NC. Guilford County Schools.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read– Reports of the subgroups. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH Pub. No. 00-4764.