Alphabetics. What is Alphabetics? What is Phonemic Awareness?

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1 What is Alphabetics? alphabetics is made up of two parts: phonemic awareness and word analysis. What is Phonemic Awareness? Alphabetics Phonemic awareness-identifying and manipulating speech sounds Phonemes- the smallest units of sound in spoken language Must be learned through reading and writing-not just acquired naturally Why is Phonemic Awareness Important? Phonemic awareness is required for developing decoding skills It s necessary for successful phonics instruction and for learners to be able to use phonics to identify words as they read and to spell words as they write Who can benefit from phonemic awareness training? Adult nonreaders Adult beginning readers Some adult intermediate ABE readers with poor decoding skills Usually not ESOL adults who can t read English Phonemic Awareness Development Tips Focus on one or two types of PA tasks at a time; segmenting and blending may be most useful. Use letters as well as sounds in teaching PA. Be sure students understand the connection between PA activities and their long-term reading goals. Integrate short phonemic awareness activities within the reading lesson. In each lesson, try to address all needed components of reading instruction-- phonemic awareness and phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension-as well as opportunities to experience and learn from adult-relevant materials. Phonemic Awareness Assessment and Instruction The National Reading Panel identified 6 tasks for assessment and instruction: Phoneme isolation -recognizing individual sounds in words: tell me the first sound in paste Phoneme identity - recognizing the common sound in different words: Tell me the sound that is the same in bike, boy and bell 1

2 Phoneme categorization - recognizing the word with the odd sound in a sequence of three or four different words: Which word does not belong? bus, bun, rug Phoneme blending - listening to a sequence of separately spoken sounds and combining them to form a recognizable word: What word is /d/ /o/ /g/? Phoneme segmentation - breaking a word into its sounds by tapping out or counting the sounds or by pronouncing and positioning a marker for each sound: How many sounds are there in ship Phoneme deletion - recognizing what word remains when a specified phoneme is removed: What is smile without the /s/? What is Decoding or Phonics? A word identification skill involving letter-sound correspondence to recognize words in print Used by beginning learners to identify words when reading and to approximate the spelling of words when writing Findings: Decoding/Phonics Instruction Assess phonics skills of adult beginning and (some) intermediate-level readers. Provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction that is matched to the assessed needs of learners. Follow a defined scope and sequence of skills or adopt a structured phonicsbased program. Provide practice of the phonics elements you have taught, including (perhaps) use of controlled-vocabulary texts. Do not make decoding skills the entire focus of the reading lesson. In each lesson, address the other needed component skills as well, and provide opportunities for learners to gain access to adult-interest reading materials. Adult beginning readers are not as good at manipulating phonemes or at applying letter-sound correspondences (decoding) while reading as children at comparable levels. On the other hand, adult beginning readers are better at sight word recognition than children at comparable levels of development in reading Why is Decoding Important? Readers must be able to identify words independently and rapidly in order to read fluently enough to read with understanding. Many native-english speaking adult readers already know the meaning of many words in the texts they re reading. Once they can efficiently recognize printed words they can understand what they read. 2

3 Who can benefit from decoding/phonics training? Adult nonreaders Adult beginning readers Adult intermediate readers whose decoding skills are less than automatic Decoding Skills Assessments Orally, individually administered Students at different reading levels and with different decoding skills require different assessments Assessment results inform instructional strategies Decoding/Phonics Instruction Research indicates that explicit, systematic phonics instruction is most effective for beginners. In explicit, systematic phonics instruction, a body of phonics content (lettersound correspondences and common word patterns) is identified, logically sequenced and directly taught. Provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction that is matched to the assessed needs of learners. Synthetic Phonics: Learners are taught the letter sound correspondences and then are taught to blend the sounds to identify words What word does /d/ /o/ /g/ make? dog Analytic Phonics: Learners do not pronounce the sounds in isolation. They analyze the sounds in a word that is already identified What sounds do you hear in the word dog? /d/ /o/ /g/ Blending Patterns: Learners use parts of words they already know to identify unfamiliar words Onset/Rime: _ack Body/Coda: sa_ back sat sack sad tack sap 3

4 A Sampling of Phonics Rules (that usually work) Words and syllables with double e usually have the long-e sound (seem, feel, nee-dle). The consonant digraph ch usually represents the sound in chicken, not /sh/. The letter r following a vowel creates a blended sound, and the vowel is neither long nor short (fir, car, horn, burly, carry, hurdle, bargain). When c is followed by e or i, it usually sounds like s. When followed by o or u, it most often sounds like k. If a syllable or word ends in a vowel, it usually has the long sound (he, my so, lo-co-mo-tive). A single vowel in the middle of a one syllable word most often represents the short-vowel sound (dress, splash, fox). Try the short sound first. If that doesn t result in a meaningful word, try the long sound (mind, toll, gold). In a word with two vowels, one of which is a final e, the e is usually silent and the first vowel is long (like, tune, fate, nose). Try the long sound first. To divide a multi-syllabic word into syllables for decoding, use these suggestions and then sound out each syllable as if it were a word. Remove verb endings, prefixes and suffixes, and decode the root word. Divide two consonants, unless they form a digraph: (hap-pen, fan-tas-tic, but gath-er and fash-ion). Divide after the vowel if there s only one consonant. Since this creates a syllable ending in a vowel, try the long sound first (ba-con, to-ken, pho-to, le-gal). If this doesn t work, divide after the consonant and try the short sound (pan-el, leg-end, pet-al, lib-er-ty 4

5 What is Fluency? Speed Accuracy in word identification Phrasing and expression (prosody) Why is Fluency Important? Fluency Fluency is required for comprehension. Accurate and efficient word identification allows the reader to pay attention to meaning. Fluent reading is comprehensible because it sounds like speech. Who Needs Fluency? Most adult beginning readers and many others Fluency Development: Research-based Tips Use a fluency measure with (at least) beginning- and intermediate-level readers. Use guided repeated oral reading techniques to build reading fluency. Fluency Assessment Mastery vs Automaticity Mastery: the ability to perform a skill reliably without obvious deliberate effort but with some obvious conscious application of underlying skills needed to accomplish a task Automaticity: the ability to perform a skill with ease, accuracy and speed and without the conscious application of underlying skills needed to accomplish a task Oral Reading Rate (speed) Why do we need to measure oral reading rate? It is a measure of word recognition automaticity. It is the first step in an informal assessment of fluency. How do we measure reading rate? Words per minute = (number of words in passage reading time (in seconds)) x 60 Oral Reading Accuracy (decoding) Are words read correctly? Does the reader pay attention to the punctuation? 5

6 Real Errors Mispronunciations count only first time the error is made Substitutions Insertions Omissions Supplied words Not Real Errors Self-corrections Repetitions Errors in word endings: ing, ed, s Pronunciation errors in proper nouns Oral Reading Prosody (phrasing, rhythm and expression) Does the reader chunk words into phrases bringing a rhythm to the text and some evidence of comprehension? Prosody Pausing Scale Smooth reading, with pauses occurring at appropriate points and few (if any) repetitions Fairly steady reading, but with pauses occurring sometimes within phrases and/or some repetitions Uneven/choppy reading, with frequent repetitions and/or lapses in phrasing and/or sounding out of words Labored, word-by-word reading, with continual repetitions, frequent stopping, and/or sounding out of words 6

7 Findings: Fluency Instruction Fluency can be taught to adults. Teaching fluency increases reading achievement. Strategies for fluency instruction include repeated oral readings of text to improve accuracy, rate, and rhythm. Practice: Teach fluency using repeated readings. Effective K 12 strategy: guided repeated oral reading Also useful for those with reading problems Motivational (leads to quick success) Fluency Instruction: Guided, Repeated Oral Reading Techniques Reading to the teacher or tutor Echo reading Dyad and choral reading Paired or partner reading Tape-assisted reading Performance reading Cross-generational reading Fluency Instruction: Another Approach If word identification is part of the fluency problem, phonics instruction and sight-word practice may make a difference. Other Issues in Fluency Development Appropriate difficulty level of materials Easier text for speed and phrasing More difficult text for accuracy (decoding practice) Relatively easy materials are best for increasing speed and expression, while more difficult text is required to improve accurate word identification in context. (There must be some words the reader will have to decode). Audiotapes or CDs Taped readings of texts (audiotapes or CDs) may allow students to practice with guidance while working independently. If recordings of appropriate level texts can be found or created, they may make it easier to manage guided repeated oral reading in the classroom setting. 7

8 Teacher guidance Limit interruptions On page 55 of Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults, there is a discussion of teacher guidance how much, when, and what kind explaining there may be no simple answers. As we saw in the fluency demonstration of the reader reading Jazz it s important in guided repeated oral reading practice to give readers a chance to figure out the text for themselves and to self-correct and correct only the errors that affect the meaning of the text. Silent reading (before oral) Having a student read a text silently before reading it orally is a good idea because it familiarizes the reader with the text and any potential trouble spots before the oral reading activity. 8

9 Readability Statistics Website Okapi Reading Levels of Texts Independent level: Learner reads correctly at least 95% of the words in a passage. Some authorities favor a lower limit of only 2 errors in 100, or 98% accuracy. Instructional level: Learner reads correctly at least 85% of the words in a passage. Frustration level: Learner cannot read passage at the instructional level. An Online Fluency Resource An online collection of stories and articles for reading practice across a wide range of readability levels Oral readings users may access for each selection (readings at three different speeds) A timer that users may download to time their own readings A downloadable chart students may use to record their timed readings Available on the Reading Skills for Today s Adults on the Marshall, Minnesota website: 9

10 Oral Reading Rate Why do we need to measure oral reading rate? It is a measure of word recognition automaticity. It is the first step in an informal assessment of fluency. How do we measure reading rate? words per minute = (number of words in passage reading time (in seconds) x 60 Assessing Oral Reading Rate Activity Rapid Automatized Naming a d p a o s p d s d a p d o a p s o o s a s d p o d a s p o d s a s o p a d p a p o a p s Reference: Felton, R.H., Naylor, Cecile E., & Wood, F. B Neuropsychological profile of adult dyslexics. Brain and Language, 39, Directions: Assemble in pairs. Then, time each other reading the Rapid Automatized Naming sequence shown in the handout. Rapid Automatized Naming Timed Results =/<18.9 seconds not a processing problem; 21.3 borderline disabled; 26.3 disabled 10

11 Definition Vocabulary Vocabulary is a term used to refer to all of the words in a language. One person s vocabulary consists of all the words the person understands or knows the meaning of. Vocabulary words in reading instruction are usually those words that a person is studying in order to learn their meanings. Findings: Vocabulary Instruction Research Important trends for ABE: Vocabulary can be improved in general functional literacy settings, although teaching vocabulary in a specific setting, such as a family literacy or workplace setting, may be more effective. Compatible with limited K 12 research: Engaging contexts may be more effective. Practice (trend at adult and K 12 level) Teach vocabulary in multiple, engaging contexts that foster repeated exposure to new concepts (such as family or workplace settings). Why is it important? For beginners, oral vocabulary (knowledge of word meanings) is the basis for meaningful reading. Readers can t understand a writer s message unless they understand most of the words, so they must learn new word meanings to become better readers. Who needs it? Non-native speakers (ESOL students) Many intermediate and higher-level readers 11

12 Assessment of Vocabulary Edgar Dale s Degrees of Knowing Word Meanings Reference: Dale, E. (1976.) The living word vocabulary. Elgin, IL: Dome Press. I never saw or heard the word before. I know there is such a word but I don t know what it means. I ve heard it and seen it. I know what it has to do with but I can t tell you what it means specifically. I know what it means, I ll recognize it whenever I see it or hear it, I can use it. Research-Identified Three Levels of Word Knowledge Unknown: word is completely unfamiliar Acquainted: word is understood at a simple level (lots of words in receptive vocabulary are in this category) Established: word is understood and used accurately and flexibly Productive vs. Receptive Vocabulary Productive vocabulary: words we know well enough to use in writing or speaking Receptive vocabulary: words we know well enough to understand when seen in print or heard in conversation Oral vs. Reading Vocabulary Oral vocabulary: words we can understand in speaking and listening Reading vocabulary: store of words we recognize and understand in print Vocabulary Assessments Productive vocabulary: words we know well enough to use in writing or speaking Receptive (listening) vocabulary: words we know well enough to understand when seen or heard in context 1. Elicited word meanings oral (productive vocabulary) Diagnostic Assessments of Reading (DAR) Davidson and Bruce Word Meaning Test (free to download on the ASRP website) 2. Multiple choice (oral/written) (limited receptive vocabulary) Adult Basic Learning Examination (ABLE) Test of Adult Basic Education( TABE) 3. Multiple choice (oral/pictures) two tests of Receptive Vocabulary 12

13 Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement III 4. Embedded in comprehension passages (limited receptive vocabulary) Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Instruction in Vocabulary Defining Terms Oral vocabulary and reading vocabulary Receptive and expressive vocabulary Levels of word knowledge: unknown, acquainted, established Vocabulary Development Research-based Tips Pre-teach unfamiliar words in instructional text. Ensure multiple exposures to words by teaching useful, real-life words and words learners will encounter in subject-matter texts they are studying. Engage learners in using and working with the words in several ways. Teach word-learning strategies like structural analysis, using context clues, and using a dictionary. Encourage wide reading of level-appropriate materials in varied subject-matter areas. In Text Which Words to Pre-teach? Teach those words that Are important for comprehension of text Are not well defined by context Are unfamiliar or especially difficult Allow opportunities to apply/reinforce word-learning strategies previously taught In General Other Words and Word-learning Strategies to Teach Signal words Subject-matter words (e.g., science and social studies) Roots, prefixes, and suffixes Difficult words Homophones Homographs Types of context clues: restatement or definition, synonym, antonym 13

14 Choosing Words to Teach: Another Approach Reference: Beck, I., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press. Consider how useful they are how frequently a reader will encounter them. Three tiers of words have been identified by Isabel Beck (2002). Tier One: The most basic words that rarely require instruction (car, sad, man) Tier Two: High-frequency words for mature language users (coincidence, insistent, reluctant) Tier Three: Low-frequency words, often limited to specific domains (isotope, entomologist, lathe) Questions to Ask in Planning: Does this word have wide potential for use? Will students often encounter it in print? Is it limited to a specific context? Is it a strongly expressive word? Background Knowledge Developing vocabulary isn t just about learning the meaning of isolated words. It s also about the bigger concepts and bodies of knowledge to which words relate and refer. Limited knowledge of the subject matter of a text makes it hard to make inferences and use context clues. Productive vocabulary words we know well enough to use in writing or speaking Receptive (listening) vocabulary words we know well enough to understand when seen in print or heard in conversation 14

15 Comprehension Research ABE reading instruction can lead to improved reading comprehension but specific instructional practices are only beginning to be identified. One principle suggests that effective approaches provide direct as opposed to incidental instruction in comprehension strategies. A trend suggests focusing on more than one component or aspect of reading during instruction. Several trends suggest that enabling settings or approaches are effective. K 12 results provide support Multi-components: Teaching alphabetics, fluency, and vocabulary all lead to improved reading comprehension. Direct instruction in specific strategies Most support for multiple-strategy instruction What Is It? Reading comprehension has been defined as the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language. Why is comprehension-strategy instruction important? Many readers don t know they are not getting it, and are unaware of the kind of active processing good readers do. What causes comprehension breakdowns? Limited vocabulary and/or background knowledge Weak decoding skills and slow word identification Limited use of strategies Who needs strategy instruction? Most (maybe all) learners in ABE and family literacy classrooms can benefit from comprehension-strategy instruction.

16 Assessment Formal or Standardized Assessments Assessments are available in written and oral forms. Most standardized tests are written tests of silent reading comprehension, mostly multiple choice. Curriculum-based tests, like those found in reading comprehension workbooks, are typically multiple choice or short answer tests. Informal reading inventories include oral comprehension assessments. Alternative Assessments May allow learners to demonstrate comprehension in other ways. (writing, speaking or performing) Many tutoring/classroom activities provide natural opportunities for informal assessment. You may ask learners to write reactions to literature selections in their journals or to chart both sides of an argument. Discussions and projects allow adults to think critically about texts and to apply their learning to their lives. Learners may also reach and display new depths of understanding by doing performance readings of poetry or drama selections. Questions to Ask What s behind the comprehension problem? Print skills? Word-reading difficulty? Limited decoding skills? Fluency problem? Slow reading rate? Inaccurate word identification? Lack of phrasing or expression? What s behind the comprehension problem? Meaning skills? Limited vocabulary? Limited background knowledge? Few comprehension strategies? Or both: Limited print and meaning skills? 16

17 Instruction in Comprehension Reference: Rand Reading Study Group, What is Strategy Instruction? Teaching learning tools Principles Concepts Rules Multi-step Processes learners can use independently to solve problems or accomplish learning tasks Research-based Strategies: Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults Comprehension monitoring Graphic organizers Story structure Question answering Question generating Summarization Multiple-strategies instruction Cooperative learning (instructional approach) Comprehension Monitoring Thinking Aloud: A Teacher and Reader Strategy: What might you demonstrate for learners? Re-reading and restating a difficult passage Showing confusion by asking questions Identifying important or not-so-important information Figuring out meanings of words using context clues Suggestions for Strategy Instruction Start with only one or two that are broadly applicable. For introduction, choose materials with familiar words and subject matter (unless the strategy involves word identification or using context clues). Be explicit about when to use it. Model strategy use and give lots of practice, reading text aloud so weaker readers can participate. Review strategies often.

18 Major Components or Aspects of Reading Instruction Alphabetics is the whole process of using the letters in an alphabet to represent spoken words. It includes an awareness that words are made up of basic sounds (phonemes), and knowledge of the relationship between these basic sounds and the letters used to represent them (word analysis or phonics). Students demonstrate their phonemic awareness with tasks that require the manipulation of basic sounds in words, removing sounds from words for example (cat becomes at when the first sound in removed), or adding sounds (at becomes cat). Phonics instruction teaches individual letter-sound correspondences (the sounds made by the letters b, t, and oa, for example), and how individual letter-sound combinations are blended together to form words, b-oa-t). Word analysis or decoding instruction includes phonics as well as other ways to recognize words. Sight word recognition, for example, is taught along with phonics. Common and irregularly spelled words (was, want, to) are taught so that they are recognized on sight as whole words rather than being analyzed into smaller parts and blended. Morphology, or the use of prefixes, suffixes, and compounding to form words, may also be taught as an aid to word recognition. Fluency in reading is the ability to read with speed and ease. When readers are fluent, they read accurately, without making mistakes in pronunciation, and with appropriate rate, intonation, and rhythm. Vocabulary is a term used to refer to all of the words in a language. One person s vocabulary consists of all the words the person understands or knows the meaning of. Vocabulary words in reading instruction are usually those words that a person is studying in order to learn their meanings. Reading comprehension is understanding a text that is read, or the process of constructing meaning from a text. Comprehension is a construction process because it involves all of the elements of the reading process working together to come up with what a text means. Readers interact with and become engaged in a text as ideas from the text are combined with their own prior knowledge or experience. Motivation is the need and desire to learn to read. Motivation is especially important in adult literacy because in addition to an initial desire to learn to read, adults must set aside the time necessary to receive effective reading instruction, and overcome any embarrassment resulting from the stigma associated with seeking help for poor reading skills. National Reading Panel. (2000a). Report of the national reading panel: Teaching Children to Read. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Snow, C. E., Burns, S. M., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 3

19 Components of Reading Tips in a Nutshell Adapted from Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for Teachers by Susan McShane. Published by the National Institute for Literacy The Partnership for Reading 2005 Phonemic Awareness Tips Teach phonemic awareness explicitly and systematically to learners who have phonemic awareness deficiencies. Use letters as well as sounds in teaching the phonemes. Use a structured phonics curriculum to develop phonemic awareness and decoding skills. Focus on one or two types of phonemic tasks: segmenting and blending may be most useful. Be sure learners understand the connection between phonemic awareness activities and their long-term reading goals. Integrate short phonemic awareness activities within the reading lesson. In each lesson, try to address all needed components of reading instruction--phonemic awareness and phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension-as well as opportunities to experience and learn from adult-relevant materials. Phonics Instruction Tips Assess phonics skills of adult beginning and (some) intermediate-level readers (see chapter 8 for an initial assessment plan). Provide explicit, systematic phonics instruction that is matched to the assessed needs of learners. Follow a defined scope and sequence of skills or adopt a structured phonicsbased program. Provide practice of the phonics elements you have taught, including (perhaps) use of controlled-vocabulary texts. Do not make decoding skills the entire focus of the reading lesson. In each lesson, address the other needed component skills as well, and provide opportunities for learners to gain access to adult-interest reading materials. 4

20 Fluency Tips Use a fluency measure with (at least) beginning and intermediate-level readers to get an initial assessment of reading speed, accuracy, and expression. (You may need more than one measure to address these different aspects of fluency). Use guided repeated oral reading techniques to build reading fluency. A learner may read aloud to, or in unison with, a teacher or tutor, who provides modeling and assistance. Audiotapes allow adults to work independently on repeated oral reading. Preparing for performance reading classroom presentations or reading to children gives adults an authentic reason to re-read text. Vocabulary Tips Pre-teach unfamiliar words in instructional text. Ensure multiple exposures to words by teaching useful, real-life words and words learners will encounter in subject-matter texts they are studying. Engage learners in using and working with words in several ways. Teach word-learning strategies like structural analysis, using and using a dictionary. Encourage wide reading of level-appropriate materials in varied subject-matter areas. Comprehension-Strategy Instruction Tips Provide instruction in comprehension strategies for learners at all reading levels. Teach learners how and when to use several broadly applicable, research-based strategies. Teach strategies one at a time, providing plenty of opportunities for guided practice to ensure learners can use them independently. Model the strategies for learners by thinking aloud as you read. Consider applying the comprehension strategies to listening comprehension, especially when working with weaker readers: read text aloud or use taped readings. Consider readability level and learners background knowledge when choosing texts for comprehension-strategy instruction. Because decoding, fluency and vocabulary are required for comprehension, include instruction/practice in all appropriate components in reading lessons. 5