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Ehri’s phases of word recognition:

Pre-Alphabetic Phase: Children recognize words using visual cues or context, not letters or sounds.

Partial Alphabetic Phase: Children begin to connect some letters to sounds, but only partially; they can read simple words.

Full Alphabetic Phase: Children can read words by decoding all letters and sounds, connecting them fully.

Consolidated Alphabetic Phase: Children recognize groups of letters (like chunks or patterns) in words, making reading faster and more automatic.

What is decoding?:

"looking at a word and connecting the
letters and sounds and then blending those sounds
together"(pg 170)

Essential skill for reading development

What is Phonics?:

Teaching the relationship between phonemes and graphemes

Using these relationships to read and spell words

Explicit Phonic Lesson:

1. Phonemic Awareness

2. Introduce Sound/Spelling

3. Blend Words Incorporating New
Sound/Spelling

4. Build Automatic Word Recognition

5. Apply to Decodable Text

6. Word Work

1. dictation

2. word building

3. word activities

Decodable text is important because it allows students to apply the skills they have learned to read words

The best way to identify if a student has
mastered a sound/spelling correspondence is to
use nonsense words

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Credit: Lakewoods TK.K Team

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Print Awareness- "Print Awareness is about knowing the forms and functions of print."

Elements of Print-

Functions of Print

Conventions of Print

Book Conventions

Why we teach print awareness:

Expanded exposure to print increases success in reading.

Understanding develops when adults model print awareness.

Students in low socio-economic environments are at greater risk of low exposure to print.

Educators have the responsibility to increase print awareness opportunities for all students.

Prime time for teaching print awareness is Preschool and Kindergarten.

How do we teach print awareness?

Through read-alouds and environmental print

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Credit: TPT

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What is Phonemic Awareness?

The conscious awareness of individual speech sounds, or phonemes, (consonants and vowels) in spoken syllables (auditory)

Phoneme: The smallest segment of speech in a language that can determine word meaning, or can be combined with other speech sounds to make a new word

Phonological Awareness:

1. Includes the four developmental levels (word, syllables, onset-rime)

2. The foundation for Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic Awareness:

1. Considered the most advanced and crucial level for reading and spelling

2. Includes isolating, identifying, blending, segmenting, etc individual phonemes in words

Stop Sounds vs. Continuous sounds

1. Stop sound: a sound that can only be pronounced for only an instant

2. Continuous Sounds: a sound that can be pronounced for a prolonged period without the sound being changed

English has 44 phonemes but only 26 letters

Phonological Awareness Skill Levels:

1. Word

2. Syllable

3. Intrasyllable (Onset-Rime)

4. Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic Awareness Skills:

1. Isolation

2. Identify

3. Categorization

4. Blending

5. Segmentation

6. Deletion

7. Addition

8. Substitution

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What is Letter Knowledge?

“Becoming familiar with 26 uppercase and
26 lowercase letter shapes and associating
these letter shapes to their letter names”
(“Teaching Reading Sourcebook, p. 84)

Letter-Name Iconicity: When the name of a letter contains the sound that the letter represents

Letter names can be broken into phonemes

Most letters begin or end with their main sound(iconic letters)

Letters that do not contain any sound that they make are non-iconic

Letters that look alike are more likely to be confused, letters that look similar and sound similar could be more confusing as well

Why teach handwriting when teaching letters?

Improves memory of letters

Better spelling

Longer high quality compositions

Faster reading

Needed everyday

Phases of Writing Development:

Prealphabetic

Early Alphabetic

Later Alphabetic

Consolidated Alphabetic

Assessments:

Letter naming fluency

Handwriting

Sample Lessons:

I Do, We Do, You Do

Writing Learning Objectives

“A clear and effective learning objective states what the learner will
be able to do upon completion of a lesson, unit, or module, in terms
of behavioral change.” (University of North Dakota, n.d.)

Every lesson taught in the classroom should have a learning objective
that is the end goal for students.

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Credit: Etsy

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Literacy is an essential life skill

63% of 4th graders and 64% of 8th graders score at or below basic reading level

Educational standards guide teachers by setting clear goals.

Struggling readers (like those with dyslexia) show different brain activity than strong readers.

The Brain and Reading

The left hemisphere controls speech, language, and reading.

Broca's area- organizes and produces speech/language

Parieto-temporal area- breaks words into sounds and links letters to sounds

Occipito-temporal area- recognizes words instantly by sight

Structure of English

Phonemic awareness and phonics can rewire the brain to support struggling readers

Phonemes- smallest units of sound

Phonic elements- sound/spelling patterns

Syllables- word parts with a vowel sound

Onset-rime- beginning sound(s) + vowel and rest of syllable

Morphemes- smallest units of meaning (roots, prefixes,suffixes)

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Credit: The Daily Alphabet

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Credit: Scarborough's Reading Rope: Simple View of Reading

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Credit: Seidenberg & McClelland

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This module helped me understand how reading connects to brain function and language structure. I learned that different brain areas (like Broca’s, parieto-temporal, and occipito-temporal) each play a role in processing and recognizing words. I also found it interesting that phonemic awareness and phonics can actually change the brain activity of struggling readers.

I now have a clearer understanding of the building blocks of language, which are phonemes, syllables, onset-rime, and morphemes, and how they fit into teaching reading. Overall, this module showed me that literacy is more than just reading words, it’s about teaching strategies that support how the brain learns language.

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Credit: Teaching Reading Sourcebook

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Credit: https://youtu.be/57uGBAjZJMo?si=lfUel4q98Vm6PppL

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I learned that print awareness is an important foundation for early reading because it helps children understand the functions of print, book conventions, and how we read text. I now see how valuable it is for teachers to model these skills through read-alouds and by noticing environmental print. I also learned that preschool and kindergarten are the prime years for developing print awareness. Another key point I discovered is that children from low socio-economic backgrounds often have less exposure to print, which can affect their reading success. This shows me how important it is for educators to intentionally create opportunities for all students to build these skills. In my future classroom, I will make sure to highlight print features during reading and provide frequent, meaningful exposure to print to support early literacy.

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Credit: Valley PBS

https://youtu.be/EmohchhXwW8?feature=shared

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Credit: https://share.google/images/cTDc8pmpXLJNckAIN

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In this module, I learned that letter knowledge goes beyond simply knowing the alphabet, it involves recognizing both uppercase and lowercase letters and connecting them to their sounds and names. I found it interesting how letter-name iconicity makes some letters easier to learn, while non-iconic and visually similar letters can be more confusing for students. I also learned why handwriting is an important part of teaching letters, since it helps students with memory, spelling, reading, and writing development. Another key takeaway for me was the phases of writing development, which showed me how students progress from prealphabetic to consolidated alphabetic stages. Finally, I realized how important it is to write clear learning objectives, because they guide instruction and ensure that students are working toward meaningful goals.

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Credit: https://share.google/images/4XFnBRED3U4GF5i5t

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Credit: Heggerty Phonemic Awareness

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Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Preview Lesson- Kindergarten, Week 19, Day 3

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I already knew most of this information about phonemic awareness because I use it every day at work, but it’s helpful to see it all laid out in a clear way. For me, it connects the dots between what I do with my students and the bigger picture of why it matters. When I’m guiding students through blending or segmenting sounds, I can see right away how it impacts their ability to read new words and spell correctly. It really is the foundation for literacy, and my experience in the classroom has shown me that if students don’t develop strong phonemic awareness, they will continue to struggle as texts get harder.

The idea of phonological awareness being the broader umbrella and phonemic awareness being the most advanced level also stood out to me. I see students move through those stages—first working with words and syllables, then eventually breaking things down into individual sounds. It reminds me how important it is to be patient and give them time at each level, instead of rushing them.

I also realize how useful it is to think about stop sounds versus continuous sounds, because that’s something I rely on when I model stretching out words for students. Having the vocabulary to describe what I already do makes me feel more confident as an educator. Overall, this information just reinforced what I’ve learned from hands-on experience: phonemic awareness isn’t just one part of reading instruction, it’s the key piece that makes everything else possible.

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After learning about phonics, I understand how important it is for students to connect sounds to letters so they can read and spell words accurately. I learned the difference between phonemic awareness, which is hearing and playing with sounds, and phonics, which is linking those sounds to written letters. I also learned about short and long vowels, consonant digraphs and blends, and different word work activities like phoneme manipulation and word sorts. This helped me see how teaching phonics in a systematic way can build strong reading skills and help students become confident readers. I feel like I could use these strategies in the classroom to support students who are just learning to read.

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“A word that contains one or more
sound/spelling correspondences that a student does not
know and therefore cannot decode” (“Teaching Reading
Source Book”. p.242)

Permanently Irregular- Words that have one or more sound/spellings that are rule-breakers and not pronounced conventionally

Temporarily Irregular- Start off as irregular because a specific sound/spelling pattern has not been taught.

High Frequency Words: 100 words that account for almost 50%
of words used in text.

Heart Words: The grapheme/phoneme part in a word that is irregular is represented with a
heart to symbolize the part of the word that has to be “read by heart”

Use sound out or spell out strategy to teach irregular words

Irregular Word Lesson

Introduce the word (I Do)

1. Sound-Out Strategy

2. Spell-Out Strategy

Practice Irregular Words (We Do & You Do)

1. magnet letters

2. sandpaper

3. write on whiteboard in different ways

4. other activities

Practice reading new word and previously taught
words for automaticity

1. Grid, flashcards, slides (pg. 257)

Apply to Decodable

1. Decoable is linked to the phonics skill and new
irregular words

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Credit: Santa Rosa County District Schools Florida

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Santa Rosa County District Schools Florida

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Credit: literacylearn.com

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I learned that irregular words have sound or spelling parts students can’t yet decode. Permanently irregular words break phonics rules, while temporarily irregular words only seem irregular until students learn that pattern. High-frequency words are common in text, so it’s important to teach them often and meaningfully. The Heart Word method helps students remember the tricky part of a word they must know “by heart.” I also learned how to teach irregular words through the sound-out and spell-out strategies using the I Do, We Do, You Do model. Activities like magnet letters, writing practice, and flashcards make learning more engaging and build fluency through repetition and application in decodable texts.

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A majority of words in text above a fifth grade level are multisyllabic.

Syllable- a basic unit of pronunciation in a word typically containing a vowel sound and potentially surrounding consonants

Examples of one syllable words could be "hat" "jump" "stick"

Syllabication- the division of a multisyllabic word into separate syllables with each syllable containing one vowel sound

Utilization of syllable types and division principals skills helps readers identify the number of syllables and break apart the word.

Syllable types: Closed, open, vowel
combinations, r-controlled, vowel-
consonant e, consonant -le

Division principals: VC/CV, V/CV, VC/V,
VC/CCV, VCC/CV, Consonant-le

Two Affixes: prefix and suffix

Flexible Syllabication

A combination of using syllable types, division principles, and
affixes to decode multisyllabic words

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Credit: Decodable Readers Australia

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Multisyllabic Words - Teaching beginner readers and spellers multisyllabic words

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Learning about multisyllabic words showed me how important it is to teach students strategies for reading complex texts. I learned that a syllable is a unit of pronunciation with a vowel sound, and that syllabication divides words into syllables to make them easier to read. Teaching students syllable types, like closed, open, r-controlled, vowel-consonant-e, and consonant-le, along with division principles such as VC/CV or V/CV can help them break words into manageable parts. I also learned that prefixes and suffixes give clues to word meaning. Using flexible syllabication, which combines these strategies, is a practical way to help students decode multisyllabic words and build confidence in reading.