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A Teacher Friendly Guide to Reading Research (2)

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GOAL: Establish more in-depth Essential Agreements

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GOAL: Establish more in-depth Essential Agreements

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Ten Important Research Findings from Wiley Blevins

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Ten Important Research Findings from Wiley Blevins

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Phonics: Ten Important Research Findings

Countless research studies have been conducted on phonics instruction. Much of this research has focused on the usefulness of phonics instruction and the best ways to teach children about sound-spelling relationships. Below is a list of ten of the top research findings regarding phonics.
#1: Phonics Instruction Can Help All Children Learn to Read
All children can benefit from instruction in the most common sound-spelling relationships and syllable patterns in English. This instruction helps children decode words that follow these predictable sound-spelling relationships and syllable spelling patterns.

Phonics instruction is particularly beneficial for children at risk for learning difficulties - those children who come to school with limited exposures to books, have had few opportunities to develop their oral languages, are from low socio-economic families, have below-average intelligence, are learning English as a second language, or are suspected of having a learning disability. However, even children from language rich backgrounds benefit from phonics instruction (Chall, 1967). As Chall states "By learning phonics, students make faster progress in acquiring literary skills - reading and writing. By the age of six, most children already have about 6,000 words in their listening and speaking vocabularies. With phonics they learn to read and write these and more words at a faster rate than they would without phonics."

Phonics instruction is therefore an essential ingredient in reading instruction. The purpose of this instruction is to teach children how to read with accuracy, comprehension, fluency, and pleasure. The early ability to sound out words successfully is a strong predictor of future growth in decoding (Lundberg, 1984) and comprehension (Lesgold and Resnick, 1982). Weak decoding skills are characteristic of poor readers (Carnine, Carnine, and Gertsen, 1984; Lesgold and Curtis, 1981). Readers who are skilled at decoding usually comprehend text better than those who are poor decoders. Why this is so can be gleaned from the work of cognitive psychologists. They contend that we have a set amount of mental energy that we can devote to any task (Kahneman, 1973). Since decoding requires so much of this mental energy, little is left over for higher-level comprehension. As decoding skills improve and more and more words are recognized by sight, less mental energy is required to decode words and more mental energy can be devoted to making meaning from the text (Freedman and Calfee, 1984; LaBerge and Samuels, 1974).

In addition, successful early decoding ability is related to the number of words a reader encounters. That is, children who are good decoders read many more words than children who are poor decoders (Juel, 1988). This wide reading subsequently results in greater reading growth. Children not only learn more words, but they become more familiar with the common spelling patterns of English which, in turn, helps them decode longer words.

Phonics instruction also helps to get across the alphabetic principle (that the letters of the alphabet stand for sounds) by teaching the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent. Beginning readers learn better when their teachers emphasize these relationships (Chall, 1996).
#2: Explicit Phonics Instruction Is More Beneficial Than Implicit Instruction
According to Chall (1996), "systematic and early instruction in phonics leads to better reading: better accuracy of word recognition, decoding, spelling, and oral and silent reading comprehension." The most effective type of instruction, especially for children at risk for reading difficulties, is explicit (direct) instruction (Adams, 1990; Chall, 1996; Honig, 1995; Evans and Carr, 1985; Stahl and Miller, 1989; Anderson et al, 1985.). Implicit instruction relies on readers "discovering" clues about sound-spelling relationships. Good readers can do this; poor readers aren't likely to. Good readers can generalize their knowledge of sound-spelling relationships and syllable patterns to read new words in which these and other sound-spellings and patterns occur. Poor readers must rely on explicit instruction.

Although explicit instruction has proved more effective than implicit instruction, the key element in the success of explicit phonics instruction is the provision of multiple opportunities to read decodable words (that is, words containing previously taught sound-spellings) in context (Stahl, Osborn, and Pearson, 1992; Juel and Roper-Schneider, 1985; Adams, 1990) and ample modeling of the application of these skills to real reading. In fact, students who receive phonics instruction achieve best in both decoding and comprehension if the text they read contains high percentages of decodable words. In addition, by around second or third grade, children who've been taught with explicit phonics instruction generally surpass the reading abilities of their peers who've been taught with implicit phonics instruction (Chall, 1996).
#3: Most Poor Readers Have Weak Phonics Skills and a Strategy Imbalance
Most poor readers have a strategy imbalance. They tend to overrely on one reading strategy, such as the use of context clues, to the exclusion of other strategies that might be more appropriate (Sulzby, 1985). To become skilled fluent readers, children need to have a repertoire of strategies to figure out unfamiliar words (Cunningham, 1990). These strategies include using a knowledge of sound-spelling relationships, using context clues, and using structural clues and syllabication strategies. Younger and less skilled readers rely more on context than other, often more effective, strategies (Stanovich, 1980). This is partly due to their inability to use sound-spelling relationships to decode words. Stronger readers don't need to rely on context clues because they can quickly and accurately decode words by sounding them out.

Unfortunately, children who get off to a slow start in reading rarely catch up to their peers and seldom develop into strong readers (Stanovich, 1986; Juel, 1988). Those who experience difficulties decoding early on tend to read less and thereby grow less in terms of word recognition skills and vocabulary.

A longitudinal study conducted by Juel (1988), revealed an 88% probability that a child who is a poor reader at the end of first grade would still be a poor reader at the end of fourth grade. Stanovich (1986) refers to this as the "Matthew Effect" in which the "rich get richer" (children who are successful decoders early on read more and therefore improve in reading), and the "poor get poorer" (children who have difficulties decoding become increasingly distanced from the good decoders in terms of reading ability).
#4: Phonics Knowledge Has a Powerful Effect on Decoding Ability
Phonics knowledge affects decoding ability positively (Stanovich and West, 1989). Early attainment of decoding skill is important because this accurately predicts later skill in reading comprehension (Beck and Juel, 1995).

One way to help children achieve the ultimate goal of reading instruction, to make meaning of text, is to help them achieve automaticity in decoding words (Gaskins et al, 1988). Skilled readers recognize the majority of words they encounter in text quickly and accurately, independent of context (Cunningham, 1975-76; Stanovich, 1984). The use of graphophonic cues (knowledge of sound-spelling relationships) facilitates word recognition abilities. In fact, a child's word recognition speed in first grade was found to be a strong predictor of reading comprehension ability in second grade (Lesgold and Resnick, 1982; Beck and Juel, 1992).

However, the inability to automatically recognize frequently encountered words affects reading in the following ways (Royer and Sinatra, 1994):

1. Since words can be stored in working memory for only a limited amount of time (approximately 10-15 seconds), slow decoding can result in some words "decaying" before a meaningful chunk of text can be processed.

2. Devoting large amounts of mental energy to decoding words leaves less mental energy available for higher-level comprehension. This can result in comprehension breakdowns.

#5: Good Decoders Rely Less on Context Clues Than Poor Decoders
Good readers rely less on context clues than poor readers do because their decoding skills are so strong (Gough and Juel, 1991). It's only when good readers can't use their knowledge of sound-spelling relationships to figure out an unfamiliar word that they rely on context clues. In contrast, poor readers, who often have weak decoding skills, overrely on context clues to try to make meaning of text (Nicholson, 1992; Stanovich, 1986). Any reader, strong or weak, can use context clues only up to a certain point. It has been estimated that only one out of every four words (25%) can be predicted using context (Gough, Alford, and Holley-Wilcox, 1981). The words that are the easiest to predict are function words such as the and an. Content words - the words that carry the bulk of the meaning in a text - are the most difficult to predict. Researchers estimate that content words can be predicted only about 10% of the time (Gough, 1983). A reader needs to use his or her knowledge of phonics (sound-spelling relationships) to decode these words.

"The whole word method (meaning emphasis) may serve a student adequately up to about second grade. But failure to acquire and use efficient decoding skills will begin to take a toll on reading comprehension by grade 3." Jeanne Chall, 1996

#6: The Reading Process Relies on a Reader's Attention to Each Letter in a Word
Eye-movement studies have revealed that skilled readers attend to almost every word in a sentence and process the letters that compose each word (McConkie and Zola, 1987). Therefore, reading is a "letter-mediated" rather than a "whole-word-mediated" process (Just and Carpenter, 1987). Prior to these findings, it was assumed that readers did not process each letter in a word, rather recognized the word based on shape, a few letters, and context.

Research has also revealed that poor readers do not fully analyze words; for example, some poor readers tend to rely on initial consonant cues only (Stanovich, 1992, Vellutino and Scanlon, 1987). Therefore, phonics instruction should help to focus children's attention on all the letters or spellings that make up words and the sounds each represents by emphasizing the full analysis of words. In addition, phonics instruction must teach children strategies to use this information to decode words. This attention to the spelling patterns in words is necessary for the reader to store the word in his or her memory. It also helps the reader to become a better speller because the common spelling patterns of English are attended to to a greater degree and thereby more fully learned (Ehri, 1987).
#7: Phonemic Awareness Is Necessary for Phonics Instruction to Be Effective
Before children can use a knowledge of sound-spelling relationships to decode words, they must understand that words are made up of sounds (Adams, 1990). Many children come to school thinking of words as whole units - cat, dog, run. Before they can learn to read, children must realize that these words can be broken into smaller units - and sounded out. Phonemic awareness is the understanding, or insight, that a word is made up of a series of discrete sounds. Without this insight, phonics instruction will not make sense to children. Some students with weak phonemic awareness skills are able to make it through the first couple years of reading instruction by memorizing words. This strategy breaks down when the number of unique words in text increases in grades three and up. Therefore, if weak phonemic awareness skills are not detected and corrected, these students may enter the intermediate grades with a very serious reading deficit.
#8: Phonics Instruction Improves Spelling Ability
Reading and writing are interrelated and complementary processes (Pinnell, 1994). Whereas phonics is characterized by putting together sounds to form words that are printed, spelling involves breaking down spoken words into sounds in order to write them. To spell, or encode, a word a child must map a spelling onto each sound heard in the word.

Spelling development lags behind reading development. A word can generally be read before it can be spelled. The visual attention a child needs to recognize words is stored in his or her memory. This information - the knowledge of the spelling patterns of English, also known as orthographic knowledge - is used to spell. Spelling, however, requires greater visual recall than reading and places higher demands on memory.

Good spellers are generally good readers because spelling and reading share an underlying knowledge base. Poor readers, however, are rarely good spellers. Phonics is a particularly powerful tool in improving spelling because it emphasizes spelling patterns, which become familiar from reading. Studies show that half of all English words can be spelled with phonics rules that relate one letter to one sound. Thirty-seven percent of words can be spelled with phonics rules that relate groups of letters to one sound. The other thirteen percent must be learned by memorization. Good spellers have not memorized the dictionary; they apply the phonics rules they know and have a large store of sight words.

Writing, in turn, supports a child's reading development because it slows the process by focusing the child's attention on how print works. Poor spellers experience difficulties in both writing and reading. Poorly developed spelling ability also hinders vocabulary development (Adams, Treiman, and Pressley, 1996; Read, 1986).
#9: A Teacher's Knowledge of Phonics Affects His or Her Ability to Teach Phonics
A teacher's knowledge of phonics has a strong effect on his or her ability to teach phonics (Carroll, 1990; Moats, 1995). This knowledge of the English language enables the teacher to choose the best examples for instruction, to provide focused instruction, and to better understand students' reading and writing errors in relationship to their developing language skills. I highly recommend that all teachers take a basic course in phonics or linguistics to gain further insights into our language that can be used in the classroom in productive and purposeful ways.
#10: Knowledge of common syllable patterns and structural analysis (affixes, roots) improves students' ability to read, spell, and learn the meanings of multisyllablic words.
For many children, reading long words is an arduous task. Explicit instruction in the six common spelling patterns, the most common syllable types (e.g., VCe, VCCV,), prefixes, suffixes, roots, and word origins helps students recognize larger word chunks that makes decoding easier and aids in figuring out a word's meaning. For example, it may be efficient for a student to decode text containing simple CVC words such as cat and ran sound by sound, it is not efficient to decode text containing words such as transportation and unhappy sound by sound. Rather, it is more efficient to recognize common word parts such as trans, port, tion, un, and happy and blend these larger chunks to sound out the word.
Here are some helpful articles and videos about phonics . . .
http://teacher.scholastic.com/reading/bestpractices/phonics/questionstranscripts.htm
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/teaching-phonics-wiley-blevins
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/frequently-asked-questions-about-phonics
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/resfound.htm
Here are some of my favorite web sites . . .
Scholastic (for Parents): www.scholastic.com/parents/
Scholastic (for Teachers): http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/
Reading Rockets (for Parents and Teachers): http://www.readingrockets.org/
The Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI): http://www.scbwi.org/
Disney's Family Fun: http://familyfun.go.com/
Q & A
Do you have a question for me about teaching your child to read? If so, email me and I will post your question and answer.

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teaching phonics and word study in the intermediate grades

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phonemic awareness activities for early reading success

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Wiley Blevins Author " Page Not Found " Phonics: Ten Important Research Findings

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Countless research studies have been conducted on phonics instruction. Much of this research has focused on the usefulness of phonics instruction and the best ways to teach children about sound-spelling relationships. Below is a list of ten of the top research findings regarding phonics.

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1. Read through Current Mission, Essential Agreements about Literacy.  

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1. Read through Current Mission, Essential Agreements about Literacy.  

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What Should Morphology Instruction Look Like?

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What Should Morphology Instruction Look Like?

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Are there any resources that provide a list of morphemes to teach at each K-5 grade level? I have been looking for a definitive list of morphemes that is organized by grade level like the Fry sight word list. I often come across research about how L1 and L2 students acquire morphemes, but I am looking for a list that represents the morphemes that students will most likely see in print at each K-5 grade level. Does anything like that exist? Thank you for your time. Shanahan response:
The short answer to this question is, "No, I don't know of such a list."

But when have I ever been satisfied with the short answer to anything?

Let's make sure we're all in agreement as to what constitutes a morpheme? Basically, a morpheme is the "smallest grammatical unit." It isn't the same thing as a word, and yet many words are morphemes. The distinction turns on whether the unit (the morpheme or word) can stand on its own. Words have to have that kind of independence, while morphemes don't require it.

Thus, bags, trucked, running, and redirect are all words in the English language while bag, s, truck, ed, run, ing, re, and direct are all morphemes. Each morphemic unit carries meaning, but sometimes morphemes can do that independently (bag, truck, run, direct), and sometimes they need to be combined with other morphemes to be considered a word (s, ed, ing, re).

I admitted ignorance on this issue, and I've tried to turn that ignorance to your advantage. I contacted Jeffrey and Peter Bowers. Both are outstanding scholars (Jeff at the University of Bristol in the UK, and Peter at WordWorks Literacy Centre, in Ontario) who are particularly knowledgeable about teaching morphology to improve literacy. They've both published widely on the issue, and both have chided me when they felt I wasn't paying sufficient attention to how words work morphologically. These days I know no one better able to provide you with a thoughtful answer to your question, and boy was I right! I apologize for the poor renditions of the Word Matrix and the Word Sums. I'll be working with my webmaster to get the real graphics in, but in the meantime you can go to the Word Works website to see them in their full glory. http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html
Word Matrix:
A map of a word family Here is Peter Bower's response (with my light editing):
Word Sums: reveal underlying structure of any complex word (a word with more than just a base)

"I have no knowledge of such a list, but I wouldn't recommend one anyway.

"My recommendation based on theory not direct research evidence - is that the main value comes from teaching all or many members of a morphological family at one time with the matrix and word sums (see the attached figure illustrating a matrix and word sum). In the younger grades I start with free bases [those morphemes that stand alone as words], but once that is established, I have no trouble introducing bound bases [the units that can't stand alone]. This relates to the research we cite about the value of studying meaningfully related items at one time rather than disconnected items.

"Instead of a "scope and sequence" of morphemes to teach, what I recommend is starting with words in the children's vocabulary, analyzing such words to find their bases, then looking for other members of that family.

"The point is not that there is a "scope and sequence" of morphemes to teach. Rather there is a kind of a "scope" of orthographic concepts that we want students to learn, and teachers can address those concepts based on whatever words are central to the readings they are introducing to the students.

"A brief list of those concepts that should be taught would include:

Every word is a base or a base with something else (another base or affix)

Bases and affixes (morphemes) are the meaningful building blocks that construct words.

We can analyze complex words into constituent morphemes with word sums and show their interrelationship with a matrix.

English spelling prioritizes consistent spelling of morphemes over consistent pronunciation of morphemes. (This is why we refer to morphemes by their spelling not their pronunciation. The base of the word action is not referred to by the pronunciation of the wordact. Instead it is referred to by its spelling. The base "a - c - t". This is the same as the fact that we don't refer to the <-ed> suffix by one or all of its three pronunciation, we call it by it's spelling "e-d suffix.")

Thus, we need to understand grapheme-phoneme correspondences from within the context of morphological families. (e.g. we learn the phonology of the grapheme by studying morphological families).

There are reliable conventions for the three suffixing conventions.

Studying and understanding the suffixing conventions is not primarily about improving spelling accuracy, it is about being able to analyze hypotheses about connections between words. We can test the hypothesis that "imagine" has a base "image" only if we know vowel suffixes replace final, non-syllabic "e" (image/ + ine -> imagine).

The "structure and meaning test": To determine that two words share a base, we need evidence from both structure (word sum) and meaning (etymology). So with the earlier example of words related to "play" (play, playing, playful, replay, playhouse), we can prove all of those words can be analyzed with word sums with coherent affixes and bases. But we can also show that they all go back to an Old English rootplegan, plegian for "frolic, move rapidly". However, the word "display" which can be analyzed structurally turns outnot to be related. It does not belong in the morphological family with the others because it goes back to a Latin rootplic(ere) for "fold". So to "display" is to "unfold".

"If we are going to teach children how their writing system works, we need to teach them the interrelation of morphology, phonology, and etymology. As we have pointed out, this is why Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is not about "adding" morphological instruction to phonics instruction - its about teaching how the system works. This is why I argue that SWI teaches grapheme-phoneme correspondences more explicitly and accurately than phonics. Phonics instruction (under the definition of associations of pronunciations and letters without reference to morphology or etymology) cannot explain the grapheme-phoneme correspondences in countless words like does or rough or every or homophones, and so on. So many people miss the absolute detail into orthographic phonology that comes with SWI.

"Here are some videos to illustrate my point:

Gr. 2 teacher showing investigations from his class Grade 2 morphology video

Investigating grapheme-phoneme correspondences in a Gr. 1 class - with the context of morphological word sums Grade 1 morphology video

A kindergarten lesson I taught introducing the word sum and matrix that touches on grapheme-phoneme correspondences like the pronunciation of the <-s> suffix for /z/ and /s/ Kindergarten morphology video

"It's as simple as starting with the "known" and then expanding from that. Even if kids know all the words in a morphological family (e.g. play, playing, playful, replay, playhouse) the lesson is not about new vocabulary, but learning how word structure links words. That concept can then be applied anywhere.

"The other thing I keep in mind when choosing morphological families to investigate is the orthographic concepts a family has to offer. If I've established the fact that words that share a base share a spelling and a meaning connection, then I can introduce a base like with words like actor, acting, react, and action as a way to introduce the fact that the pronunciation of morpheme might change but keep the spelling. In that way we learn the phonology of t is not the "t sound", but that the grapheme can write/t/ when that is the appropriate sound. I've attached an example of a lesson I've used for that before.

"I also draw on the <-ed> suffix from early on to highlight this same concept that morphemes do not have pronunciations until they are in a word. The pronunciation of a word like is another useful one to get rid of this idea of a "t sound" since this very common pronunciation of a very common suffix is what is typically thought of the "t sound," but their ain't no /t/!

"And then you also encounter words that give rise to the need to teach all the suffixing changes.
Shanahan again:
"These are concepts teachers need to learn and they can bring into work with their class as they investigate words."

I don't disagree with Peter on any of this, except I'm not as dismissive of the kind of list that you are requesting. I don't see it as mutually exclusive from the curriculum goals that he specified or contradictory of the kind of instruction he described.

Many teachers, when referring to morphology or "structural analysis", actually are talking about affixes alone, and not the bases. If that is the case here, there are some lists like that which present the most common prefixes and suffixes from textbooks in grades 3-9 (White, Sowell, & Yanagihara, 1989). You can easily find those lists on line and you could definitely make use of those lists to make sure that you are hitting all the notes if you do the word sums and matrixes that Peter recommends.

Otherwise, I haven't been able to come up with a graded list of bases for you to use. But I have passed your letter along to my friends at MetaMetrics (the Lexile people) and have asked if they could produce such a list from their language corpus of more than 1 billion words. Stay tuned!

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Morphology Instruction in Reading | Shanahan on Literacy

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Are there any resources that provide a list of morphemes to teach at each K-5 grade level? I have been looking for a definitive list of morphemes that is organized by grade level like the Fry sight word list.

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Morphological Awareness: One Piece of the Literacy Pie

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Morphological Awareness: One Piece of the Literacy Pie

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Morphological awareness is becoming a hot topic. Or at least a warm one. This post from the International Dyslexia Association helps break down morphological awareness as one piece of the literacy pie and how to support students with this critical bridging skill that supports word recognition development and language comprehension.

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Morphological Awareness: One Piece of the Literacy Pie - International Dyslexia Association

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3. Read Articles - Could do this 'jigsaw' style, based on tables...

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3. Read Articles - Could do this 'jigsaw' style, based on tables...

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#3 (Feb 13) What is Advanced Word Study? Keys to Literacy

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#3 (Feb 13) What is Advanced Word Study? Keys to Literacy

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This post from Keys to Literacy helps explain advanced word study and how to support students to grow in their decoding and encoding skills as they progress to more advanced, multisyllabic words.

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Keys to Literacy recently launched its newest professional development program: Advanced Word Study - Grade 4 and Beyond. Sometimes referred to as advanced phonics, instruction for advanced word study teaches students how to read and spell multi-syllable words by using a combination of word analysis that focuses on syllables, and structural analysis that focuses on meaningful units (morphemes - roots, prefixes, suffixes). Learning how to focus on morphemes also helps students determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

During kindergarten through grade 3, students are developing phonemic awareness and learning beginning phonics concepts that support word reading. Because English has an alphabetic written language, these skills are essential for learning how to decode unfamiliar words and develop the ability to use the orthographic mapping process to map and remember thousands of sight words, enabling fluent reading. In a previous post I discussed the value of a phonics scope and sequence that covers phonics concepts from basic letter-sound correspondences in kindergarten to advanced correspondences and learning syllable types in grade 3.

What type of advanced word study instruction do students need beyond grade 3? Students in grade 4 and above who are still having difficulty with basic decoding skills may need supplemental instruction for the basic skills described in the previous paragraph. However, most students beyond grade 3 benefit from instruction that focuses on strategies and practice for reading unfamiliar, multi-syllable words. Ehri's Phases of Word Reading Development (1991) provides a model of how word recognition develops over time. As shown in the graphic below, there are four phases: Pre-alphabetic, Early Alphabetic, Later Alphabetic, and Consolidated Alphabetic. Advanced word study instruction is for students who have reached the Consolidated Alphabetic phase where they are beginning to read fluently by sound, syllable, and morphemes, typically during grade 3 and the start of grade 4. This includes instruction to build automatic recognition of the six syllable types, application of syllable division principles,recognition of morphological (meaningful) units within words, an understanding of the schwa vowel sound in unaccented syllables, and knowledge of spelling rules for adding suffixes.

English is a Morphophonemic Language, Including Words Derived From Greek and Latin
Written English words are comprised of both sound-spelling correspondences and morphemes that provide clues to meaning. We spell by both the sounds in words (phonemes) and the meaning represented in word parts (morphemes). Certain morphemes keep their written spelling even though their phonemic forms change. When the sound in a word changes in a different variation of the word, the spelling does not change. This can be challenging for students when they read or spell more complex words in grade 4 and beyond. For example, read the sample pairs of words below and notice how the spellings for parts of the words stay the same even though the sound changes.

Another challenge for students is that a large percentage of words learned after grade 3 are multi-syllable words derived from Latin and Greek (Carlisle, 2007); 60% of unfamiliar words in middle school books are derived words (Nagy & Anderson, 1984). These words consist of roots that hold the core meaning of the word, and prefixes and suffixes that can alter the meaning or function of a word. Once students begin reading multi-syllable words, they are further challenged by the occurrence of the schwa vowel sound. The schwa is the most common vowel sound in the English language, accounting for 20% of the vowel sounds (Yule, 1996), and it often is the cause of spelling mistakes. The schwa sound is formed with a neutral mouth position, and it replaces a vowel sound in the unaccented syllables of multi-syllable words. It is sometimes called the "lazy" vowel, and can sound like a muffled version of the short u sound or the short i sound, as in the words . It can be spelled with any vowel. See a previous post I wrote about schwa for more details and examples.
Instructional Suggestions
Multi-syllable word reading and spelling is aided by the application of an approach that COMBINES:

Word analysis focused on syllables: breaking words into parts by identifying vowel sounds, applying syllable division rules, saying each part, then putting the parts together to say the word

Structural analysis focused in meaningful units: reading words through recognition of roots, prefixes, and suffixes

Common Core Reading Foundations standard 4.3.a for grade four expects students to "use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllable words in context and out of context."

In order to apply word analysis, students must learn to automatically recognize the six syllable types (closed, open, silent-e, vowel team, vowel-r, and consonant-le). They must also learn how to fluently apply basic syllable division rules, including 1) VCCV, divide between C's (rab/bit); 2) VCV, usually divide before the C, then try after the C (mu/sic, cab/in); 3) words ending in consonant-le - the 3 letters stay together (bub/ble, ri/fle). In order to apply structural analysis, students must learn to recognize roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

Students benefit from learning a routine for "attacking" an unfamiliar, multi-syllable word. Click here to watch a video of a routine offered by PaTTAN of Pennsylvania titled Reading Big Words. The example below of a word analysis routine is from Keys to Literacy's new professional development offering, Advanced Word Study - Grade 4 and Beyond.

To support spelling of multi-syllable words for which a suffix has been added, it is helpful for students to learn the following spelling rules:

Doubling Rule 1-1-1: if a one-syllable base word ends in one consonant with one short vowel before it, double the final consonant of the base word when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. (mad + est = maddest, mad + ly - madly)

Doubling Rule for Two-Syllable Words: two-syllable words double the final consonant before a suffix that begins with a vowel if the second syllable of the word is CVC, and if the stress (accent) falls on the second syllable (admit + ed = admitted, limit + ed = limited)

Silent E Rule: words ending in a silent e drop the e before a suffix beginning with a vowel, but do not drop the e before a suffix beginning with a consonant (hope, hoping, hopeful)

Y Rule: final y after a consonant changes to i before any suffix except one beginning with i (copy/copies/copying)

Teaching Advanced Word Study in Any Subject
While it is typically assumed that the English language arts teacher should be responsible for teaching students these skills, students must read multi-syllable words in every subject. Academic words derived from Latin and Greek appear in all content area text, and it is often the case where science and math present the best opportunities to practice the application of advanced word analysis skills. Every teacher, regardless of the subject-area taught, can play a role in helping students learn to apply advanced word study skills to read, spell, and identify the meaning of unfamiliar, longer words.

References

Carlisle, J.F. (2007). Fostering morphological processing, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension. In R.K. Wagner, A.E. Muse, & K.R. Tannenbaum (Eds.). Vocabulary acquisition: Implications for reading comprehension. New York: The Guilford Press.

Ehri, L. C. (1991). Development of the ability to read words. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, Vol. 2, pp. 383-417). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Nagy, W.E. & Anderson, R.C. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 304-330.

Yule, G. (1996). The study of language (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Joan Sedita

Joan Sedita is the founder of Keys to Literacy and author of the Keys to Literacy professional development programs. She is an experienced educator, nationally recognized speaker and teacher trainer. She has worked for over 35 years in the literacy education field and has presented to thousands of teachers and related professionals at schools, colleges, clinics, and professional conferences.

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What is advanced word study? - Keys to Literacy

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Keys to Literacy recently launched its newest professional development program: Advanced Word Study - Grade 4 and Beyond. Sometimes referred to as advanced phonics, instruction for advanced word study teaches students how to read and spell multi-syllable words by using a combination of word analysis that focuses on syllables, and structural analysis that focuses on meaningful units (morphemes - roots, prefixes, suffixes).

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4. Create We Believe, We Know,  Therefore we will... Statements

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4. Create We Believe, We Know,  Therefore we will... Statements

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Could have table groups do this on large chart paper

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Using Inquiry-Rich Invitations to Ignite Word Learning Across ALL Grades

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Using Inquiry-Rich Invitations to Ignite Word Learning Across ALL Grades

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How do we create a sense of discovery and wonder about language? Consider how this blog post helps us consider how can we balance direct, explicit, sequential, and evidence-based instruction with inquiry?

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Looking to counteract the current level of stress in the classroom? Wondering about ways to reinvigorate spelling and vocabulary learning? Try extending an invitation... specifically, an invitation for students to actively explore and investigate words! Teachers can use open-ended questions to invite students to discover more about featured sounds, letters, patterns, parts, and words! The playfulness inherent in student-directed exploration acts as " learning mise en place," setting the conditions for word learning that sticks. These joyful opportunities are not only beneficial for young word learners. Playful, exploratory learning makes sense and matters for humans of all ages! Through this stance, teachers are able to use inquiry-rich invitations to:

These practices are substantiated by researchers and practitioners. Zaretta Hammond's work teaches that the brain craves and needs students to be active constructors of learning. Peter Gray's researched insights highlight the vast cognitive and socio-emotional benefits of play. Ellin Keene's work aroundengagement echoes the importance of open-ended and student-initiated learning experiences. Kristi Mraz and Stephanie Parsons remind us of how we open access when we build the structure and framework for learning through discovery.

What follows are actionable ideas for infusing inquiry-rich invitations into word study. Each creates opportunities for students to feel invested in learning more about sounds, letters, patterns, parts, and words themselves!
Emerging Word Learners
Emerging word learners are often found in preschools and primary-grade classrooms. They are naturally curious and need little encouragement to wonder and explore. Creating inquiry-rich invitations for these learners usually involves curating open-ended materials (loose parts) and providing opportunities to manipulate, tinker, contemplate, and create. Common examples of open-ended materials include readily-available resources found outside: sticks, pebbles, acorns, and shells. Additionally, other "loose part" options can be found in most early childhood and elementary classrooms: beads, buttons, counters, blocks, and more. For certain word-themed invitations, teachers might also set out images, letter manipulatives, word cards, etc. Prompts and questions (like those listed below) invite students to contemplate ideas and construct learning by purposefully and creatively using the materials that have been set out. Follow-up instruction and feedback then builds upon and enhances all that was initially learned. Balancing opportunities for discovery with explicit teaching results in deeper and more nuanced understanding.
Sample Invitations:
These inquiry-fueled questions encourage learners to explore sounds, letters, names, and resource tools.

What do you notice about the sounds you hear?

What can you discover about these letters?

What can you make with these letters?

How could you sort these... (letters, sounds, words)?

What's the same? What's different? (letters, sounds, words)

When do we see these words? Where could we use them?

Why, how, and when would these tools be useful?

In this classroom, content-aligned Reggio-styled provocations are set out to spark discovery. Students are welcome to explore materials independently or with peers.
Tip: There's no need to purchase anything new. Utilize and repurpose readily available loose parts and/or natural materials. These are perfect for word-themed invitations. This Reggio Routines mini-chart (Koutrakos, 2019) is a student-facing tool that can be shared after introducing this kind of learning to students.
Developing Word Learners
Very often, students in mid and upper elementary grades are actively developing their word knowledge. Since student-initiated discovery builds interest, motivation, and investment, it makes sense that teachers in these settings would also incorporate inquiry-rich invitations into word study. For example, instead of handing students a list of vocabulary words or directing them to look up definitions, students can instead jumpstart meaningful learning by investigating words/word parts and then sharing their findings with classmates. In as little as ten to fifteen minutes, students can explore sounds, recognize patterns, and begin to develop theories. Additionally, these efficient experiences offer the chance to delve into multiple meanings of words, synonyms, antonyms, cognates, and more. In the days that follow, teachers can then capitalize on this momentum by following-up with explicit instruction, guidance, and opportunities for additional practice.
Sample Invitations:
These thought-provoking prompts intend to help students actively investigate prioritized vocabulary, words, spelling patterns, and processes for learning:

How will you explore these (letters, patterns, parts, words)?

What similarities and differences do you see? What could this mean?

What theories can you create (and support) about the letters, sounds, and parts of these words?

What words "go" with this topic? How are they connected? Which are most important?

Are there any more interesting and precise words with very similar meanings? Which words have very different meanings?

How could these discoveries help you as you read? Write?

How could you share what you discovered?

This remote-classroom artifact was created as part of a mini-inquiry that intended to jumpstart initial ideas around inflected endings. First, students had the opportunity to explore ideas and share knowledge. Then, the teacher guided the class as they delved further into learning about these affixes.
Tip: Strategically design prompts: ideally, these invitations are flexible enough to be used - and reused- with a variety of patterns and words. Open-ended questions (like those listed above) encourage students to investigate and discover more about words and word parts. Over time, these often become "habit of mind" questions students ask themselves. These two mini-charts: Sort It! Alike or Different and Question Craze (Koutrakos, 2019) are student-facing tools that can be shared after an introductory lesson on mini-inquiries. They remind students of their role in activating their own learning and supporting peers' understandings.
Extending Word Learners
Although time is always a consideration, perhaps the creative use of each minute is most essential when working with middle schoolers and high schoolers. When teachers have one period to integrate all aspects of literacy, high-impact efficiency matters! Content area teachers are also often looking for ways to support understanding and use of domain-specific vocabulary. Authentically embedding word work into all that's already being done is an effective solution. One example of how to do this is turning "regular" learning stations into conver-stations. For example, in many classrooms, teachers set up different learning experiences, AKA-stations. As students rotate from station to station, small groups actively investigate content area topics by viewing, listening, reading, writing, discussing, building, problem-solving, or creating. With minimal effort, teachers can easily turn these "regular" stations into conver-stations. By doing so, students have repeated and authentic opportunities to infuse domain-specific lingo as they discuss prioritized content- and related wonders, ideas, and takeaways. As an alternative, one station may also simply be presenting an inquiry-rich invitation with some accompanying words to investigate. Less is more: embedding joyful opportunities to explore words never needs to be an extra or add on!

HELPFUL HINT: If the station-rotation model of learning is new for you, check out Dr. Catlin Tucker's work. Her researched suggestions are incredibly smart and especially helpful during times of remote, hybrid, and blended learning.
Sample Invitations:
Extending word learners also benefit from delving into word-themed inquiries. Often, these center around affixes, roots, tone, mood, and content-area vocabulary.

How many ways could you strategically sort and categorize these... (patterns, affixes, parts, words)?

What theories can you create about the patterns and parts within these words? How might you clarify, substantiate, or extend these theories?

What other "related" words can you discover? How are they connected? What similarities and differences do you notice?

Where and when will you use what you discovered?

What feelings did you get as you read this piece? What words helped to create that feeling?

What words are closely connected to this topic? What words keep coming up in your conversation/reading/writing? Why?

How do you want your reader to react? How could you create this tone? What words will you choose?

How could your discoveries contribute to the learning of your classmates?

"Which One Doesn't Belong" is a playful critical thinking routine where students choose which option they believe does not fit - and explain why. It's important to note that each option represents a correct answer because there are reasons why each could be the outlier. This reading-themed "Which One Doesn't Belong" conver-station was used to help students collaboratively explore different genres and formats of texts... and the academic language aligned to each. A Final Note
Tip: Use ongoing, embedded collaborative inquiry to build community and collective capacity. This Talkin The Talk mini-chart (Koutrakos, 2019) provides a basic understanding of what students do at conver-stations. This Show Off mini-chart (Koutrakos, 2019) is a student-facing tool that can be shared with students after introducing different ways for classmates to teach others what they have learned.

Student-driven discovery changes the tone of a classroom. The engagement, excitement, and investment that result from this kind of word play are hard to replicate. Gained insights are vital contributors to overall success. However, please know that these inquiry-rich invitations don't stand on their own. Teachers also need to strategically nurture, nudge, and deepen initial discoveries. This happens through modeling, direct instruction, and loads of along-the-way feedback. It is the combination of discovery, explicit teaching, and guided learning that yield a deep understanding of the why, what, and how of words and the know-how in how to apply and transfer word knowledge. A commitment to shared ownership recognizes that all members of a class community have the right and responsibility to contribute to collective learning.

Celebrate the synergy and spirit created through inquiry-rich, collaborative classroom experiences. Widen your lens and reimagine the possibilities for word study. When teachers highlight joy and center students as activators of learning, they simultaneously bolster understanding and create more long lasting success.

Pam Koutrakos is an educational consultant with Gravity Goldberg, LLC where she works with students, teachers, and administrators PreK- grade 12. She authored Word Study That Sticks: Best Practices K-6 and The Word Study That Sticks Companion: Classroom-Ready Tools for Teachers and Students, K-6. Both include ideas, lessons, resources, and tools for teachers of all subjects. Her third professional text is slated to be released in the coming months. Connect with Pam on Twitter @PamKou and on LinkedIn.

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Using Inquiry-Rich Invitations to Ignite Word Learning Across ALL Grades

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By Pam Koutrakos Looking to counteract the current level of stress in the classroom? Wondering about ways to reinvigorate spelling and vocabulary learning? Try extending an invitation... specifically, an invitation for students to actively explore and investigate words! Teachers can use open-ended questions to invite students to discover more about featured sounds, letters, patterns, parts,...

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5. Gallery Walk of Statement Posters. Jot down trends. 

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5. Gallery Walk of Statement Posters. Jot down trends. 

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from Tim Rasinksi

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Missing Foundations in Teacher Education

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Missing Foundations in Teacher Education

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Moats, L.C.