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There are 5 main areas within the science of reading:

1. Phonological awareness

2. Phonics

3. Vocabulary

4. Fluency

5. Comprehension

Onset-Rime:

1. the onset is the syllable that comes before the vowel

2. the rime is the vowel and the everything after it

Phonemes:

1. Means "sound"

Morphemes:

1. The meaningful parts of words

Free Morphemes:

1. Stand alone as words

Bound Morphemes:

1. Must be attached to or bound to another morpheme to make words

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Science of Reading is a body of research from many fields. These field's explain how people learn to read and what practices are most effective. A key take away for me was learning that learning to read must be explicitly taught. This is not like talking where you just develop it overtime. This helped me understand why systematic and structed instruction especially in areas like phonological awareness and phonics is essential for all learners. I also realized the importance of using evidence based practices rather than relying on assumptions or traditions is especially important in the classroom.

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-Print awareness is one of the earliest introductions to literacy. This includes the understanding of how to hold a book, that print conveys meaning, and which direction printed text should be read.

-Letter knowledge includes knowing the names and the shapes of the letters as well as knowing the sound each letter represents.

-Phonological awareness is the understanding that speech flow can be broken into smaller units of speech like words, syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes.

-Print referencing is a read-aloud strategy that can be used to direct students' attention to the forms, features, and functions of written language.

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By the end of Kindergarten a students:

knows the parts of a book and how books are held and read

identifies a book's title and understands what authors and illustrators do

follows print from left to right and from top to bottom

understands the relationship between print and pictures

understands that the message of most books is in the print not the pictures

knows the difference between letters and words

knows that sentences in print are made up of separate words

knows that there are spaces between words in print

knows that print represents spoken language and contains meaning

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Early Literacy: Learn How Books Work | Print Awareness | Learn To Read By: Go Hairy Phonics

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Early Literacy: Learn How Books Work | Print Awareness | Learn To Read

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When I was learning about print awareness, I didn't fully realize how much it shapes a child's early reading experience. I now know that before children can even begin sounding out words, they have to be able to understand the basic concepts of print such as how books work, where to start reading on a page, that print conveys meaning, and that words are made up of letters and spaces. I read a lot to my nieces and nephews so this is a big take away for me to help them when I read to them. I need to start print referencing by pointing to the words I'm saying to teach them what direction words go in and how you read words on a page.

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Letter Knowledge:

-Recognize letter names (uppercase and lowercase).

-Identify the sounds associated with letters (letter‑sound correspondences).

-Understand that letters are symbols that represent individual sounds in spoken language.

Why letter knowledge matters:

-Critical foundational skill for learning to read: Without knowing letters and their sounds, children cannot decode words effectively.

-Helps with emergent reading: It supports decoding, phonics, and later, word recognition and fluency.

-Predicts early reading success: Children who are strong in letter name & sound knowledge tend to learn reading more quickly and with fewer errors.

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How to Write Letters for Children - Teaching Writing ABC for Preschool - Alphabet for Kids

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Before diving into this topic, I thought of letter knowledge simply as "knowing the alphabet." However, I now understand that it’s much deeper than that. It involves recognizing both uppercase and lowercase letters, knowing their corresponding sounds, and understanding that letters represent the sounds in spoken language. One of the most impactful takeaways for me was how strong letter knowledge is a key predictor of future reading success. I was surprised to learn just how early these skills need to be developed and how much they influence a child’s ability to decode and make meaning from text later on. It made me reflect on how critical the pre-K and kindergarten years are for laying a solid foundation in literacy. Learning about instructional strategies such as teaching letter names and sounds together, using multisensory activities, and gradually introducing letters rather than all at once gave me practical tools I could use in a future classroom. I also appreciated the emphasis on recognizing common challenges like letter reversals such as (b vs d) or confusion between similar sounds (c and k) , and how to support students through those. Overall, this chapter reminded me that reading is not a skill students “just pick up” it must be taught, and Letter Knowledge is one of the first building blocks. I now feel more prepared to help young learners develop these essential skills and set them on the path to becoming confident readers.

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Phonological Awareness
The broad umbrella term for the awareness of the sound structure of spoken language. It includes the ability to recognize and manipulate larger units of sound: words, syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes.

Phonemic Awareness
A subset of phonological awareness. It refers specifically to the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.

-Phonemic awareness is oral and auditory. It does not involve letters or print.

-It is a strong predictor of reading success, especially decoding ability.

-Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on one or two types of manipulation (e.g., blending and segmenting).

-It can be developed through explicit teaching and play-based activities like rhyming, clapping syllables, and sound games.

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Let's Learn SEGMENTING WORDS {Phonemic Awareness}

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I have come to fully appreciate the foundational role of phonological and phonemic awareness in learning to read. These skills are not just a stepping stone in early literacy, they are the base where all reading success is built. Through my studies and classroom experiences, I have learned that phonological awareness is a broad term that encompasses the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken language. This includes word awareness, syllables, onsets and rimes, and finally, phonemes. Phonemic awareness, on the other hand, is more specific. It refers to the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) within words. Importantly, both are auditory, not visual, skills. This means they can be taught and practiced entirely without the use of letters or print.

One of the most eye opening moments for me was realizing just how strongly phonemic awareness predicts reading success, especially in decoding unfamiliar words. Struggling readers often lack this awareness, and without it phonics instruction becomes less effective. Before students can map sounds to letters, they need to be able to hear and manipulate the sounds themselves. This insight will forever shape the way I approach literacy instruction in my classroom.

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-Phonics is the connection between letters and sounds. It teaches students how letters and letter combinations represent the sounds of spoken language.

-Phonics helps with decoding. Students use phonics skills to sound out unfamiliar words when reading.

-There are different types of phonics instruction. Examples include synthetic phonics (building words from individual sounds) and analytic phonics (analyzing whole words to detect patterns).

-Phonics improves reading fluency. By recognizing letter-sound patterns quickly, students can read more smoothly and accurately.

-Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is most effective. Research shows that teaching phonics in a planned sequence and modeling it directly supports early readers’ success.

-Phonics is not the same as phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds, while phonics connects those sounds to written letters.

-Phonics is foundational for spelling and writing. Knowing how sounds correspond to letters helps students spell words correctly.

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One Syllable Words | Phonics for Kids - Learn To Read | Alphablocks

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Reflecting on my study of phonics, I have gained a deeper understanding of its essential role in developing strong reading and writing skills. Phonics is more than just memorizing letter-sound correspondences. It provides students with a systematic framework to decode unfamiliar words, build fluency, and strengthen spelling. Observing the differences between synthetic and analytic phonics highlighted how instruction can be tailored to meet the needs of individual learners, supporting both early readers and struggling students.

This knowledge has made me more aware of the importance of explicit, systematic phonics instruction in my future classroom. I recognize that students success in reading depends not only on teaching letter-sound patterns but also on modeling strategies, providing guided practice, and gradually releasing responsibility to the students. In my teaching, I plan to integrate frequent phonics practice with meaningful reading and writing activities, ensuring that students see the connection between sounds, letters, and words in authentic contexts. Ultimately, understanding phonics has reinforced the idea that literacy instruction must be intentional and precise, yet responsive to each child’s unique needs. This reflection will guide me to create lessons that are both engaging and effective, building a solid foundation for students lifelong reading and writing development.

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-Irregular words are words that cannot be fully decoded using standard phonics rules because one or more of their letters or letter combinations do not follow predictable patterns, such as said, of, or come.

-Permanent irregular words must be memorized because they will not follow regular phonics patterns, like said, does, and put. Temporary irregular words appear irregular only because the student hasn’t mastered a specific phonics pattern yet, like from or have.

-Many irregular words are high-frequency words, meaning they appear often in text and are critical for fluent reading. Rapid recognition of these words helps improve reading speed and comprehension.

-Teaching strategies for irregular words include the spell-out strategy, which focuses on mapping letters to sounds and memorizing irregular parts; word-chaining, which breaks the word into smaller, familiar patterns; and multisensory practice like writing, tracing, skywriting, or games such as Word Fishing or Rainbow Writing.

-Irregular words are challenging because students cannot always sound them out, so repeated exposure and memorization are essential. Students’ prior oral vocabulary also affects how easily they learn these words.

-Teachers often use fluency checks, sight word lists, or interactive games to assess mastery of irregular words.

-Mastery of irregular words is essential for reading fluency, comprehension, and confidence in early literacy. Students who struggle with these words may read more slowly and experience frustration.

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Learning about irregular word reading has been eye opening for me as an aspiring educator. Before diving into this topic, I often thought that all words could be taught through phonics and decoding strategies alone, but I now understand that irregular words require a different approach. These words do not always follow predictable letter-sound patterns, which means students must memorize them and practice them in multiple ways to achieve fluency. I was particularly struck by the distinction between permanent and temporary irregular words. Some words, like said or does, will always need to be learned by heart, while others, like from or have, may seem irregular only until students’ phonics skills develop further.

Exploring the strategies for teaching these words, such as the spell-out strategy, word-chaining, and multisensory activities like Word Fishing, helped me see how creative and engaging instruction can support mastery. I realized that irregular words are not just a challenge for students; they are an opportunity for teachers to reinforce reading fluency, build confidence, and support comprehension. Reflecting on this, I feel more prepared to intentionally introduce high-frequency irregular words in a structured, supportive way, and I understand that repeated practice, modeling, and hands-on activities are key to helping students succeed. This learning has reminded me that teaching reading is as much about strategy and creativity as it is about rules, and that meeting students’ needs requires patience, awareness, and flexibility.

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-Multisyllabic words are words that have two or more syllables, which are the individual beats or sound units in a word. -Every syllable contains at least one vowel sound, so knowing where the vowels are helps students divide and decode the words correctly.

-Understanding the six syllable types closed, open, silent-e, vowel team, r-controlled, and consonant-le supports students in reading longer words accurately.

-Breaking words into syllables improves reading fluency because students can decode each chunk separately and then blend the syllables together, making longer words less intimidating. This skill also helps with pronunciation and spelling, as segmenting words teaches students where to double consonants or add endings like -ing or -ed.

-Common patterns in multisyllabic words include prefix plus base word, as in “unhappy,” base word plus suffix, as in “careful,” or compound words, as in “notebook.”

-Developing the ability to read multisyllabic words also supports vocabulary growth, allowing students to recognize roots, prefixes, and suffixes, which helps them understand new words without memorizing each one individually.

-Mastering multisyllabic words is critical in grades two through five when texts become longer and more complex, including many content-area vocabulary words.

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Reading Multi-Syllable Words {Reading BIG Words}

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Learning about multisyllabic words has given me a deeper understanding of how students approach reading longer, more complex words. I now see that these words are not just longer strings of letters, but a collection of smaller, meaningful units called syllables, each containing at least one vowel sound. Recognizing syllable types such as closed, open, silent-e, vowel team, r-controlled, and consonant-le, is crucial because it provides students with strategies to decode unfamiliar words. Breaking words into syllables makes them less intimidating, supports correct pronunciation, and reinforces accurate spelling. Multisyllabic words often contain prefixes, suffixes, or roots, so teaching students to segment words not only improves their reading but also strengthens their vocabulary and understanding of word meanings.

As I think about my future teaching experiences, I realize how important it will be to explicitly model syllable segmentation and provide guided practice before asking students to apply these skills independently. Using hands-on activities like Map and Swoop will allow students to visualize and physically interact with the syllables in words, making the strategy more concrete. I also understand the need to differentiate instruction, offering support for students who struggle while challenging those who are ready to apply the skill to more complex words. Teaching multisyllabic words is not just about reading fluency, it is about giving students the tools to approach language with confidence, to break down new words, and to become independent readers. By incorporating these strategies into my classroom, I hope to foster a love of reading while equipping students with lifelong decoding skills.

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-Spanish has a transparent alphabetic system: most letters make one consistent sound.

-Vowels always have the same sound: a, e, i, o, u.

-Only a few letters change sound based on context (like c, g, and r).

-There are very few irregular words, so decoding is mostly sound-based rather than memorized.

-Instruction begins with simple, continuous sounds: m, p, s, t, l, n and the five vowels.

-Then students learn predictable digraphs and blends like ch, ll, qu, br, tr, pl.

-More complex or less frequent letters (like j, ñ, k, w, x) come later.

-Because the spelling system is regular, students learn to decode earlier and more reliably.

-Spanish syllables are highly predictable, making segmentation easier than in English.

-Most common syllables are:

CV (consonant–vowel): ma, pe, si

CVC: sol, pan

V: a, o

-Spanish rarely breaks natural consonant blends (like pl, br, tr).

-Every syllable has one vowel sound, no schwa, and few silent letters.

-Consistent letter–sound relationships support strong phonics, decoding, and phonological awareness.

-Understanding Spanish structure helps teachers anticipate transfer strengths (like early decoding) and differences that can affect English reading (such as English’s irregular vowels and schwa).

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Magic E (CVCe) Syllables {Syllable Types}

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One of the biggest moments for me was noticing how important vowels are in Spanish. Because each vowel has only one main sound, I learned to slow down and pay attention to every syllable. Breaking words apart, like ca-sa, ma-no, or es-cu-cha—helped me understand how rhythm and pronunciation work together. This made reading out loud feel smoother and less intimidating.

As I kept practicing, I began to recognize familiar patterns, like how “ll” sounds like /y/ or how “qu” is used before e and i. These small discoveries made Spanish feel more approachable. Each time a word “clicked,” I felt a sense of progress and pride.

Overall, learning these things for Spanish has helped me become a more attentive reader. It taught me to look for patterns, trust the sounds, and enjoy the process of understanding a new language. It’s still challenging at times, but each step has strengthened my confidence and my appreciation for Spanish.