Strategies:

1.       Count Words in a Sentence

2.       Count Syllables / Identify First, Middle, and Last Syllables

3.       Blend onset - rimes / Do Rhyming Words

 

Phonemic awareness is a skill that has a directly effect reading and writing outcomes. Students gains awareness from seeing and hearing. As students’ skills grow with awareness, their ability to recognize printed words will get better.

Strategies:

1.       Synthetic Phonics - Decode by blending sounds.

2.       Embedded Phonics – Decode letter sounds through reading.

3.       Onset-rime Phonics – Identify the 1^st sound and the sound of the remaining part.

Phonics help students to recognized letters and their sounds, blend those sounds, and decode words. Having the skill to decode words helps with improving word recognition. The more words a student can recognize, the more fluent they become at reading.

Strategies:

1.       Student / Adult Read – Adult read 1^st, then student read the same text getting help when needed.

2.       Choral Read – Student read along as a group with an adult.

3.       Audio Assist Reading – Read along in books with an audio recording.

Due to fluent readers having the skills to recognize and quickly decode words while reading, they create an opportunity for themselves to focus on the meaning of the text being read. A fluent reader can connect information from the text with prior knowledge to help with understanding. In this stage, reading and comprehending is being done at the same time.

Strategies:

1.       Using Word Parts – Find the meaning of a word through other parts of the word like prefix, suffix, base words, and word roots.

2.       Use Dictionaries / Reference Aids – Use dictionaries to look up and find meaning of words.

3.       Using Context Clues – Find understanding of a word from phrase and sentences around the unknown word.

Vocabulary is a major component in the reading and comprehension process. A student will struggle with comprehension if the student does not know the meaning of most words being read. 

Strategies:

1.       Monitor Comprehension – Self monitoring help students figure out where the breakdown is happening in their comprehension.

2.       Use Graphic Organizers – Helps students focus on text and create well organized summaries.

3.       Summarizing – Identify and connect the main ideal.

While students are getting better with comprehension through reading, they can also use writing about the text to gain the skill to analyze reading content. When students’ comprehension skills improve, fluency improves with it. Fluency and vocabulary improve when phonemic awareness and phonics skills get better. It’s a cycle that each pillar has to rely on another for the students to get better at reading and writing.

Read Naturally (2021) Essential Components of Reading.                  

https://www.readnaturally.com/research/5-components-of-reading#:~:text=Phonics,to%20read%20and%20spell%20words.

 

Reading Rocket (n.d.) Phonological awareness and phonemic awareness: what’s the difference?

https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/modules/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness-introduction#:~:text=Phonological%20awareness%20is%20the%20ability,blending%20and%20segmenting%20onset%2Drimes.

 

Reading Rocket (n.d.) Fluency. https://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/fluency

 

Victoria State Govt. (2021) Literacy Teaching Toolkit Comprehension.

 

Victoria State Govt. (2021) Literacy Teaching Toolkit Vocabulary.

https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/readingviewing/Pages/litfocusvocab.aspx#:~:text=Page%20Content,(word%2Fsemantic%20relationships).