1. The skill assessed is phonemic segmentation fluency.

2. The student got a total of 23 correct which is a below average percentile interpretation.

3. The student's risk status determines that strategic support is likely needed. I believe that I would start with activities like blending syllables to make a word and saying individual phonemes and having him say the word it makes. Through the other assessments, it shows that he does well at saying whole words but not parts of a word. Another activity to try is build-a-word to try to become familiar with each individual sound that makes up a word.

1. The skill assessed was Phonemic Segmentation Fluency.

2. Overall, the student performed strongly across the different sections, but PSF was significantly lower than all the other sections assessed. The student's score indicated some risk and needing strategic support.

3. Moving forward, segmenting instruction would be best to help support the student and allow them time to practice and build up this skill. We could try an activity with slider chips and a placemat for the chips to be slid onto. I will say a word, and the student will slide a chip to a box for each sound they hear. This allows the student to focus on the sounds they hear and not the letters they see.

I used the student from the DIBELS practice videos as I haven't begun to work individually with my student.

1. Letter Naming Fluency.

2. The student was able to finish almost 60 letter names in a minute, which in benchmarks would place him above average.

3. However, I was surprised that he had 5 errors. Were the inaccuracies due to speed or nervousness? I'd want to revisit those letters to make sure there isn't an issue there first. I liked the idea of having the student go "letter fishing" and then name each letter he catches. Determine if there really are any deficiencies.

1. Letter Naming Fluency.

2. The student had a raw score of 53. He is about at average with his percentile interpretation. He is also at a minimal risk with only core support.

3. He seemed to mainly mess up on letters that were very similar in shape - so I'm wondering if it will just be something that when he slows down and pays closer attention that it will be corrected. like the J being mistaken for an I which is very similar. I would have the student go over more "similar" letters and find a game or activity for that!

The boy in the videos did really well overall. He correctly named 53 letters in one minute, which shows strong fluency and automaticity. In the phonemic segmentation task, he identified 25 sounds correctly, which is just a bit below the benchmark, but still solid. You could tell he was confident with letters and reading short words, but he slowed down a bit when it came to breaking words into individual sounds.

If this were my student, I'd keep up the regular classroom reading instruction, but also add short, playful activities to strengthen his phonemic awareness. For example, clapping or tapping out sounds, or using picture cards to segment words. Since I plan to teach kindergarten, I'd want this to feel fun and interactive so it doesn't feel like "drill work." Little games like that can make a big difference for kids who are close to mastering those early skills.

EDUC-421: Preschool and Beginning Reading Skills

October 5, 2025

1. Skill Assessed: Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF) – This skill measures a student’s ability to break spoken words into individual phonemes, which is foundational for decoding and spelling.

2. Student’s Performance: I observed the student in the DIBELS practice video. He correctly segmented 23 phonemes in one minute, which places him below benchmark and indicates a need for strategic support. While he showed confidence in naming whole words, he struggled to isolate individual sounds, especially in words with blends or final consonants. His pace was steady, but he occasionally paused or guessed, suggesting limited automaticity with sound segmentation.

3. Next Instructional Move: To support this student, I would implement targeted phonemic awareness activities that emphasize sound isolation and manipulation. My next steps include:

• Elkonin Boxes with Slider Chips: I’ll say a word aloud (e.g., “cat”), and the student will slide a chip into a box for each sound they hear: /c/ /a/ /t/. This tactile approach reinforces sound mapping without relying on print.

• Tap and Say Routine: Using fingers or tapping tools, the student will tap once for each sound in a word. This builds auditory discrimination and kinesthetic memory.

• Picture-Sound Matching: I’ll use cards with images and have the student segment the word (e.g., “dog” → /d/ /o/ /g/) and match each sound to a corresponding letter or sound card.

• Daily Warm-Ups: Begin each lesson with 3–5 minutes of oral phonemic segmentation practice using high-frequency CVC words. Keep it playful and fast-paced to build fluency.

(Sorry for the late post, this is the second time that I've pressed the "plus" button and not the "submit" button :-)

1. Phonemic Segmentation Fluency

2. Student answered 23 phonemes correctly which places him below the benchmark and at the “some risk” status.

3. Based on the rest of the student’s performance throughout the rest of the DIBELS assessment, I think specific practice with phoneme sounds would be most beneficial. The student seemed to struggle most with separating phonemes into individual sounds. With this, flashcards practicing this exact assessment would be effective. The student would be timed for 1 minute and compete against themselves to see how many words they could correctly separate into phonemes. I did an activity similar to this with a 4th grader and trying to beat his personal record for a Jolly Rancher was excellent motivation.