The ability to decode or sound out words forms the foundation of efficient reading. Most readers simply cannot memorize every word they will ever encounter, and so need to have a strategy to figure out unfamiliar words quickly and easily. Phonics and word attack skills are the most effective systems for decoding new words, but some students have difficulty learning to apply the rules.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness forms the foundation for later understanding and use of phonics. This set of skills is the understanding that words are made of smaller units of sound represented by letters, syllables and letter clusters. Weak phonemic awareness skills cause struggling readers to have difficulty with sound sequence, omissions or insertions. Check phonemic awareness skills by asking the student to add, omit or change specific sounds in the beginning, middle and end of words. For example, "Say 'nap' without the /p/ sound" or "What word will you have if you leave the /d/ sound off of 'door'?" Students should also be able to manipulate syllables, as in "Say 'doghouse' without the 'house'" or "Take 'bow' off of 'rainbow' and put 'cloud' there instead."
Phonics Knowledge
Knowledge of phonics is the understanding of the connections between letters and their placement within words and the sounds they make. The earliest phonics skills include connections between letters and their primary sounds, such as the /b/ sound being represented by the letter B. Inexperienced readers sometimes insert an unnecessary /uh/ sound after isolated consonant sounds, as in /muh/ instead of /m/ for the letter M. This can interfere with sounding out words and should be corrected. Later, students learn rules such as final silent E generally causes the medial vowel to take its long sound or say its name. Phonics skills also allow readers to recognize syllable patterns such as the closed consonant-vowel-consonant pattern that indicates the medial vowel will be short. Check phonics skills by having the student read nonsense groups of letters that demonstrate phonics concepts, such as "fap" and "mishtope."
Sequencing
To sound out words effectively, readers must be able to hold the sequence of letters in mind while each is decoded and say all of the sounds quickly to decode the word as a whole. A reading student who has difficulty with sequencing will frequently confuse internal letters, reading "framer" for "farmer," for example. Check sequencing skills by asking students to read words with five or more phonemes and see if they confuse internal sounds on any of them.
Fluency and Speed
To read meaningfully, students must read fluently. A student who spends noticeable time sounding out words frequently has greater difficulty comprehending the passage. Therefore, the application of phonics rules must become automatic instead of a laborious process that requires conscious thought. Evaluate a reader's fluency and speed by having the student read a passage of several hundred words while being timed. Calculate the number of words read per minute, and compare the score to grade level standards.
References
- "Phonemic Awareness: Playing with Sounds to Strengthen Beginning Reading Skills"; Jo Fitzpatrick; 1997
- "Reading Reflex: The Foolproof Phono-Graphix Method of Teaching Your Child to Read"; Carmen McGuinness and Geoffrey McGuinness; 1998
- "Wilson Reading System Instructor Manual;" Barbara A. Wilson; 1996
- "Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing"; Wilma H. Miller; 1995
