Foundational Skills

2
 What is Phonics?

 Relationship between sounds (phonemes) and

corresponding written spelling patterns (graphemes)

 Encoding and Decoding

 Instruction for helping students convert printed words

into spoken language and understand the alphabetic
principle

 MEANS to an end
Ehri’s Phases of Word Recognition Development

Pre-Alphabetic Phase
“read” visual cues

Partial Alphabetic Phase

Some sound/spelling

Full Alphabetic Phase

Most common sound/spelling

Consolidated Alphabetic Phase

Chunks of letters within words

Automatic Phase
Proficient word reading

(Ehri, 1995, cited in Honig et al., 2008))

Stages of Word Recognition

1. Non-accurate

2. Accurate but not Automatic

3. Accurate and Automatic

(Samuels, 2002)
Adam’s (1990) Model of Skilled Reading

Context Processor
(Constructs coherent
interpretation of text)

Semantic Processor
(Determines correct
meanings)

Orthographic Processor Phonological Processor

(Analyzes visual print (Analyzes speech
information) sounds)

Print Speech
Approaches to Phonics Instruction

1. Synthetic

2. Analytic

3. Analogy

4. Embedded
Synthetic: Teacher explicitly introduces a new sound and students
blend this sound, with previously taught sounds, to decode new
words.

Analytic: Students read a known word “train” and the teacher

introduces the sound /ai/ to be applied to unfamiliar words
containing that sound.

Analogy: Students knows the phonogram –ain in words like train

and rain. Now, students decode the unfamiliar term brain, which
contains the same pattern.

Embedded: Phonic elements are introduced incidentally within the

context of reading text.
 A Great Debate…

Direct Instruction in Phonics Whole Language

Emphasized
need for code Embedded
based phonics
instruction in
instruction in
the context of
phonics. authentic
reading and
writing
experiences
“Perhaps the most widely respected value of letter-sound
instruction is that it provides students with a means of deciphering
written words that are visually unfamiliar”
--Marily Jager Adams
The Alphabetic Principle
 Letter-Sound Associations
Mnemonic Pictorial Aids

 children taught with

integrated mnemonics learned
more letter-sound associations
and also more letter-picture
associations

 Link unconnected items in

memory
Letter Sound Correspondence

Letter Sound Correspondence Activities

From the Florida Center for Reading Research
www.fcrr.org
 Built on the principles of
synthetic phonics, Teach Your
Monster to Read is a game based
learning tool for students to
practice blending and
segmenting to develop accuracy
and speed of letter recognition.

http://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/
One size does not fit all…
• Systematic phonics programs are significantly
more effective than non-phonics approaches
(National Reading Panel, 2000)

• The superiority of a particular program, or

approach, has not been supported in research
to date. (Stahl, Duffy-Hester, &Stahl, 1998)
• Some instructional programs combine
approaches.
• The approach, or combined approaches, an
educator chooses will depend on the reader,
the task, and the context.
 Systematic Instruction
• Logical Sequence

• Simple to Complex

• Build on previous skills (scaffolding model)

Conclusions about systematic
phonics instruction:

1. It is effective in various settings (e.g. small group,

whole group)
2. Early instruction, during Kindergarten and 1 st grade,
is highly beneficial
3. It is an effective form of remediation and prevention
of reading difficulties for at-risk, and those of various
socioeconomic backgrounds
4. It does not interfere with reading comprehension;
findings suggest it can enhance it.
 PLC DISCUSSION

Think about the phonics approaches/programs you are currently

using.

1. What research base do they seem to have?

2. Do they combine phonics with phonemic awareness, or, do they

combine approaches to phonics instruction?

3. How well do they reflect the conclusions, drawn from research,

about how children learn phonics?
Word Identification and Word Building
Word Identification Strategies

 facilitate decoding

 Language patterns

 Rule breakers
 Word
Identification
Strategies
1. Phonics (e.g. long and short vowel patterns, consonant
blends, digraphs)

2. Structural Analysis Readers examine the morphological

structures in words to determine pronunciation and
meaning (e.g. affixes added to roots change meaning).

3. Syllabication Readers use knowledge about syllables to

chunk words into manageable units during the decoding
process.
 Blending Routines
Use synthetic phonics methods to help students blend and pronounce words independently.

 Sound by Sound
 Continuous
 Whole Word
 Spelling Focused
 Sound by Sound Blending

/t/
s /ssss/
sat

/sssaaat/
sa /aaa/
sat

sat
sa /sssaaa/
sat

sat
 Continuous Blending with CVC words

sat /sss/

/sssaaa/
sat
Continuous Blending Video

/sssaaat/
sat

sat
sat
 Whole Word Blending
rope /r/

/oooo/
rope

/p/
rope

rope
rope
Spelling Focused Blending

/e/

read

read

read
 Decoding By Analogy

Readers apply known spelling patterns to decode

unfamiliar words (Adams, 1990)
Students use:

A familiar word... action

with a familiar spelling pattern -tion
to decode an unfamiliar word
attention
 Word Detectives

This approach uses a method of decoding by analogy in which

students segment key words into sounds, compare sounds to
letters, and determine which letters match the sounds.
(Irene Gaskins, 2004)

Word Detectives Article and Description

PLC Collaborative Exercise

Divide and Conquer!

Design a lesson based on one of the

instructional ideas on the remaining
slides in this section. Share lessons
with PLCs
 Encoding and Decoding Activities
From the Florida Center for Reading Research
www.fcrr.org
 n in B o x e s
El ko
Blending and Segmenting with Elkonin Boxes

Elkonin Boxes Video Example

Ebook sample lessons

 Onset-Rime Example

One syllable words are broken apart into an opening part (onset)
and the ending part (rime) (Pinnell & Fountas, 1998)

Onset—the consonant, consonant blend, or consonant digraph

before the vowel
Rime –the vowel and everything beyond

To teach the new word stick, introduce the phonogram –ick in a

familiar word (e.g. sick). Then note the similarity in the
phonogram (–ick) in both words. Finally, students will blend –ick
with the onset st- to say the new word.
 Onset-Rime Activities

Pinterest
ReadWriteThink.org
FCRR
Reading Rockets

c- at
b -at
More Classroom Activities

Syllable Patterns and Morpheme Structure

Section 2

WORD BUILDING, WORD WALLS AND

RULE BREAKERS
Word Building Exercises
Encoding and decoding practice through manipulating, sorting, and
building words
 Word Building
Instructional strategy designed by Isabel Beck

Word Building Online Reading

• This approach has shown significant improvements for students in decoding,

comprehension, and phonological awareness (Cunningham, 2011).

• Word building allows students to see the effects on words when we change letters.

• In word building exercises, words are transformed by progressively adding, deleting,

or substituting letters.

• Each word in the sequence varies by one letter

 Word Building
Sample Sequence
Students build new words by changing one sound

ad
mad
had
hat
hit
it
sit

Teachers may challenge students to build as many words as they can, using a
selection of (a) onsets or (b) rimes.
 Word Sorting
Students may sort words according to:
– Beginning or ending sounds
– spelling patterns (e.g. rhyme, vowel patterns)
– Syllable patterns (e.g. type or number)
 Making Words Exercise
1. Manipulate letters to make word
2. Sort words according to rhyme patterns
3. Transfer learning to reading and spelling new words.

Making Words Lesson 1

Youtube
Making Words Lesson 2
TeachersDomain
Rule Breakers
Teaching Irregular
Words
• Introduce irregular words in a
systematic manner, after students
can read CVC words fluently.
• Waiting will ensure that students
are depending on sound patterns
first for decoding, rather than
guessing, or using whole word
decoding strategies first (Carnine
et al. 2006).
WORD WALLS

 An organized collections of words prominently displayed for a purpose.

 A reference for irregularly spelled (but high frequency) words used in
speaking, reading, and writing
 help students see patterns and relationship in words

Tips for Teaching Irregular Words

Word Wall Activities and Examples

Sight Word Games

Dolch Word Lists and Games

Section 3

INTEGRATING SKILLS IN AUTHENTIC

READING AND WRITING EXPERIENCES
 Integrating Skills in Authentic
Reading and Writing Experiences
Quality Phonics Instruction

1. Fosters understanding of the Alphabetic

Principle
2. Incorporates elements of phonemic
awareness
3. Includes frequent practice in reading words
and applying skills learned
4. Leads to automatic word recognition
5. Is one part of a comprehensive reading
program
 Program Evaluation

Effective programs help students understand the

relationship between letters and sounds, and apply
this knowledge in reading and writing situations.
Application of Skills with
Decodable Texts
 Decodable Text

 Students using decodable text early in reading instruction

have a stronger start in reading development (Belvins, 2006).

 Examine text for decodability according to the previously

instructed sound patterns and irregular words.
 The goal of the BeginningReads
Program is to connect student’s oral
language knowledge with written
language. The texts do this by
placing a premium on words that
are both highly concrete and
phonetically regular (TextProject Inc.)

Beginning Reader Texts

Beginning Reads Program

Check it Out!
Access for All Students

Tar Heel Readers include a

collection of free, easy-to-read, and
accessible books on a wide range of
topics. Each book can be speech
enabled and accessed using
multiple interfaces

http://tarheelreader.org/

Check it Out!
Starfall.com is a free application that assists children to
read with phonics. It combines a systematic phonics
approach with phonemic awareness practice.

http://www.starfall.com/
Application of Skills in Writing
 Integrating Skills

Teachers model skill

application during
shared writing tasks.

Students practice by
thinking about known
sound patterns and apply
them during independent
writing tasks.
Putting it all together…
If you are explicitly teaching the phonogram -at

1. You may use a blending approach to explicitly sound out

sample words with this phoneme.

2. Then, students may practice applying the skill in word

building exercises or small group onset-rime activities (e.g.
offerings from FCRR).

3. Next, students may practice fluency with decodable text

containing examples of this phonogram.

4. Finally, students may apply knowledge of this

spelling/sound pattern in writing exercises incorporating
encoding, writing, and proofreading.
 Reading Rockets

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/lesson-plans-and-activities-teaching-phonics

Strategies to Develop Phonics Skills

R eflection

PLC Discussion and collaborative Practice Exercise

1. Think about the methods by which you currently

incorporate phonics instruction. How do you embed skills
within the context of your reading and writing programs?
2. Design a lesson in which phonics skills are taught
explicitly in addition to accommodating time for students
to apply these skills in reading and writing activities.

Be prepared to reflect on these lessons when sharing with

members of your PLC.
Section 4

FLUENCY
FLUENCY
Automatic word recognition and expressive reading.
Fluency
CCSS.RF.4.K
Read emergent reader texts with purpose and understanding
CCSS.RF.4.1-5
Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
What the Research Says…
“Adequate progress in learning to read…
depends on sufficient practice in reading to
achieve fluency with different texts” (p. 4)

Fluent readers read with speed, accuracy,

and proper expression.

Fluency can be fostered through

instruction.

Guided, repeated oral reading procedures

effectively increase fluency and
comprehension.

--National Reading Panel (2000)

A strong correlation exists between fluency and
comprehension
(Allington, 1983; Samuels, 1988, cited in Honig et al., 2008)

Since struggling readers may not gain fluency skills

incidentally, direct instruction is often needed.
(Hudson, Lane, and Pullen, 2005, cited in Honig et al., 2008)

Independent reading practice may not be enough!

 The main goal of reading is comprehension.

Why is decoding automaticity so important for good

comprehension?
 The cognitive demands of reading

1. Decoding
2. Comprehension
3. Attention

Effort toward decoding + Effort toward Comprehension

= Cognitive Load
 Evidence in Research

The Power of Oral Reading Fluency

Excerpt from
National Reading Panel
Report
 p s tu d ents
c an we hel ders?
How luent re a
co m e f
be
READ!

- s k il ls of
ra ct ice s ub
P r eading
flu e nt

e
Motivat h and
s h ig
e xp e ctation
(keep e su cc ess!)
z
recogni

n t r ea ding
lue
Model f a c ti vities
re a d- aloud
during
Alignment of instructional
practices with CCSS
Activities for Building
Foundational
Fluency Skills

CCSS.RF.4.K
Read emergent-reader
texts with purpose and Choral Reading
understanding (K)

Shared Reading
CCSS.RF.4.(1-5)
Read with sufficient
accuracy and fluency to Reader's Theater
support comprehension
 Activities to Build Fluency
Activities for Building
Foundational
from the Florida Center for Reading
Fluency Skills Research including:

CCSS.RF.4.K
Read emergent-reader
texts with purpose and
 Rapid Letter Recognition
understanding (K)
 High Frequency Words
CCSS.RF.4.(1-5)  Chunked Text
Read with sufficient  Reading with Expression
accuracy and fluency to
 Repeated, Timed Reading
support comprehension
 Listening Center
 Choral Reading
 Readers Theater
 Always Keep in Mind…

…these skills should be embedded in a

comprehensive reading program.
 PLC Collaborative Exercise

Select a grade level, complex text and apply one of the following
instructional methods:
Fluency Development Lesson (FDL)
or
Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI)

Share plans and reflect on results at a future PLC session

 The Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) integrates
principles of fluency, phonics, and vocabulary
instruction within the context of a comprehensive
reading program. Students instructed with this program
have made gains in fluency and overall reading
achievement (Kuhn & Rasinski, 2011).

Fluency Development Lesson (FDL)

Source: The Fluent Reader by Timothy V. Rasinski, (Scholastic, 2003.)

Fluency Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI) integrates
vocabulary and comprehension instruction with fluent
reading of a complex text. It incorporates echo, choral,
and partner reading in a systematic way. Students
instructed with this program showed significant growth
in reading achievement (Stahl & Heubach, 2005).

FORI Article and Lesson D

escription

VRI Sample
Section 5
PHONICS, WORD RECOGNITION, AND FLUENCY
RESOURCES
 Center on Instruction

The Center on Instruction has developed a useful guide about

learning progressions. This guide includes:

– The Foundational skills

– The Foundational sub-skills
– Instructional examples

Center on Instruction
 CCSS
Standard

Standard
Sub-Skills

Instructional
Examples
 o rd
W
n d ns
a o n io
s
n ic niti ress
o
Ph ecog Prog
R g p le
n
r ni Sam
a
Le
 y o ns
nc ess i
ue
Fl rogr
P le
n g p
r ni Sam
a
Le
 Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondences
Phoneme Word Examples Common spellings
/p/ pit, spider, stop p
/b/ bit, brat, bubble b
/m/ mitt, comb, hymn m, mb, mn
/t/ tickle mitt, sipped t, tt, ed
/d/ die, loved d, ed
/n/ nice, knight, gnat n, kn, gn
/k/ cup, kite, duck, chorus, folk, quiet k, c, ck, ch, lk, q
/g/ girl, Pittsburgh g, gh
/ng/ sing, bank ng, n
/f/ fluff, sphere, tough, calf f, ff, ph, lf
/v/ van, dove v, ve
/s/ sit, pass, science, psychic s, ss, sc, ps
 Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence
Phoneme Word Examples Common spellings
/z/ zoo, jazz, nose, as, xylophone z, zz, se, s, x
/th/ thin, breath, ether th
/th/ this, breathe, either th
/sh/ shoe, mission, sure, charade, precious, sh, ss, s, ch, sc, ti, si, ci
notion, mission, special
/zh/ measure, azure s, z
/ch/ cheap, future, etch ch, tch
/j/ judge, wage j, dge, ge
/l/ lamb, call, single l, ll, le
/r/ reach, wrap, her, fur, stir r, wr, er/ur/ir
/y/ you, use, feud, onion y (u, eu), i
/w/ witch, queen w, (q)u
/wh/ where wh
/h/ house, whole h, wh
 Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence
Phoneme Word Examples Common spellings
/ē/ see, these me, eat, key, happy, chief, ee, e__e, -e, ea, ey, -y, ie, ei
either
/ĭ/ sit, gym i, y
/ā/ make, rain, play, great, baby, eight, vein, a__e, ai, ay, ea, -y, eigh, ei,
they ey
/ě/ bed, breath e, ea
/ă/ cat a
/ī/ time, pie, cry, right, rifle i__e, ie, -y, igh, -i
/ŏ/ fox, swap, palm o, wa, al
/ŭ/ cup, cover, flood, tough u, o, oo, ou
/aw/ saw, pause, call, water, brought aw, au, all, w, ough
/ō/ vote, boat, toe, snow, open o_e. oa, oe, ow, o-
/ŏŏ/ took, put, could oo, u, ou
/ū/ [ōō] moo, tube, blue, chew, suit, soup oo, u_e, ue, ew, ui, ou
 Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence
Phoneme Word Examples Common spellings
/y/ /ū/ use, few, cute u, ew, u_e
/oi/ boil, boy oi, oy
/ow/ out, cow ou, ow
/er/ her, fur, sir er, ur, ir
/ar/ cart ar
/or/ sport or
 Consonant Graphemes
Consonant Definition Examples
Grapheme
type
Single letters Single consonant letter can represent a b, d, f, g, h j, k, l, m, , p, r, s,
consonant phoneme t, v, w, y, z
Doublets Uses two of the same letter to spell one ff, ll, ss, zz
consonant phoneme
Digraphs Two letter combination that stands for th, sh, ch, wh, ph, ng (sing),
one phoneme none stands for alone gh (cough) [ck]
Trigraphs Three-letter combination “ -tch -dge
Consonants in 2-3 graphemes with separate sounds Scr, thr, cl, ft, lk, st (many
blends more)
Silent letter One represents the phoneme, the other kn, wr gn, ps, rh –mb, -lk, -
combinations is silent mn, -st
Combination These letters together stand for 2 quickly
qu sounds
 Vowel Graphemes
Consonant Definition Examples
Grapheme
type
Single letters Single vowel letter can represent a cap, hit, gem, clod, muss,
vowel phoneme me, no, music
Vowel teams 2-3-4 letters stand for a vowel head, hook, boat, sigh,
weigh, toil, bout
Vowel-r A vowel followed by r, works in car, sport, her, burn, first
combinations combination with /r/ to make a unique
vowel
Vowel- The vowel-consonant-silent e pattern is gate, eve rude, hope, five
consonant-e a common spelling for a long sound
(Vce)
 Syllable Patterns
Syllable type Definition Examples

Closed Syllable with short vowel spelled with a dap-ple, hos-tel,

single vowel letter ending in one or bev-erage
more consonants
Vowel-C-e Syllable with a long vowel spelled with com-pete, -des-pite
(Magic e) one vowel + one consonant + silent e
Open Syllable that ends with a long vowel pro-gram, ta-ble, re-cent
sound, spelled with single vowel letter
Vowel team Syllables that use 2-4 letters to spell the beau-ti-ful, train-er,
vowel con-geal, spoil-age
Vowel-r (r- Syllable with er, ir, or ur in-jur-ious, con-sort,
controlled) char-ter
Consonant-le Unaccented final syllable containing a drib-ble, bea-gle, lit-tle
consonant before /l/ followed by a
silent e
 Foundational Skills
Charts, Guides, and
Resources

Common Core
Standards
Appendix A
P. 17 and P.37
This is a link to the Florida Center for Reading Research Website. This site contains Student
FCRR
Center Activities for foundational skills practice. Explicit instruction would be needed prior to
engaging in these practice activities.
Check it out!

This is a link to the Florida Center for Reading Research Website. This site contains
Student Center Activities for foundational skills practice. Explicit instruction would
be needed prior to engaging in these practice activities.
Program Evaluation Recommendations

Materials include effective

instruction for all aspects of
foundational reading.

Revised Publisher's Criteria for the

Common Core State Standards in
English Language Arts and Literacy
, Grades K-2
David Coleman • Susan Pimentel
 References
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Belvins, W. (2006). Phonics from A to Z: A Practical Guide. New York NY: Scholastic

Carnine, D.W., Silbert, .J., Kame’enui, E.. J., Tarver, S. G., & Jungjohann, K. (2006). Teaching struggling and at-risk readers. Upper Saddle River NJ:
Pearson.

Cohen, V.L. & Cowen, J.E. (2011).Literacy for children in an informational age: Teaching reading, writing, and thinking. Belmont CA: Wadsworth
Cengage Learning.

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in Literacy Instruction. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Dahl, K.L. (2000). Rethinking Phonics: Making the Best Teaching Decisions. Heinemann

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 References
Pinnell, G.S. & Fountas, I,C. (1998). Word matters: teaching phonics and spelling in the reading/writing classroom.
Portsmouth NH: Heinemann.

Pressley, M. (2006). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. New York NY: Guildford Press

Samuels, S.J. (2002). Reading Fluency: Its Development and Assessment. In What research has to say about reading
instruction (3rd ed.) Delaware: IRA

Schwanenflugel, P. ( 2008). Fluency development and whole class instruction: Approaches for shared reading. In M.R.
Kuhn, The hows and whys of fluency instruction. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Shanahan, T. (2013). Common Core State Standards in the Primary Grades. Presentation, Retrieved from:
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Stahl, S.A., Duffy-Hester, A.M., & Dougherty Stahl, K.A. (1998). Everything you wanted to know about phonics (but were
afraid to ask). Reading Research Quarterly, 33(3).

Stahl, S.A., & Heubach, K.M. (2005). Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction. Journal of Literacy Research, 37(1) p. 25-60.

Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J. & Murray, C.S. (2012). Intensive Interventions for students struggling in reading and
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 Other Sources
www.fcrr.org
www.centeroninstruction.org
www.readingrockets.org
www.teachersdomain.org
www.readwritethink.org
www.pinterest.com
www.teachingchannel.org
www.readnaturally.com
www.scholastic.com
www.education.pitt.edu
www.textproject.org
www.cast.org
http://www.educationalleader.com