From the beginning of term 2, Helen Squires has been working with a few of my students who struggle with reading text. She has been using this framework to build their phonological awareness and processing. So far I have seen these students grow in confidence in reading and in themselves.
Informative PD with Betsy Sewell this evening. Understanding more about our readers who struggle with text. One point she mentioned, that I will start using is the sound of the letter instead of the name of the letter. How good readers learn
4 stages:
1. Pre-alphabetic - the look of words. Signs, non-alphabetic cues
2. Partial alphabetic - use some letters in the words. Typically initial letters and visually distinctive consonants (RA 6-10)
3. Full alphabetic - process all letters
4. Consolidated - recognise and process the chunks
Struggling readers often see words as shapes (not as speech/language).
Solution
To take the struggling children through to the 4th stage of reading
Which means teaching all children to think as good readers do
Which means learning to think differently
Which means practice, practice, practice
Decoding skills
Identify and think in, the component sounds (feel it) - e.g church has 3 facial movements. Grumpy has 6 facial movements
Distinguish between the sounds (b (cub)/p (cup), c/g, t/cl, t/v/th, l/e, sh (long)/ch (stop), fat/flat, fog/frog (feel from throat,
Recognise how those sounds are represented in print
Hold those chunks in memory
Substitute phonemes within chunks, or whole chunks within words
Blend those sounds or chunks of sound rapidly and unconsciously.
What they need:
- explicit, structured and cumulative instruction in how words work
- simple to complex, common to uncommon (a short, long)
- Overall aim to build the thinking skills of competent readers and writers - building thinking skills & connection. Discourage bad habits (not guessing, focus on the words)
They must have:
-80-100 hours of practice in thinking in and manipulating the sounds in words. App
- blending strategies and practice, lots of it
- Reading material they can read and what to read, that meets their learning needs
-explicit vocabulary, comprehension and writing instruction.
-nothing else (growing brain)
Basic skills: listening to sounds
Pull it apart, and putting it together & substitute letters.
From Helen Squire's modelling and with PD with Betsy Sewell, will start implementing this in class. For both myself and the students - practice, practice and practice.
I loved reading your post! Your detailed notes from your PD with Betsy made sense to me. Keep up the great work you are doing learning for yourself and then passing it on to your students. You are an inspiration!
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