The ability to hear, discriminate, and manipulate the sounds of language.
(Pikes Peak Literacy Project, 2005)
"Phonemic Awareness is the critical foundation upon which reading skills are built. It is much easier for a student to learn to read print, when they are already aware of how the sounds of language work. Through phonemic awareness training, students learn that words are made up of single speech sounds or “phonemes.” The sounds are connected to the symbols (graphemes) of our language through phonics. Phonemic awareness and phonics have a reciprocal relationship; developing skills in one area helps the other, but they are very distinct and separate skills."
Signs a student may be struggling with Phonemic Awareness:
Student cannot hear and discriminate each isolated sound that makes up a word
Student cannot add, move, and delete sounds in words
Student cannot break a sound into individual sounds
Student cannot keep a string of phonemes or items in auditory memory long enough to recall and recite them
Diagnostic Tools (to help determine if a student is struggling with this skill):
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)--Approved by CDE for READ Act
Error Analysis on Nonsense word or Phoneme Segmentation Curriculum-Based Measurements (DIBELS, AIMSweb, easyCBM, CBM Generator)
Cool Tools Informal Reading Assessments by Florida Department of Education
Research-Based Interventions to try:
Activities to Help Student Develop Phonemic Awareness- 8 activities to help develop phonemic awareness.
Sound Boxes (Elkonin Boxes) Sound Boxes is designed to assist children with their development of identifying sequential phoneme segments within a word as well as recognizing discrete sounds within words (positional analysis).
Sound Sorts (Picture Cards) This intervention targets phonemic awareness of sounds in spoken words. This technique is used to help children pay attention and cue in to the sounds in words by asking them to distinguish between words with the same sounds and words with different sounds, and to categorize the words.
Phoneme Identification with the ABC Chart This intervention was designed to give additional instruction to help students develop a strong foundation in phonemic awareness in order to proceed to word decoding. Students learn how to isolate individual phonemes in a word.
Progress Monitoring Tools for Phonemic Awareness:
Nonsense word or Phoneme Segmentation Curriculum-Based Measurements (DIBELS, AIMSweb, easyCBM, CBM Generator)
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)--Approved by CDE for READ Act
Give the same type of assessment consistently over time to determine if the student is making growth
The ability to learn letter-sound correspondence, apply this knowledge during reading by blending the sounds into words, and apply this knowledge with spelling.
(Pikes Peak Literacy Project, 2005)
"Phonics is an essential part of the decoding process. Decoding is the primary means of word recognition. If a student cannot make sound-symbol associations (decode) with accuracy and automaticity, then fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension will suffer. Readers decipher words in five ways:
by assembling letters into a blend of sounds, referred to as decoding
by pronouncing and blending familiar spelling patterns, a more advanced form of decoding
by retrieving sight words from memory
by analogizing to words already known by sight (adding affixes to known roots or bases)
by using context clues to predict words (Ehri, Nunes, Stahl, & Willows, 1997)"
Signs a student may be struggling with Phonics:
Student has difficulty recognizing the sound-symbol relationship of the 21 consonants
Student has difficulty recognizing the sound-symbol relationship of the 5, sometimes 6 vowels
Student cannot recognize and break a word into its compound parts
Student cannot identify the onsets and rimes of pattern words
Student cannot recognize common prefixes and suffixes
Student does not have the ability to see phonic word chunks within words
Diagnostic Tools (to help determine if a student is struggling with this skill):
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)--Approved by CDE for READ Act
Cool Tools Informal Reading Assessments by Florida Department of Education
Research-Based Interventions to try:
Fill in the Sound Early readers can begin the reading process by learning to decode simple words with letter cards, tiles, or plastic letters. In this strategy, the child begins decoding by filling in the initial sounds in three-letter, phonetically-spelled words. (Elkonin Boxes)
Making Words Early readers can begin the reading process by learning to decode simple words with letter cards, tiles, or plastic letters.
Progress Monitoring Tools for Phonics:
Letter Identification Curriculum-Based Measurement (DIBELS, AIMSweb, easyCBM, CBM Generator)
Sound Identification Curriculum-Based Measurement (AIMSweb, easyCBM, CBM Generator)
Initial Sound Fluency (DIBELS)
Develop quizzes in Galileo to determine growth over time
The ability to read text meaningfully with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression
(Pikes Peak Literacy Project, 2005)
"Oral reading has two purposes: 1) to diagnosis fluency 2) to target instruction with appropriate accuracy, speed, and expression strategies. Because fluency is a well-researched predictor of reading ability (Fuchs, et al., 2001), teachers can glean valuable information about readers’ strengths and weaknesses as they carefully observe oral reading fluency and its characteristics."
Signs a student may be struggling with Fluency:
Student cannot correctly break words into individual parts using phonic knowledge
Student does not have the ability to quickly recognize words and words parts
Student does not have the ability to read print with an understanding of phrasing, intonation, and punctuation
Diagnostic Tools (to help determine if a student is struggling with this skill):
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)--Approved by CDE for READ Act
Running Records
DRA2/EDL
Cool Tools Informal Reading Assessments by Florida Department of Education
Error Analysis of Oral Reading Fluency (Curriculum-Based Measurement)
Interventions to try:
Traditional Flashcard Drill & Practice These are used to increase children’s accuracy and fluency with word reading. They are especially effective if the drill and practice periods are timed.
Repeated Reading This fluency building strategy simply requires a student to read aloud a selection that is at or near the student’s current instructional reading level. The student reads this passage daily until he has achieved the criterion reading rate on that passage. He is then assigned a new passage. (How to Determine a Student's Reading Rate) (Repeated Reading Log) (Self-Monitoring Reading Fluency Graph) (Norms for Oral Reading Fluency from Hasbrouk-Tindal)
Radio Reading This fluency building strategy is a form of repeated reading. The teacher chooses a passage that is long enough for 4 to 6 students to share. Each student is assigned a part to read...
Progress Monitoring Tools for Fluency:
Oral Reading Fluency (Curriculum-Based Measurement)
Describes all the words we know and use to meaningfully communicate concepts and ideas (Pikes Peak Literacy Project, 2005)
"Vocabulary is a critical key to effective comprehension. It is important because it gives
connection and meaning to print and it expands existing knowledge. Vocabulary words are often categorized in three tiers. Tier 1 includes basic, readily encountered words such as car, school, run, and happy. Tier 2 includes high frequency, more abstract words such as antique, ridiculous, acquire. Tier 3 includes less readily encountered words such as photosynthesis, corolla, and pampas. The words on these 3 tiers will vary greatly from student to student due to their experiences and receptive exposure. When teaching vocabulary, research suggests focusing on Tier 2 because these words are specific to academic language, essential to new learning, and are high frequency in usage. "
Signs a student may be struggling with Vocabulary:
Student does not have the ability to appropriately apply known words in written or spoken formats
Student does not have the ability to use background knowledge and context clues to gain meaning when reading unfamiliar subject matter
Student does not have the ability to recognize and apply knowledge of word families, affixes, compound words, etc.
Diagnostic Tools (to help determine if a student is struggling with this skill):
Cool Tools Informal Reading Assessments by Florida Department of Education
Pearson Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- Approved by CDE for READ Act
Interventions to try:
Building Vocabulary Using a 5 Step Process Students must encounter words many times before they become familiar enough to with them to learn them. You can use a 5-step process to teach new words and phrases.
Word Meaning Sorts Word Meaning Sorts targets the essential skill of vocabulary. This technique is used to help children expand their repertoire of known words by asking them to categorize and use words in many different ways.
Semantic Word Webs (Graphic Organizer) Semantic word webs may be used to facilitate a student’s understanding of vocabulary and comprehension of text. This strategy can also be used to build vocabulary of students with limited word knowledge.
Progress Monitoring Tools for Vocabulary:
Vocabulary Matching Probes Recently, use of CBM methods for monitoring progress has been extended to students at the secondary-school level, not only in basic skill areas, but also in content-learning areas such as social studies and science. Results of this research show that a 5-minute vocabulary-matching measure is a valid and reliable indicator of students' performance and progress in the content areas. -Christine Espin
Develop quizzes in Galileo to determine growth over time
Comprehension is "intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through
interactions between text and reader" (Durkin, 1993). "Therefore, comprehension is the reason for reading" (NRP, 2000). Comprehension integrates all five components of reading. The foundation of comprehension is the access to text provided by the other four components. (Pikes Peak Literacy Project, 2005)
"Proficient readers make engaged, active, and purposeful connections and decisions as they read any given text. They attend to both words and meaning as they read. Skilled readers gain meaning at the word, sentence, and complete text levels through contextual analysis. Efficient readers continually exercise metacognition and employ effective strategies through metacognition - they actively think about their thinking. Skilled readers have a bank of effective strategies they utilize and are flexible in coordinating and shifting among those strategies in order to fully comprehend a given text for a specific task. They can organize and integrate new information into their existing schema. Struggling readers may not naturally have access to these thinking tools, but they can be taught explicitly what to attend to and how to monitor and guide their thinking."
Signs a student may be struggling with Comprehension:
Student does not have the ability to apply prior knowledge and or experiences that have been previously learned, to a new situation
Student does not have the ability to read many types of texts and apply needed skills to be proficient
Student does not have the ability to monitor their own reading, assess understanding, and return to the text when meaning is lost
Student does not remember important details and main events in texts
Students does not have the ability to discern and communicate key points from a text
Student does not have the ability to see past what is given in a text to predict and draw conclusions
Student does not have the ability to sift through both literal and inferential information and evaluate the validity
Diagnostic Tools (to help determine if a student is struggling with this skill):
Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS)--Approved by CDE for READ Act
Informal Reading Assessment by Jean Jennings
Cool Tools Informal Reading Assessments by Florida Department of Education
Interventions to try:
Cornell Note Making Strategy (Cornell Notes Graphic Organizer) Determining important ideas and information in text is central to making sense of reading and moving toward insight. The Cornell Note Making strategy uses a graphic organizer to help students to recognize what is important and worthy of remembering and to question themselves as they read in order to help them make that determination.
Reading Comprehension Through Self-Monitoring (Frequency Chart) (Duration Chart) (Tally Chart) Reading Comprehension can be increased through the use of self-monitoring techniques. According to Joseph (2006), students with good reading comprehension have learned to utilize self-monitoring to check understanding.
Collaborative Strategic Reading Initially, the teacher presents the strategies (preview, click and clunk, get the gist, and wrap up) to the whole class using modeling, role playing, and teacher think-alouds. After students have developed proficiency applying the strategies through teacher-facilitated activities, the teacher asks them to form heterogeneous groups, where each student performs a defined role as students collaboratively implement the strategies. (Using Collaborative Strategic Reading) (Collaborative Strategic Learning Logs) (More information on using CSR)
Progress Monitoring Tools for Comprehension:
AIMSweb MAZE Comprehension This is a clozed comprehension procedure where the first sentence is left intact and then every 7th word is replaced with a near dis-tractor far dis-tractor and an exact match.
DRA2 Progress Monitoring
easyCBM Student reads a passage and then answers a few multiple choice questions.
Develop quizzes in Galileo to determine growth over time
A few bodies of research for secondary literacy include:
Reading Next: A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy- This is a report to Carnegie Corporation of New York sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education. Fifteen key elements of effective adolescent literacy programs are identified and supported by research.
Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices by the Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guides on What Works Clearinghouse- This practice guide gives five recommendations for improving adolescent literacy based on research findings.
Diagnostic Tools (to help determine if a student is struggling):
Informal Reading Assessment by Jean Jennings
Cool Tools Informal Reading Assessments by Florida Department of Education
Interventions to try:
Building Vocabulary Using a 5 Step Process Students must encounter words many times before they become familiar enough to with them to learn them. You can use a 5-step process to teach new words and phrases.
Semantic Word Webs (Graphic Organizer) Semantic word webs may be used to facilitate a student’s understanding of vocabulary and comprehension of text. This strategy can also be used to build vocabulary of students with limited word knowledge.
Collaborative Strategic Reading Initially, the teacher presents the strategies (preview, click and clunk, get the gist, and wrap up) to the whole class using modeling, role playing, and teacher think-alouds. After students have developed proficiency applying the strategies through teacher-facilitated activities, the teacher asks them to form heterogeneous groups, where each student performs a defined role as students collaboratively implement the strategies. (Using Collaborative Strategic Reading) (Collaborative Strategic Learning Logs) (More information on using CSR)
Cornell Note Making Strategy (Cornell Notes Graphic Organizer) Determining important ideas and information in text is central to making sense of reading and moving toward insight. The Cornell Note Making strategy uses a graphic organizer to help students to recognize what is important and worthy of remembering and to question themselves as they read in order to help them make that determination.
Grades 9-12- KWL Chart for Comprehension The ultimate goal of reading instruction is to improve critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Teachers should integrate effective comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading. The K-W-L process can be used to enhance reading comprehension.
Reading Comprehension Through Self-Monitoring (Frequency Chart) (Duration Chart) (Tally Chart) Reading Comprehension can be increased through the use of self-monitoring techniques. According to Joseph (2006), students with good reading comprehension have learned to utilize self-monitoring to check understanding.
Progress Monitoring Tools for secondary students:
AIMSweb MAZE Comprehension This is a clozed comprehension procedure where the first sentence is left intact and then every 7th word is replaced with a near dis-tractor far dis-tractor and an exact match.
Oral Reading Fluency AIMSweb Reading-Curriculum-Based Measurement (R-CBM)
Vocabulary Matching Probes Recently, use of CBM methods for monitoring progress has been extended to students at the secondary-school level, not only in basic skill areas, but also in content-learning areas such as social studies and science. Results of this research show that a 5-minute vocabulary-matching measure is a valid and reliable indicator of students' performance and progress in the content areas. -Christine Espin
Develop quizzes in Galileo to determine growth over time
easyCBM Student reads a passage and then answers a few multiple choice questions.
Florida Center for Reading Research This website provides a search engine for interventions in a 5 components of literacy. All interventions are research-based.
Doing What Works This website gives many intervention ideas on literacy and many other areas. Each intervention is broken down into: practice summary, learn what works, see how it works, and do what works.
Intervention Central contains tons of tools for implementing Response to Intervention as well as many research-based interventions.
Colorado Department Of Education Advisory Lists of Professional Development and Instructional Programming