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Learning to read is a multifaceted and complex act.
Learning to read is a multifaceted and complex act.
Watertown Public Schools believes in offering students opportunities to learn, practice, and master all five of the essential components of reading in the elementary years.
Watertown Public Schools believes in offering students opportunities to learn, practice, and master all five of the essential components of reading in the elementary years.
We cultivate a balance of literacy experiences that engage students in:
We cultivate a balance of literacy experiences that engage students in:
- sequenced and systematic approaches to oral and written language
- sequenced and systematic approaches to oral and written language
- opportunities for explicit instruction and repeated practice of foundational skills
- opportunities for explicit instruction and repeated practice of foundational skills
- authentic comprehension building activities
- authentic comprehension building activities
- and developing a lifelong love for literacy.
- and developing a lifelong love for literacy.
Phonological Awareness:
Phonological Awareness:
the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound properties of spoken words, such as syllables, initial sounds, rhyming parts, and phonemes.
the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound properties of spoken words, such as syllables, initial sounds, rhyming parts, and phonemes.
Watertown Public Schools relies on the substantial body of research that points to phonological and phonemic awareness as a reliable predictor of future reading success. Our students develop their phonological awareness through song, word play, and explicit instruction.
Sentence level: determine how many words are in the sentence "She will skate on Sunday."
Word level
Alliteration: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."
Onset/Rime: 'lash' becomes /l/-/ash/, 'splash' becomes /spl/-/ash/ (initial consonant or consonant blends are the onset, the remaining vowel and final consonant sounds are the rime)
Rhyming: identify and produce sets of rhyming words
Syllable level: identify the final syllable of the word 'location'
Phoneme level: see below
Phonemic Awareness:
Phonemic Awareness:
the ability to recognize and manipulate individual phonemes (sounds) in spoken words; is a component of phonological awareness
the ability to recognize and manipulate individual phonemes (sounds) in spoken words; is a component of phonological awareness
Phonemes are the smallest units of sound within words. Phonemic awareness, the ability to recognize and manipulate the 44 phonemes in spoken English, is crucial in learning to read and spell. These skills can be developed with games, songs, and activities that focus on the sounds within words. One example of this type of word play is found in the song "The Name Game". When we replace the first sound in a name with another sound, we are using basic phonemic awareness skills.
The Name Game by Shirley Ellis
Key aspects:
segmenting phonemes in spoken words - cat becomes /k/-/a/-/t/
blending phonemes (reverse of segmenting) - /k/-/a/-/t/ becomes cat
substituting phonemes - change the /k/ in cat to /m/ to make mat
deleting phonemes - deleting the /k/ in 'cat' to make 'at'
Phonemic awareness activities are completely oral; there is no focus on the printed word
Phonics & Word Study:
Phonics & Word Study:
the relationship between letters/letter combinations in written language and the individual sounds in spoken language and the study of complex elements of words
the relationship between letters/letter combinations in written language and the individual sounds in spoken language and the study of complex elements of words
Decoding:
The process by which readers use their phonics knowledge to sound out an unknown word.
Encoding:
The process by which writers use their phonics knowledge to spell words.
Word Study:
Students learn to decode more advanced words by studying word elements , including word stems, roots, prefixes, and suffixes
Fluency:
Fluency:
the ability to read words in text effortlessly and efficiently with meaningful expression that enhances the meaning of the text (Rasinski, 2003)
the ability to read words in text effortlessly and efficiently with meaningful expression that enhances the meaning of the text (Rasinski, 2003)
Effective fluency instruction is the bridge between phonics and comprehension. Teachers use read-alouds, repeated readings, partner work, and readers' theater to help students practice the natural cadence, rhythm, tones, and inflection of skilled reading.
Vocabulary:
Vocabulary:
the body of words and their meanings that students must know deeply in order to comprehend text
the body of words and their meanings that students must know deeply in order to comprehend text
Beck, McKeown, and Kucan (2013) classify vocabulary in three tiers:
Tier 1: common everyday words that students come to school already knowing
examples include words common in home and play settings (shoes, table, blocks, jump) and phrases used in conversational speech (grab the coat, at the house)
Tier 2: high-utility words used across content areas that allow students to more precisely articulate their thinking and enhance their comprehension of a subject area
examples include words like merchant, revolution, emerge, analyze, shuddered
Tier 3: low-frequency, domain-specific words that pertain to specific subject areas or content; help build students' background knowledge
examples include lathe, isotope, asphalt, respiration, protagonist
Comprehension:
Comprehension:
making sense of what we read...the ultimate goal of reading!
making sense of what we read...the ultimate goal of reading!
Watertown students have many opportunities to build their comprehension throughout the day. Students and teachers engage in: whole group instruction and read-alouds, targeted small groups, partnerships, and one-on-one conferences.
Levels of Comprehension
Literal
Interpretative
Inferential
Critical/Evaluative
Comprehension Strategies
Determining importance
Visualizing
Inferring
Making connections
Asking questions
Retelling, summarizing, synthesizing
Self-monitoring
Critiquing / evaluating
Books that might interest you!
Books that might interest you!
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