I have been studying Structured Literacy,applying it to my reading instruction, and reflecting on its effectiveness for a couple years now. It just cant come before/at the expense of those foundational skills. Phonemic awareness is the awareness of individual speech sounds (phonemes) in spoken words and the ability to manipulate those sounds. I admit, Im still learning myself! Structured Literacyinstruction is the umbrella term used by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) to unify and encompass evidence-based programs and approaches that are aligned to theKnowledge and Practice Standards (KPS; Cowen, 2016). Semantics relates to vocabulary instruction but extends to the directly stated or implied meaning of phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. See how our research-backed programs align with structured literacy and learn more about how HMH can support a dyslexia curriculum. You can ask questions that encourage studnets to look at the parts of a sentence. Structured Literacy puts more focus on teaching the structure of the English language. Adhering to the instructional sequence encourages skill mastery, minimizes confusion and incorrect attempts, and gradually builds the complexity of students knowledge and skills. Only after a student has proven complete mastery of this basic application will alternate spellings of the grapheme be introduced. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. I do loveguided reading for my more developed readers. tutoring Evidence-based reading instruction, such as structured literacy, can make all the difference. structure informational literacymathideas differentiated nonfiction We know that phonics instruction is critical to supporting students with dyslexia and other reading disabilities but the problem is - its NOT ENOUGH. That is why once you get to a certain point, youll want to lean less on phonology and more on morphology. There are similar challenges to understanding how to encode sounds when writing the sentence: He wished for a very special fishing vacation. It is not assumed that students will naturally deduce these concepts on their own or simply learn through implicit learning or exposure to materials. Some Structured Literacy programs begin with sounds only, opting not to confuse the issue of phoneme manipulation with the presence of letters. I do not consider myself an expert, just sharing what Ive learned/what Im still learning. passages sequence comprehension Morphology refers to the underlying meaning structure of words. Sounds (phonemes) are represented with symbols (graphemes). A structured literacy approach is beneficial for all students and critical for those experiencing reading difficulties, such as dyslexia, which by some estimates includes 15%20% of students. Sound-symbol association is also known as the alphabetic principle or the correspondence between letters and speech sounds, that is how to map phonemes (sounds) to graphemes (letters). narrative text types writing structure poster posters english introducing google type parts teaching story narratives chart discourse primary features texts A weak foundation of decoding strategies compromises reading comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986).

The very nature of leveled readers and the strategies that are taught along with them promote guessing or decoding. literary devices examples device english language different terms example poetry each figurative writing means identify common teaching types definitions poetic Word analysis strategy: Teach students how to decode complex words through a word-analysis strategy where students identify the word parts and vowels, say the different parts of the word, and say them again fast to make it a real word. The repeated, varied, and expanded exposure to childrens literature, in turn, is meant to increase prosody (the ease and expressiveness of reading) and fluency. In other words, lower-level skills must be mastered prior to acquiring higher-level skills. It would be structured literacy lessons with phonetically-controlled texts. All rights reserved. Classrooms should incorporate activities to develop phonological awareness into their daily lessons. Learning to read is the process of acquiring the several types of statistical knowledge that support rapid and efficient comprehension starting with phonological structure, orthographic structure, the mapping between orthography and phonology, vocabulary, and grammar (Seidenberg, 2017). (Find out how to screen for dyslexia and support students with learning differences. But for many students, reading is a challenge. They would also be aware that bat rhymes with the words cat, mat, pat, and fat. Parts of speech, the usual conventions of language, and the structures of different sentence types are included in the study of syntax. What is structured literacy?

Honestly, until my students have solid phonics skills, I wouldnt even think about pulling a leveled reader. Every written syllable has a vowel grapheme. doi:10.1111/0938- 8982.00023. Moreover, these students are more likely to be identified if specific weaknesses arise in their foundational language skills. They need decodable readers where they can apply what they are learning. Demonstrate that words can be broken down into smaller words or syllables. Teaching, modeling, and practicing fluency is incredibly important. When educators use systematic, cumulative, explicit, and diagnostic instruction, students receive instruction that is appropriate to their development, are provided the time required to master skills, and make substantial growth in their literacy skills. Manipulate sounds in words and segment onsets from rimes. Our newer readers and students with dyslexia need the time and guidance to learn and practice specific skills. For example, if we look at the word hat, there is one vowel (a) and that vowel is followed by a consonant (t), creating a closed syllable. Although phonics, decoding, and spelling may be taught in word study lessons, the skills typically are not emphasized and rarely taught systematically (Spear-Swearling, 2019). At that point, I would have taught CVC words, so the reading and spelling consist of CVC words and words with digraphs and short vowels only. (Click here for a detailed post about orthographic mapping.). Sowe realized we had to take all the amazing things about Orton-Gillingham based instruction (following a sequence, being systematic and sequential in our instruction, taking data and using that data to inform instruction) and expand it beyond the phonics component.

Now onto guided reading. structured This is an area that I really need to up my game. Morphology is the study of the structure and form of words in a language. Research has shown that it is effective for all students and essential for students with dyslexia. If we can spell the word hat correctly, then we also should be able to spell and read an unlimited number of VC structured words. Science & Engineering Leveled Readers, K-5. Even more concerning is the immense variation in the opportunity gap by student group, which ranged from 18% to 57% by race and ethnicity in 2019. Three teaching principles guide how structured literacy instruction can be implemented within the classroom: Systematic means that the organization of the materials begins with the easiest and most basic concepts and elements and progresses methodically to more difficult concepts and elements through a logical scope and sequence. Well, Orton-Gillingham has been well known as a research-based practice for supporting students with specific learning disabilities, specifically dyslexia. literacy block balanced teachthis literacy Follow us on Instagram @SMARTERintervention, Home About For Educators For Parents FREE Resources Blog ContactTerms of Use Privacy Policy Disclaimer, Copyright 2021 Ascend Learning Center | All rights reserved, auditory, spelling, spelling help, reading intervention, literacy intervention, structured literacy, reading strategies, reading difficulties, reading foundations, reading skills, phonology, orthography, semantics, making meaning, reading process, reading instruction, 7 Steps to Reading Intervention that Works, Click Here to Learn More about our FREE course - 7 steps to reading intervention that works. I love both of those comics because they illustrate how context and background knowledge affects our understanding of words and concepts. So which instructional approach is best? Actually, there is a rule that English words should not end in the letter v. Therefore, anytime a word ends in the sound /v/, the letter e is added. Update: Ive had some requests for these slides so I am sharing the PDF and slides here. Here are the components of a lesson. The students receiving Structured Literacy instruction outperformed their peers. Language at the speed of sight: How we read, why so many cant, and what can be done about it. I realized it was an afterthought. But dont feel bad if youre still wondering: Its actually a rather new term thats taking over whats been more popularly known as: So if you havent heard the term Structured Literacy, dont worry - you are not alone. More about each later in this post. These guiding principals of Structured Literacy have helped me so much. Into Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, 8-12.

Consider the following sentence: When the bough breaks the baby will fall, though, when he falls we hope he doesnt fall through the floor onto the rough ground and develop a cough. BUT if you want to do something now, looking athowyou are teaching reading skills should come first. I wasnt direct with my teaching and I surely didnt have a clear path. For the activity shown below, students are reading the sentence, then choosing the correct inflectional ending to add to the words. Clickhereto read more about fluency with phonics. For example, [custom-facebook-feed id=YOUR_PAGE_ID_HERE]. Another component of Structured Literacy is syllable instruction. Say the base word, like rat as you hold out a fist. Structured Literacyis aninstructional approachto teaching students to read that encompasses all of theelements of languageand haskey principlesthat guidehowit is taught. Have students sound out unfamiliar words letter by letter, syllable by syllable, Have students guess unfamiliar words using pictures or context, Provide early readers with decodable texts that control for phonics patterns that are systematically introduced, Rely solely on leveled texts that do not control for phonics patterns, Correct students when they misread words; even one letter (e.g., major and mayor) can change the meaning, Ignore misread words, even if the word fits the context (i.e., a student misreads mother as mom), Utilize small groups and personalized instruction for targeted teaching as needed, Focus on extensive independent activities during class, particularly for early readers or those needing additional support. This e is silent and used only to make sure that a word doesnt end in the letter v. Example #2: The letters ck only follow short vowels. Move from initial, final, and medial sounds to letter-sound blends, segments, and rhyming words. There is still so much to learn and I have been so impatient- I want to know it all!

As a community, we can support these efforts, and create learning environments that support all students. Recognizing written syllable patterns helps a reader divide longer words into readable chunks and helps with understanding spelling rules.

Guided reading: Good first teaching for all children. Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S. (1996). Predicting, explaining, and preventing childrens reading difficulties. text non informational reading structure structures fiction grade types strategies comprehension exploring classroom writing teaching periodicals using 5th anchor 3rd literacy Im not telling you to do this. Cumulative refers to instruction where each new step is based on concepts previously learned. Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Students are decoding the words, looking for meaningful phrases that go together, and seeing basic syntax. I slowly started changing things. It goes on to include letter patterns, conventions of print, and syllabication. In the 2019 administration of NAEP, only 35% of Grade 4 students scored proficient or higher. I found this in my studies and thought it was super interesting. Basically, syntax is grammar and sentence structure.

Spear-Swerling, L. (2019). You can really do a deep dive into morphology and etymology (the history of words). There are five different pronunciations of the grapheme ough in this one sentence. Remedial and Special Education, 7,6-10. doi:10.1177/074193258600700104. Morphemes include prefixes, suffixes, and base words. Here are examples of activities I would do in each section. Below are the key components of Structured Literacy. Mix and match HMH programs for a summer school curriculum that drives student growth. Combine word parts to create words or manipulate the word parts to create new words with different meanings. Reading comprehension is a result of word recognition and language comprehension (this is the Simple View of Reading). The tricky part is that spelling is usually consistent with these units, but the pronunciation changes (like in the example above). Then add the suffix sound as you put two fingers next to your fist. Click here if you would like the slides to this post. No single approach to teaching reading is right or wrong. Certainly, immersing students in rich literature is beneficial to fostering a habit of reading and exposing students to a variety of vocabulary, ideas, and uses of language. There is little disagreement on the goal, but teachers can have very different beliefs about the best ways to help their students accomplish that goal. McCardle, P., Scarborough, H. S. & Catts, H. W. (2001). Here, the phoneme /sh/ is represented with the graphemes sh, ti, and ci. The speller must know particular morphological structures (e.g., the tion suffix indicating a word is a noun) and spelling patterns (e.g., when the letters ci can represent /sh/) to produce the correct form of each word. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. New York: Basic Books.

Word building: Provide students with a set of letter tiles or magnetic letters and have them add or remove letters to create new words. Both yield great results. We want to be careful here not to get into a mastery trap in which students get stuck in one lesson forever but we do want to be analyzing data to ensure that students arent losing skills or forgetting concepts that were taught previously. passages Layer in activities based on identified areas of need based on student assessment. Research shows that a social-emotional learning curriculum can lead to improved academic performance. Count syllables and identify the vowel sound in each syllable. This skill allows the reader to discern dual meanings and pronunciations of the words agape vs. Agape and entrance vs. entranced.. This typically begins with short vowels, or vowel-consonant (VC) structures, giving students immediate access to a wide array of words they will see in their environment as well as in books. For a walk-through tutorial, check out our blog A Look Into Teaching -ck to see how we use the structured literacy approach. During the last few decades, cognitive scientists and researchers have done thousands of studies about how skilled reading works, what children need to be able to do it, and why some children struggle with reading. Check out our FREE course - 7 Steps to Reading Intervention that Works below to learn more! Notice how the symbol cannot directly go to the referent. I became very reflective about how I was teaching my students. One more reason? Put more simply, it is explicit, systematic instruction in the structure of the English language. Research shows that explicit literacy instruction coupled with appropriate practice has significant, positive effects for beginning readers and writers, even those considered at risk for later struggles. The sections that follow describe the kinds of lessons that would be taught in classes implementing the preferred approach of Structured Literacy and how those lessons would be organized. Syllables are larger units of spoken language than phonemes and are thus easier for beginners to hear and manipulate. Balanced Literacy instruction is focused on shared reading (e.g., the teacher reads aloud to students and asks questions about the text), guided reading (e.g., students read texts at their current ability level and discuss them with the teacher in homogeneous groups), and independent reading (e.g., students self-select books to read on their own). Students need to be taught these sound-symbol relationships explicitly (directly) and systematically (in a specific sequence). Students can use the patterns or pictures to guess in those earlier levels. Although many young learners would master expressive and receptive language skills from repeated exposure alone as suggested by Balanced Literacy, there is a population of students for whom this is not sufficient (McCardle, Scarborough, & Catts, 2001). cause effect text passages structure reading comprehension Explicitly teaching content empowers an educator to teach diagnostically as error patterns become obvious and can be addressed in real time. Center, Y., & Freeman, L. (1996, July). It also does not involve print. The first step for our readers starts long before they pick up a book or a pencil.

When I pull a reading group for guided reading it would be guided and it would be reading but not the leveled readers guided reading. I have loved phonics instruction for a while now and started doing more syllable instruction a few years ago. So thats thatour big picture overview of what a structured literacy lesson actually looks like. A VC structured syllable is more commonly referred to as a closed syllable, and is considered one of the six syllable types. Phonics is the instruction of sound-symbol awareness. Read aloud a sentence to see if the sentence is grammatically correct. Robinson, L., Lambert, M. C., Towner, J., & Caros, J. Update: Here are some places to learn more. Investigations of Structured Literacy go back decades and offer evidence that class-wide implementation of the approach can produce results comparable to costly one-on-one interventions for all students, including those with reading disabilities (Center & Freeman, 1996). Explicit teaching of phonemic awareness can provide a strong foundation for reading and spelling. Baltimore, MD: International Dyslexia Association. Please subscribe me to the following via email: Implementing Literacy Programs & Initiatives, Effective Vocabulary Instruction After Reading: Frayer Model Module, Small-Group, Skills-Based Instruction Module, Teaching Students to Map Phonemes to Graphemes Module, Understanding and Observing the Literacy Skills Associated With Dyslexia Module, Using Text Structures to Understand and Summarize Text Module, Professional Learning and Technical Assistance Services, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED405673.pdf, https://dyslexiaida.org/what-is-structured-literacy/, Foundational Skills: Phonics and Word Recognition. ICLE (International Center for Leadership in Education), Customer Service & Technical Support Portal. I build on lessons previously taught, meaning I never ask students to read or spell words with things I have not taught them yet. Hoffman, J. V., Baumann, J. F., Afflerbach, P., Duffy-Hester, A. M., McCarthey, S. J. Learning to read is an essential step in a childs educational journey. Combine two short sentences to form a longer sentence. So my advice to you is to look into a systematic, explicit program that teaches the structure of English. I have to say, I am a believer! And for good reason - it works. I ordered the book so Ill hopefully have a better understanding soon! Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED405673.pdf, Cowen, C. D. (2016). Teachers, educational leaders, and parents deserve a big thank you for their tireless efforts. literacy teaching structured snippetsbysarah phonics reading The science has shown that this approach is not beneficial to students learning to read. Easy-to-implement and effective. Conversely, Structured Literacy is deeply rooted in the sounds from which our spoken language is composed (phonemes) and systematically introduces the letters or letter combinations (graphemes) that correspond with each phoneme. First, show students that sentences can be broken into individual words. The most advanced phonological awareness skill is phoneme awareness. This picture shows the visuals but I actually begin with our ears! The suffix -s is the first piece of morphology that I teach. We can teach these to our students to help them become more effective readers and spellers.

However, our newer readers and students with dyslexia need a more systematic approach with skills taught sequentially, cumulatively, and explicitly. Thats why its critical for district leaders and educators to review programs to ensure they are aligned with the best practices supported by that research. Diagnostic teaching entails assessing students learning strengths and gaps to personalize instruction and continuously measuring students progress to adjust instruction to meet their needs. That is have learned from experience. If youve been around with us for awhile you know how passionate we are about Structured Literacy. Doing phoneme manipulation drills where students are asked to drop, add, or change a sound to make a new word are important for reading and spelling development.

Retrieved from https://dyslexiaida.org/what-is-structured-literacy/. Heres that same slide but with pictures of actual activities I use: No one can become an expert over night. It is important to note that you do not need to wait when it comes to comprehension instruction. The more we learn and grow, the more our students benefit. This is syntax at the most basic level but its a start, right? Repeat faster and then slower. informational comprehension texts Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize that spoken words are made up of sound parts. When a student has phonemic awareness, they can take a whole word like bat and orally break it up into its speech sounds (/b/ /a/ /t/) and they can the do the opposite (blend together individual speech sounds to say a word).

I think first, educate yourself if you havent already, on the science of reading. Students with dyslexia often need intervention with phoneme awareness early on in kindergarten and will continue to need more intervention with advanced phoneme manipulation in later years. I wanted to form my own opinion based on experience before writing this post. Developing Math Muscles. Each is equally important tobuilding a strong foundationfor our students. Providing professional development for teachers, HMH offers professional learning courses, coaching, and leadership advisory to address today's challenges. In teaching, we usually refer to it as comprehension. All teachers want their students to master the skills that will allow them to enjoy reading books and writing their own texts. There are six evidence-based components of structured literacy: Phonology is the study of the spoken words sound structure. I was so put off when I first heard that basically I had to throw all of that out the window and try something new. Every day, I do the warm-up activities (visual/auditory drill, phonemic awareness, and review) because they only take a few minutes. With structured literacy in place, students will not only gain the skills they need to be good readers but be equipped for future success. Stay up-to-date with the latest HMH news and solutions. It was created by Nancy Young, who is a member of the International Dyslexia Association. This may vary somewhat among curricula, but the scope and sequence always dictate the order in which educational concepts and content are taught. (Scroll down to learn more about dyslexia.). Cover the various vowel patterns so students understand the syllable division rules. Semantics refers to the meanings of single words, phrases, and sentences. structured snippetsbysarah Click HERE to read about Syllable Division. Often at the heart of an argument about learning to read is the question, Which comes first: sounds (phonemes) or letters (graphemes)? Balanced Literacy focuses students on grapheme representations combined with context or imagery to teach beginning literacy skills. These elementswork togetherand even overlap in some ways. This article provides an overview of the research on structured literacy for teachers and leaders who would like to better understand the theory behind what they teach. Phonemic awareness, central to phonology, refers to the fact that every spoken word is a sequence of phonemes, which are the smallest units of sound. Balanced Literacy is a philosophical orientation that assumes that reading and writing achievement are developed through instruction and support in multiple environments using various approaches that differ by level of teacher support and child control (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996). text types poster recount posters writing english teaching recounts classroom write understanding literacy events ric introducing features activities children students literacy balanced framework curriculum reading components whole lesson writing balance chart instructional phonics program language grade handout vs definition k12