Mature Word Identification Education 573 Spring, 2016 S. Rosenberg, Ed.D.

When we say that our goal is to help all students read “at grade level or above” what do we really mean? We want students to be able to read grade level text with a reasonable level of understanding We usually also mean we want them to be able to do this fluently, so that reading the text doesn’t take an inordinate amount of time. And we would like them to find pleasure in reading, which also means we would like them to be able to read a book like we read books, without having to struggle with the words, and be able to focus on the meaning

What skills, knowledge, and attitudes are required for good reading comprehension?

What we know about the factors that affect reading comprehension Proficient comprehension of text is influenced by: Accurate and fluent word reading skills Oral language skills (vocabulary, linguistic comprehension) Extent of conceptual and factual knowledge Knowledge and skill in use of cognitive strategies to improve comprehension or repair it when it breaks down. Reasoning and inferential skills Motivation to understand and interest in task and materials

In other words, student’s reading comprehension depends on: How well they read the words on the page How well they read the words on the page How much knowledge they have, and how well they think How much knowledge they have, and how well they think How motivated they are to do “the work” of comprehension How motivated they are to do “the work” of comprehension

Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice. The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading (Scarborough, 2001) BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGE STRUCTURES VERBAL REASONING LITERACY KNOWLEDGE PHON. AWARENESS DECODING (and SPELLING) SIGHT RECOGNITION SKILLED READING: fluent execution and coordination of word recognition and text comprehension. LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION WORD RECOGNITION increasingly automatic increasingly strategic Skilled Reading- fluent coordination of word reading and comprehension processes

1. Difficulty learning to read words accurately and fluently 2. Insufficient vocabulary, general knowledge, and reasoning skills to support comprehension of written language 3. Absence or loss of initial motivation to read, or failure to develop a mature appreciation of the rewards of to develop a mature appreciation of the rewards of reading. reading. Three potential stumbling blocks to becoming a good reader (NRC Report, 1998)

Consensus Definition of Reading using knowledge about the written alphabet and about the sound structure of oral words At a general level, reading is a process of getting meaning from print using knowledge about the written alphabet and about the sound structure of oral words for purposes of achieving understanding. “Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children” 1998

Meaning and understanding Knowledge of alphabetic characters Knowledge of sounds

Word Identification and Comprehension are Separable Individuals can comprehend spoken language without being able to identify a written word. Individuals can identify words, but cannot comprehend. To be able to read, an individual must be skilled at identifying words and comprehension. Word Identification and comprehension are carried out in different parts of the brain.

Just because learning to identify (and spell) words comes early in the learning to read process does not mean it is easy. In fact, for some students (i.e. those with dyslexia) this is the most difficult challenge of the learning to read process.

How do good readers identify words?

Good readers fixate/stop and focus at almost every word Literacy How, Inc.14

Word Reading Good readers appear to process every letter of the text. a. Good readers “fixate” (their eyes stop) on about 85% of the words in a text. b. It takes more time to read longer words. (i.e. over 6 letters, approximately) c. When individual letters are deleted from a text, it takes good readers longer to read..

Medial letters of words are omitted I c t b e t t I c d a y u d w t I was r g. The p l p r of the h n m d, a g to a r h at C e U y, it d ’t m r I what o r the l s in w d are, the o y I t t g is t t the f t and l t l r be in the r t p e. The r t can be a t l m s and you can s l r d it w t a p m. T s is b e the h n m d d s not r d e y l r by I f, but the w d, as a w e. A g huh? Y h and I a s t t s g was I t!

Medial letters are scrambled I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in wrods are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod, as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!!

Letter level cues are the primary means good readers recognize words. Good readers do not guess based on the meaning of the text up to that point as do beginners.

Good readers are experts at word identification/decoding! Good readers are characterized by their ability to read real and non-sense words in isolation, and without any semantic cues. Good readers decode words “accurately” and “automatically;” that is they can read words with little or no conscious effort.

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Good readers can identify novel words accurately and automatically because they can easily associate letters with their sounds, and blend the sounds to pronounce a word; Good readers can recognize common letter combinations automatically, and that makes word identification for known and unknown words automatic, accurate and fast.

Most children entering school (and older struggling readers) try to identify words by using their knowledge of the topic and/or illustrations and/or letters. Research results indicated that those first graders who begin to use letter-sound cues earliest go on to be the better readers at the end of the year. The teacher needs to decide when and how to begin to wean beginners (and struggling readers) away from using picture clues and Guessing/predicting from the meaning of the text. Show them how to build a better mouse trap!

The comprehension of a text depends on accurate and efficient word identification.

Oral vs. Written Language Oral language development comes first before written language development both for the culture (i.e. historically) and for the child. What did the creators of writing in general and creators of the alphabet specifically know about language that their ancestors didn’t?

Oral Language Development By the time most children enter school they have: 1. Many thousands of words in their vocabulary. 2. Have mastered almost every grammatical pattern they will ever learn.

Is being able to speak thousands of words sufficient evidence that a child is ready to learn to read and write? Do children entering school need to know more about language over and above what they need to know to learn oral language?

Learning Oral Language Learning oral language is “natural;” it is part of our genetic inheritance (like learning to walk) and therefore does not require “conscious” attention to the elements of language. Children learn to speak without ever having paid attention to the sounds that compose those words

However, written language needs to be learned (like learning to dance) and therefore requires the learner to be consciously aware of elements of language. In order to understand how an alphabetic system of writing works (i.e. letters and their order) the learner needs to be consciously aware of the sounds in words.

English is an alphabetic language. This means the characters of the writing system –letters- represent sounds/phonemes. This means the learner of an alphabet needs to be consciously aware of the sounds/phonemes words are composed of.

Letters and letter order Why do we spell the name of this object with the letters “m” “o” “p” and in that order?

The oral word /mop/ is composed of the sounds/phonemes /m/ /o/ /p/ in that order.

Why is the name of this animal spelled “f” “r” “o” “g” ?

The oral word /frog/ is composed of the sounds/phonemes /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/ in that order.

Why is the name of this object spelled “g” “a” “t” “e” ?

The oral word /gate/ is composed of the __ __ sounds/phonemes /g/ /a/ /t/ in that order.

Why is the name of this object spelled “s” “o” “a” “p” ?

The oral word /soap/ is composed of the __ __ sounds/phonemes /s/ /o/ /p/ in that order.

Children need to become consciously aware of the sounds/phonemes in words prior to learning to identify written words just like the inventors of the alphabet had to become consciously aware of the sounds/phonemes in words.

What makes learning how to analyze words into sounds/phonemes difficult?

Allaphones Different sounds/phonemes that are considered the same in a language. A set of phonemes that are considered to be the same. /l/ in /lime/ /mile/ is different /e/ in /seed/ /seen/ is different /t/ in /time/ / later/ is different It is possible that these sounds/phonemes may be considered different in another language.

“Red” is a set of colors that are considered to be the same. Where does “red” end and “orange” begin?

Phonemic Awareness Activity

Since many children entering school are not ready to analyze words into sounds/phonemes, how can we get them ready to learn how to do it? We teach easier phonological awareness skills

Development of Phonological Skills 1. Word Segmentation 2. Rhyme production 3. Syllable Segmentation Initial sound identification 5. Final sound identification 6. Phonemic segmentation 7. Phonemic blending