1. REWARDS Multisyllabic Word Strategy
Pam Palermo, Reading Specialist
Merriam Park Elementary

2. What is REWARDS
A specialized reading program designed to teach intermediate students a flexible strategy for decoding long words to increase oral and silent reading fluency.
REWARDS stands for Reading Excellence Word Attack and Rate Development Strategies

3. What are the goals students will attain?
They will be able to decode unfamiliar multisyllabic words
They will accurately read multisyllabic words in context
They will expand their vocabulary
They will have better developed reading accuracy and fluency
Their reading comprehension will improve

4. Who needs REWARDS?
Students in 4th through 12th grades who have mastered decoding single syllable words, but who struggle with decoding multisyllabic words.
Students who have mastered basic reading skills but are unable to fluently read grade level passages.
Students who read between between words per minute.

5. Who should not use REWARDS?
Students who read below a 2.5 reading level or read fewer than 60 words per minute.
Students who have not yet mastered first and second grade reading expectations.
These students need a more intensive, systematic, and explicit decoding and fluency based intervention program.

6. When is REWARDS used?
REWARDS can be used at the beginning of the year to review decoding skills in language arts classes where all students have mastered basic reading strategies.
REWARDS can be used during center time to target students who are struggling with decoding multisyllabic words.
REWARDS can be used with other intervention programs to supplement Tier 3 reading instruction.

7. Why use REWARDS? To build word recognition and improve comprehension
To help students tackle the large numbers of multisyllabic words they encounter in 4th through 12th grade texts and books
To expand decoding instruction for students still struggling with unfamiliar words
To provide students with a flexible strategy for decoding long words

8. The REWARDS decoding strategy
Students are initially taught the decoding strategy using overt behaviors:
1. Circle the prefixes
2. Circle the suffixes
3. Underline the vowels
4. Say the parts of the word
5. Say the whole word
6. Make it a real word

9. As students become more comfortable with the strategy they begin to internalize the steps and the strategy becomes a covert strategy:
1. Look for prefixes, suffixes, and vowels
2. Say the parts of the word
3. Say the whole word
4. Make it a real word

10. REWARDS Strategy Poster

11. Pre-skills to ensure student success with REWARDS
Students should be able to:
Match vowel sounds with the letters
Know the short and long vowel sounds and when to use the short or long sound
Sound out words using the syllable rules
Blend letter sounds into syllables, and syllables into words
Distinguish between “real” words and words that are not “real”

12. Teaching pre-skills
Prior to using REWARDS with struggling students you may need to teach or review some of the pre-skills
Lessons 1-15 review vowel combinations
Cover the syllable types with mini lessons prior to beginning rewards
Familiarize students with prefixes and suffixes (post the Student Reference Chart included with REWARDS for students’ use)

13. Review the Syllable Types:
Closed syllable- vowel has a short sound
Open syllable- vowel has it’s long sound
Vowel Silent E syllable- vowel has it’s long sound
Consonant + le- le is pronounced like an l
Vowel team- the vowels work together to produce the sound and appear in the same syllable
R-controlled- the vowel and the r work together to produce the sound and appear in the same syllable

14. Student Reference Chart
Prefixes used in the program
Suffixes used in the program
Common vowel combinations used in the program-
including:
r-controlled vowels
vowels with silent e

15. Breaking down the program
The first 15 lessons teach the pre-skills necessary to applying the REWARDS decoding strategy as well as the strategy itself
Lessons provides practice with the strategy using word lists, complex sentences, and expository passages
Lessons last from minutes, but if a lesson is not completed, it can be reviewed and completed the next day

16. Breaking down the Program cont.
Common errors and the recommended error correction procedures:
The student mispronounces a vowel combination or affix- “that sound/prefix/suffix is”, then have student(s) repeat
Student is unable to correct an approximation when decoding a word- teacher asks “Can you make it a real word?” If not, teacher says the word and has the student(s) repeat the word

17. Determining student need and measuring student achievement
The first step in the program is to administer the pre-test using the list of words found in the program.
The analysis of word parts is very important as it lets you see if the student deletes parts of words or needs support with decoding.
You may choose to administer the pretest again as a post-test upon completion of the program as a tool to measure growth.

18. Administering the pre- and post- tests
Make copies of the Student test for each student you are assessing
Assess students one-at a time
Give the Student test copy to the student and tell them “This is a list of long words. I don’t expect you to know all of these words so just do you best. Please read down the list.”
As the student reads, cross out word parts that are pronounced incorrectly. Put a plus in the final column for words pronounced correctly and a minus for incorrectly pronounced words.

19. Pre-/post-test

20. Administering the pre- and post-tests continued
If a student takes longer than four seconds to read a word, have them read the next word If a student mispronounces four consecutive words, terminate the test Determine the total number of correct words read by counting the pluses in the final column Determine the total number of word parts read correctly by counting the parts crossed out and subtracting from 78 Divide the the top number by the total to get the percentage

21. Determining student need and measuring achievement
The Generalization test is not given until the program has been completed.
The Generalization test allows you to see if the students have successfully mastered the strategy and are able to internalize it and apply it successfully.
The word list does not include words taught in the program, but the words do contain elements that have been introduced and practiced in the program.

22. Generalization Test

23. Fluency Pre-/posttest
The goal of REWARDS is to not only increase reading accuracy but also reading fluency
To track student progress with reading fluency, you can administer the fluency pre- test before beginning the program and again upon program completion
Copy the passage and have student read for one minute marking all errors. Then determine the total number of words per minute
Keep scores on class summary chart

24. Fluency Pre-/posttest

25. Class Summary Chart
All information from the pre- and post-tests and the generalization test is recorded on the summary chart along with attendance if desired.

26. Practice with Lessons 1-15
Activity A- the teacher says the parts of words and students blend the parts into whole words.
Activity B- The teacher introduces the vowel combination sounds and students repeat the sounds, then asks the students to go back and read the sounds independently
Activity C- Students are introduced to the programs practice of first saying the vowel sound (the short vowel sound) and then saying the vowel name (the long vowel sound). This is where you could discuss open and closed syllables to determine long or short vowel sounds.
Activity D- Students learn to read word parts (which look like nonsense words) as a way to decode long words

27. Practice with Lessons 1-15
Activity E- In this activity, students learn that each word part must have a vowel sound (not necessarily a single vowel as some vowels work in combination to make one sound). They use the vowels to determine both the number of syllables in the word and how to divide the word correctly into syllables.
Activity F- Students listen to the teacher mispronounce words to help learn to change the vowel sound and use context when decoding to make the word a “real” word.
Activity G- Students learn to identify and pronounce affixes by locating, circling, and pronouncing the prefixes and suffixes in words.
Practice with Lessons 1-15

28. Practice with Lessons 1-15
Activity H- Students are given the opportunity to practice the prefixes and suffixes learned in the previous activity. Students then read the words using the word parts with teacher assistance.
Activity I- Students focus on the way adding an affix changes the meaning of the word. They read a definition that includes the root word and they located a word from the prior activity that matches the definition.
Activity J- Students practice spelling some of the words they have learned as a way of applying their knowledge of word parts to composing a word.

29. Practice with Lessons 16-25
Activity A- Students review the vowel combinations they learned in the first 15 lessons. The sounds that are in the box are sounds the students learned two sounds for the vowel combinations. They should try the sound they were taught was used most frequently first and then say the second sound for the combination.
Activity B- Students review the sound (short vowel sound) and name (long vowel sound) for the vowels.
Activity C- Students review pronouncing the prefixes and suffixes they learned in the first 15 lessons.

30. Activity D- This activity provides students an opportunity to practice all the skills they learned for decoding longer words in the first 15 lessons. Students are asked to underline the vowel sounds, circle all prefixes and suffixes, and then say the words parts before saying the whole word. The teacher models using the first two words and supports students as they apply the strategies independently to the remaining words.
Activity E- The students are given an opportunity to practice using the strategies they have learned in the first 15 lessons with no guidance from the teacher on words they have not seen previously.
Practice with Lesson 16-25

31. Practice with lesson 16-25
Activity F- This activity helps students see the relationships among words created when prefixes and suffixes are added to a common root word. Understanding word families helps them identify unfamiliar words using the familiar.
Activity G- The teacher tells the students a word and asks the students to say the word parts with the teacher before spelling the words using everything they have learned about word parts to help them spell the word correctly.
Activity H- Students continue to practice finding a word from the word list that matches the definition to help them learn how affixes change the meaning of words.

32. Practice with Lessons 16-25
Activity I- Students expand their knowledge of using the REWARDS strategy by allowing them to decode long words in the context of sentences. They have previously encountered the multi-syllabic words they will be decoding to scaffold their use of the strategy.

33. Practice with Lessons 16-25
Activity A- Students continue to review letter combinations noting the combinations in the boxes that have a more commonly used and a less commonly used sound.
Activity B- Continued practice with the short (vowel sound) and long (vowel name) sounds.
Activity C- Additional practice reviewing the way to pronounce prefixes and suffixes

34. Practice with Lessons 16-25
Activity D- Students continue to practice the REWARDS strategy by underlining the vowel sounds, circling the prefixes and suffixes, and dividing the words into parts. Then students say the word parts and combine them to make a “real” word.
Activity E- Students independently apply the strategy to the words.

35. Practice with Lessons 16-25
Activity F- Students read words from two word families. Column A is read first by the student independently and then with the teacher. Column B is read independently with a partner.
Activity G- The teacher says a word orally and students say the parts of the word before spelling the word using their knowledge of the word parts.
Activity H- Students continue to match words from a prior activity with the definition. Expanding their knowledge of how affixes impact the meaning of root words.

36. Practice with Lessons 16-25
Activity I- Students are exposed to words they will encounter when they read the passage in activity J. In part I students read the words and definition with the teacher. In part II students use the REWARDS strategy to decode the words before reading the definitions. Before reading the passage, students revisit the starred words and expanding them into other words in their word family.
Activity J- Students will read the passage first one section at a time, then students respond to comprehension questions about the passage. Finally, students read for one minute recoding their score and re-reading to improve their score.
Practice with Lessons 16-25

37. Practice with Lessons 16-25
In lessons 20-25, students increase their reading fluency with daily repeated reading activities. Students track their progress on a fluency graph

38. Last thoughts
First determine how and with whom you will use the REWARDS strategy
Whole class review
Small group workshop with tier 2 students
Supplement tier 3 intensive intervention
Pre-test all students you will be instructing to determine specific needs
Plan lessons to meet student needs
Begin with lesson 1 for students with more intensive needs and move through program
Begin with lesson 15 for more advanced students