Susan Matthews
RE 5100
T. Gill
Final Essays
1. Orthographic knowledge and the phonological processor are used together in developing a
child’s concept of word and phonemic awareness. Teachers must expose children to print at
their instructional level so that they can focus on meaning instead of print. As children go
through stages orthographic knowledge changes based on exposure to print. A child’s invented
spelling is the best resource to use in understanding where the child is developmentally. A child
is ready for stage instruction when they are using but confusing the concept. The developmental
stages associated with comprehending print include:

Random Scribbles

Beginning and Ending Consonants

Waves

Beginning and Ending Consonants

Letter Like

Random Letters

Beginning Consonants
with vowel name

Beginning and Ending Consonants
with correct vowel
Each of these methods would be employed as follows:
Random Scribbles:
Reading Time:

Expose to print

Pretend reading and writing

Point and read memorized rhymes or poems
Word Study:

Practice saying the alphabet repetitively
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Waves
Reading time:

Reading print with few words and good spacing

Model finger pointing during reading

Draw attention that “words” are groups of letters with space on each side

Child dictations
Word Study:

Practice saying alphabet repetitively

Track capital letters on a sentence strip while saying the alphabet
Letter Like
Reading Time:

Model finger pointing during reading

Provide pattern books with four to six words on a page

Point to individual words focusing on letter name
Word Study

Focus on letter sorts

Timed sorts after letters are learned
Random Letters
Reading Time:

Provide pattern books and memorized text for the child to read

Focus on finger pointing to print
Word Study

Focus on automatizing letter sorts

Introduce beginning consonant sorts with picture cards

Emphasize initial sounds for children during sorts
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
Practice sorts indivually
Beginning Consonants
Reading Time:

Read and point to memorized text

Remind children to look at the beginning consonants in order to self
correct themselves while tracking
Word Study:

Firm up beginning consonants

Introduce ending consonant sorts with picture cards

Practice sorts individually
Beginning and Ending Consonants
Reading Time:

Focus on building site vocabulary

Introduce word banks

Pull familiar words from stories for word banks

Draw attention to individual words

Track to memorized text with two syllable words
Word Study:

Automatize ending consonant sorts

Check for concept of word

Point out vowels in words from their word bank
Beginning and Ending Consonants with Vowel Name
Reading Time:

Include words with similar spelling patterns in word banks so the child can
focus closer on the medial position
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
Read and reread books
Word Study:

Start Word Family sorts using word cards

Use level one sorts and work up to level two sorts
Beginning and Ending Consonants with Correct Vowel
Reading Time:

Offer support with picture walks, echo reading, choral reading, and
predictable text

Read and reread books at instructional level

Expand site vocabulary by reading, reading, reading
Word Study:

Focus on short vowel sorts with word cards
It is important that a child have the right instruction when going through theses
developmental stages. With the right instruction, children are able to build on previous concepts
helping them as they learn to read.
2. (A) It was believed that a child needed to be taught orally to segment words into phonemes
before they were introduced to print. Educators taught this way for the last 20 to 30 years, not
understanding how children really learn. With this style of instruction, children must attend to
spoken sounds before they can read the written word. Young children have difficulty
segmenting words into phonemes because they are only hearing syllables. It was believed that
since children have trouble with segmenting spoken words they needed intense instruction to be
successful. We now know, according to Morris, that children cannot divide words into
phonemes without having print.
2. (B) People thought that if one came from a higher socio-economic status, they developed
phonemic abilities earlier because they were talked to more as a young child. Children had a
higher oral vocabulary and knew more about segmenting words when hearing it. People
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assumed this was just a higher oral vocabulary, but we know that it was because the child had
been read to for many hours and exposed to print.
2. (C) It was also believed that children from a lower socio-economic status, would struggle
with becoming phonemically aware. Young children were not talked to and oral vocabulary was
small. If oral vocabulary was small, then you would not know about words and their segments
and would have a hard time with phonemic awareness. In reality, we know that children need to
be read to and see print in order to develop phonemic awareness.
2. (D) It is recommended that all children be taught orally how to divide up words into
phonemes. They must do it in isolation with sounds before seeing it in print. For example the
child has to listen to the word cat and then divide it orally by its phonemes /k/a/t/. The way that
a child becomes “comfortable” with doing this process is by practicing repetitively. Researchers
know that without knowledge of print, a child cannot segment words by their phonemes.
3. (A) An emergent reader cannot track print to something that is memorized and will need
support and exposure to the world of print around them. The teacher must provide the child with
opportunities in tracking print such as an alphabet strip to use while saying the letters. A child
learns by being submerged into text and being shown how to track with finger pointing. The
materials used for the child are easy pattern books, memorized rhymes, big books, dictated
stories, and writing opportunities. Children need to pretend read all kinds of books as well as
memorized poems or stories. Pattern books are the most important and should have around four
to six words on each page. Initially, the teacher will share the book with the child by walking
through the book and talking about the pictures. After talking about the book, the teacher will
then model pointing to each word while reading the print. The child will then echo read the
print. Children’s dictations are another great way to support young readers. Dictations allow
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children to see how an oral story can be put into print. Along with pattern books and dictations,
a teacher read aloud can model finger pointing and stresses how words and spaces work in print.
When a child reads and rereads memorized text, they began developing a concept of print.
During the emergent stage, children start learning the alphabet. Teachers must provide children
with letter sorts and begin initial consonant sorts using pictures. Children start making
associations between letters and sounds through continually doing sorts and reviewing previous
sounds. As a child learns more about letters and sounds, you can see progress in their writing.
Writing and word sorts allow children to put letters and sounds together. Writing helps support
an emergent reader by providing opportunity to explore spoken sounds and match it to the
appropriate letter. It also gives the child an opportunity to use what they have learned during
word sorts. When you recognize that a child has comfort with beginning consonant sound sorts
and see it in their writing, then they can move to ending consonant sound sorts. Beginning and
ending consonant sorts help a child develop a concept of word. You will not know if the child
understands this concept until you put memorized text in front of them with two syllable words
and they can track accurately. A child can move into the beginning reader stage once they
understand beginning and ending consonants, as well as the concept of word. A beginning
reader can track memorized text but cannot read a “non-pattern” book cold with a high
percentage of accuracy. This reader will be reading books at the instructional level and will need
support reading because they just have a few words in sight vocabulary. A teacher can help a
child at this stage with a picture walk in an easy pattern book that is predictable and familiar.
Another method is to echo read and partner read so that the child can hear a fluent model of oral
reading. Children in this group need to be given opportunities to read and reread books
previously introduced. After reading and rereading book, the teacher should pull words from the
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book and have the child read them. If the child doesn’t know the word, they must find it in the
book. Word banks should be kept for this level reader so that they can start building sight
vocabulary. A teacher will focus on word family and vowel sorts as the student will begin
focusing on how vowels work within words. In word sorts, you use familiar words along with
few pictures. In both levels, children require a lot of support during reading. The difference in
books is that emergent readers focus on tracking while beginning readers focus more for
meaning. Beginning reader dictations differ from the emergent reader in that they can have more
than four to six words on a page. The reason for this is that the beginning reader has developed a
concept of word. The more children learn about letters, spelling patterns, and sounds will guide
them as they learn to read. Children have to be in print in order to learn about print no matter
what stage they are at.
3. (B) Word banks are important for beginning readers. Word banks allow children to practice
words learned from stories in isolation. Words added to a child’s word bank, could easily get
confused if not looked at closely. Word banks require a child pay closer attention to the patterns
and sounds within words. An example of a child’s word bank may include: red, duck, frog, the,
my, go, yellow, horse. When the child is reviewing these words none of them start with the same
letter so a child can easily guess the words. If the word house was added to the word bank then
the child will have to look at house and horse closer to see that the spelling patterns are different.
4. (A) A child that is reading at this level makes very few errors. The child is roughly missing
about five words out of every 100 that they read and also understand words in context that they
would miss in isolation. Reading stories is the best exercise for a child to build their site
vocabulary. The child is able to read material on their instructional level with ease and gain
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words through context. They continually add words to their site vocabulary due to few errors
and putting meaning to the words while reading them in context.
4. (B) The directed reading/thinking activity and traditional directed reading activities are the
same in they are both checking on how a child comprehends a story. They differ in how
questions are presented to the child. In the traditional directed reading activity, teachers are
asking questions with fact only answers. For example “Where is the character on page 5?”,
“Who are the characters in the story?”, “Does the character have a dog in the story?” In asking
questions of this type the child states facts from the story. This style of reading activity gives
away any “surprise” because he teacher has the child do a picture walk and they discuss
individual vocabulary words that are unknown. The story background is also discussed so that
the child understands what the story will be about. Questions like these are continually asked
because teachers need to know if the child comprehends the story. In reality these questions are
suitable in checking for understanding of the story because they are only for facts. With the
directed reading/thinking activity, predications are made by the child. Reading is the act of
anticipating and predicting what you think will come next. In this approach, a child does not
complete a picture walk or given background information. It all comes from their knowledge. If
they don’t understand the story then an easier one is needed. There will be words that the child
will not know and in reading the full story they will get them in context. With this type of
approach, questions are asked that have the child hypothesize and predict. This activity allows
the child to have conversation about the story and make predictions while reading. For example,
“What is going to happen next in the story?”, “What makes you think that?”, “What will happen
to the character?” By asking these types of questions, facts from the story will be given to
support their predictions. As more of the story is read then a child may change their first
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prediction to match the story now that they have more information. At the end of the story, a
child can tell how their prediction changed during the story. The best way to encourage the
child’s thoughts of a story is having them make predictions and to anticipate what will happen
next.
6. (A) To learn in a meaningful manner you must have something to compare and contrast. By
having word sorts, a child can compare and contrast the spelling patterns within words. Word
sorts give children the opportunity to exercise a hands-on approach in seeing how the patterns in
words are comparable. As a child compares words, knowledge is gained of spelling patterns and
sounds. A child must sort words that are known so they can focus on patterns within the words.
By teaching one pattern, a child has nothing to compare to and is not constructing meaning as if
compared to another word pattern. If a child is confusing short -a and long -a, they would
benefit and gain constructed meaning comparing the two in a sort.
6. (B) When doing word sorts, children must use words they can read. Using these words will
allow the child to focus on letter patterns within words instead of getting frustrated by not
knowing what the words are. In looking at word sorts the child must see the difference in
spelling patterns and relate it to his sounds. Word sorts are not used to teach children new words
but is used to reinforce spelling patterns for meaning.
6. (C) Short Vowel Sort –
hat
cap(p)
pan
bat(p)
dad
rag
red
leg(p)
get
step
hen(p)
bell
bug
hut
sun(p)
cup(p)
luck
tub
beet
want
the
seat
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6. (C) Long Vowel Sort
map
lad
back
hat(p)
fast
sad(p)
take
game
lake(p)
late
safe
gate(p)
pain
what
have
was
cow
6. (C) R Controlled Sort
rap
hat
flag(p)
bat(p)
ask
art
farm(p)
bark
star(p)
card
crop
clock(p)
hot
hop
cop(p)
what
was
child
from
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