Presented by
Susan Meehan
Literacy Coach
Leonardo Grade School
April 9, 2014
Reading is: recognizing written
words and understanding
their meaning

Phonics (sound/letter match)

Sight Words (memorized)

Using Context and Pictures
(meaning based)
We don’t teach with just
ONE method.
We try them ALL!
We need to make sure
that children can …….
WHAT?
PHONEMIC AWARENESS
It can be “done in the dark.”

Children need to be able to both identify and
hear the placement of sounds in words so that
they can change them.

For example, if a child says hat and wants to
change the word to bat, he/she needs to know
that the FIRST sound only changes.

In second through fifth grades, children need
to be able to hear syllables so that they can
effectively attack multisyllabic words.

Say a sentence and have your child tell you how
many words are in it (I can go home-4).

Clap syllables in words (hap-py-2, el-e-phant-3).

Reread nursery rhymes, sing songs, and read Dr.
Seuss books. Have your child provide the word
that rhymes (I do not like Green Eggs and Ham. I
do not like them Sam I AM!).

See how many words you can think of that rhyme
(goat, boat, float, moat).

Say a word (let). Take the first sound off. What
do you get?(et)

Say a word (let). Take the last sound off. What
do you get? (le)

See how many words you can think of that start
with ( coat, cap, cat) or end with (will, wall,
mall ) the same sound.
BLENDING
/c/ + /a/ + /t/ = cat
WHOLE TO PART
cat = /c/ + /a/ + /t/
RIMES
c + at = cat
tr + ee = tree
s + ing = sing

Each child learns differently. Researchers claim
that 80% of children can learn to read phonetically
using one of these approaches.

Out of the remaining 20%, 80% of these children
will be able to read phonetically using another
approach.

Out of the remaining 20%, 80% of these children
will learn to read phonetically using the third
method.
.

When we speak, sounds are blended together
(bag does not sound like /b/ + /a/ + /g/).

However, when we try to read unknown words, we
sometimes need to break them apart. It’s not
“natural”.

Children may need explicit instruction in breaking
words apart and putting them back together.
We can’t JUST focus on
phonemic awareness
and phonics!




All words cannot be decoded. Try sounding out
the, there or they. It doesn’t make sense.
Strong readers need a good sight word vocabulary
so that they use their limited time well. When
readers get to a tricky word, they will have the time
to figure it out.
Children should practice sight words in class and
at home.
The goal is to be fluent and automatic. However,
don’t spend too much time (and energy) on any
one task.







Practice sight words at home.
Review them each day for a few minutes.
Put them on index cards.
Play concentration with 4-5 especially challenging words at
a time.
Play “Go Fish”. Write 10 different sight words on 4 cards
each (for a total of 40 cards). Take turns making matches.
Play “Snap”. Write three tricky sight words on 10 cards each
(for a total of 30 cards). Shuffle and pass out the cards. Take
turns flipping one card over at a time. If the words match,
the first one to say snap takes the pile of cards.
Write a few words on sticky notes. Place them around the
house. Whenever your child opens the refrigerator, for
example, he/she has to name the word. Vary the location
and make it fun!
WORD SORTS

Many of the classrooms are sending word sort
activities home. Play the games with your child.

Sort the cards by sound or letter combinations.
Notice how they are the same or different.

Do a speed sort. Have your child beat his/her
best time.
When children are explicitly taught that many
words have patterns, they become automatic
readers and expand their reading ability!
Vowel sounds
How They Look
/a/
/e/
/i/
/o/
/u/
apple
elephant, bread
igloo, gym
octopus, wash
umbrella, won
a
e, ea
i, y
o, a
u, o
/oo/
/oo/
/ou/
moon, new
book, could
house, cow
oo, ue, ow, ew, u-e
oo, u, ou
ou, ow
/oi/
/ar/
/or/
Vowel Sounds
coin, boy
star
fork, board
/er/ herb, nurse
/air/ chair, pear
/ear/ spear, deer
How They Look
oi, oy
ar
or, aw, a, au, ore,
oar, oor
er, ir, ur, ear, or
air, ear, are
ear, eer, ere
VOWEL SOUNDS
HOW THEY LOOK
/ae/
/ee/
/ie/
/oa/
/ue/
ai, ay, a-e, a
ee, ea, ie, y, e, ey
ight, i-e, y, i, ie
oa, ow, o, o-e
u-e, ew, ue, u
rain, tray
tree, me
light, kite
boat, bow
tube, emu

ack, ain, ake, ale, all, ame, an, ank, ap, ash, at,
ate, aw, ay

eat, ell, est

ice, ick, ide, ight, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it

ock, oke, op, ore, ot

SUFFIXES
-s (more than one)



-ed (past tense)



-ing (present tense,
now)



PREFIXES
un- (not, opposite)
re- (again)
in-, im-, ir-, il- (not)
dis- (not, opposite)
en-, em- (cause to)
non- (not)
in-, im- (in or into)




SUFFIXES
-ly (characteristic of)
-er, -or (person)
-ion, -tion, (act,
process)
-ible, -able (can be
done)

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


PREFIXES
over- (too much)
mis- (wrongly)
sub- (under)
pre- (before)
inter- (between,
among)


Children should first have a strong
sense of phonemic awareness and
letter/sound correspondence.
Now it’s time to “attack” unknown
words and make sense out of them.

Check the picture.

Pop it out!

Backtrack and reread.

Skip it!

Change the vowel sound.

Think of a word you know.

Sound it out slowly.

Look for a little part of the word you know.
Children naturally use this strategy.
It’s very effective in reading
kindergarten and first grade books.
However, it becomes less effective
as the books get more challenging.
“Get your mouth ready.”
Make the first sound of the word and
see what POPS out!
We are sitting at a t_______.
You are in first gr________.
This strategy is all about
as
you are reading. If the child makes a
mistake he/she should stop,
backtrack, and read it again.
We womped down the street.
We walked down the street.
This is my favorite strategy because it
works! Children skip the unknown word,
read to the end of the sentence, and
then go back to try again. The other
words in the sentence usually help them
read it accurately.
We ___________ down the street.
We walked down the street.
When a child tries to “sound out” a word they
often will say a vowel sound they know (they =
th eee, yuh). They have been taught the rule
and they try to use it. But we need to teach
children to be flexible and try a different vowel
sound.
The bear went down the road.
The boat sailed away.
Use rhyming words to solve
unknown words.
We went to the _______.
(I know fall, and this starts with an m. It must be
mall!)
Stretch the sounds out. This is
where phonemic awareness comes
in. If your child can hear the sounds
in the words, he/she will be able to
decode an unknown word more
easily.
Children act as detectives to find
little words, or word chunks, in a
bigger word.
goat
fantastic
incredible
How many strategies
should your child
use?
As many as they need!
Please contact me with any
questions or concerns about
reading/writing and your child.
meehans@middletownk12.org
(732) 291-1330 ext 4607