Word-Level
What is it and how does it work?
A student who struggles with reading at the word-level cannot effectively read or pronounce the word presented on the page. This means that the student cannot arrange the letter combinations into a pronounceable pattern effectively enough to “sound out” the word or recognize “the look” of the word to make an approximation.
Decoding: The student's ability to turn the symbols on the page into words.
Word Attack: Skills the student has to break a word down and decode it. (ex: identify roots, chunks, syllables, etc.)
Word Recognition: A student's ability to instantly recognize and read a word upon sight.
Rate: The amount of words per minute the student can read based on the above skills.
Decoding: The student's ability to turn the symbols on the page into words.
Word Attack: Skills the student has to break a word down and decode it. (ex: identify roots, chunks, syllables, etc.)
Word Recognition: A student's ability to instantly recognize and read a word upon sight.
Rate: The amount of words per minute the student can read based on the above skills.
Research Based Intervention Strategies
Segmenting Words
Students need direct instruction in identifying, understanding, and using prefixes and suffixes so that the students can strip away chunks from a given word. These chunks can then be reapplied later on with meaning in order to expose the root word and support students while they sound out unfamiliar words. Additionally, studying the romance languages, specifically Latin, will help struggling readers attain a deeper understanding of their dissected word parts and exposed roots.
Syllables
Utilizing syllables is when students apply specific rules to dissecting a word into manageable chunks instead of simply "sounding out." When students with Reading Disabilities (RD) are told to sound out an unknown word they often make mistakes. Teaching students with RD to apply three very easy-to-remember rules and providing additional continuous repetition and reinforcement can significantly impact their ability to break down multisyllabic words independently. The first simple rule of breaking down a word by syllables is to remember that any syllable chunk can only have one vowel sound, so students need to realize they will use their eyes to check out their numbers and locations. Second, if a word starts with a vowel, break the chunk after the very next consonant (ex. ap-ple). Third, if a word starts with a consonant, break the chunk after the next vowel/consonant pair (ex. mon-key).
Phonemic Awareness/Phonics
This reading component, which studies connections between spoken sounds and letters, is commonly taught at the primary grades. It has been proven that adolescent readers with RD do benefit from systematic and explicit instruction in phonics. Not only does a solid grasp of phonics increase students' ability to read more accurately and independently, but it also benefits the students in their success with spelling.
Word Recognition
This kind of word identification is instant and does not allow for the application of any word decoding strategies. It involves providing a student with a list of words which should be identified upon sight, within 3 seconds or less, and can be employed with word lists or flash cards. Students are expected to master one word list before they move on to a harder one, and previous lists should be constantly reviewed and reinforced with immediate corrective feedback. Students should consistently practice recognizing words automatically to help cement these newly acquired skills in their long-term memory.
Spelling
The spelling program should be phonics-based and the words should be seen in the reading that is taking place in class. The key to reading seems to be frequent exposure to reading skills and strategies, particularly those skills that will cross over or generalize.
Students need direct instruction in identifying, understanding, and using prefixes and suffixes so that the students can strip away chunks from a given word. These chunks can then be reapplied later on with meaning in order to expose the root word and support students while they sound out unfamiliar words. Additionally, studying the romance languages, specifically Latin, will help struggling readers attain a deeper understanding of their dissected word parts and exposed roots.
Syllables
Utilizing syllables is when students apply specific rules to dissecting a word into manageable chunks instead of simply "sounding out." When students with Reading Disabilities (RD) are told to sound out an unknown word they often make mistakes. Teaching students with RD to apply three very easy-to-remember rules and providing additional continuous repetition and reinforcement can significantly impact their ability to break down multisyllabic words independently. The first simple rule of breaking down a word by syllables is to remember that any syllable chunk can only have one vowel sound, so students need to realize they will use their eyes to check out their numbers and locations. Second, if a word starts with a vowel, break the chunk after the very next consonant (ex. ap-ple). Third, if a word starts with a consonant, break the chunk after the next vowel/consonant pair (ex. mon-key).
Phonemic Awareness/Phonics
This reading component, which studies connections between spoken sounds and letters, is commonly taught at the primary grades. It has been proven that adolescent readers with RD do benefit from systematic and explicit instruction in phonics. Not only does a solid grasp of phonics increase students' ability to read more accurately and independently, but it also benefits the students in their success with spelling.
Word Recognition
This kind of word identification is instant and does not allow for the application of any word decoding strategies. It involves providing a student with a list of words which should be identified upon sight, within 3 seconds or less, and can be employed with word lists or flash cards. Students are expected to master one word list before they move on to a harder one, and previous lists should be constantly reviewed and reinforced with immediate corrective feedback. Students should consistently practice recognizing words automatically to help cement these newly acquired skills in their long-term memory.
Spelling
The spelling program should be phonics-based and the words should be seen in the reading that is taking place in class. The key to reading seems to be frequent exposure to reading skills and strategies, particularly those skills that will cross over or generalize.
Links for Teachers and Parents
The National Institute for Literacy offers information on key issues, reading components, teaching approaches, research, publications, programs and projects regarding literacy.
Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Their reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in helping struggling readers build fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills.
On Track Reading provides teachers with an overview of the On Track Reading Phonics curriculum, detailed assessments for specific skills (ex: blending, segmenting, auditory processing, and code knowledge), free word lists for 2, 3 and 4 syllable words, and suggestions for teaching specific strategies to students (ex: telling b from d, digraphs, segmenting, learning the C rule, etc.).
Education.com provides reading activities to help show your child the fun side of learning! From easy reading activities to help practice letters to more advanced reading skills, they've got you covered! Use the selector on the right to narrow your search by grade.
The dyslexia puzzle explains what Dyslexia is and what the possible signs are.
Learningpages.net explains phonemic awareness to teachers and parents while providing classroom lessons, resources, materials and assessments.
Words Their Way is a phenomenon in word study and provides a practical way to study words with students. Based on the research on invented and developmental spelling, the framework of this book is keyed to the five stages of spelling or orthographic development. Ordered in this developmental format, Words Their Way, contains more than 250 ready-to-use activities for teaching word study, spelling, vocabulary and phonics.
Fruit Phonics makes learning to read a fun adventure. Using an online video, mobile devices and the interactive 3D animation platform, they are developing Fruitphonics into a unique early learning experience for children and their parents.
Roy the Zebra provides links to reading websites for emerging readers, free reading games for interactive whiteboards as well as online guided reading stories and teaching resources with lesson plans.
The Big Read has been inspiring people across the country to pick up a good book. Listen to radio programs, watch video profiles, and read brief essays about classic authors
Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Their reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in helping struggling readers build fluency, vocabulary and comprehension skills.
On Track Reading provides teachers with an overview of the On Track Reading Phonics curriculum, detailed assessments for specific skills (ex: blending, segmenting, auditory processing, and code knowledge), free word lists for 2, 3 and 4 syllable words, and suggestions for teaching specific strategies to students (ex: telling b from d, digraphs, segmenting, learning the C rule, etc.).
Education.com provides reading activities to help show your child the fun side of learning! From easy reading activities to help practice letters to more advanced reading skills, they've got you covered! Use the selector on the right to narrow your search by grade.
The dyslexia puzzle explains what Dyslexia is and what the possible signs are.
Learningpages.net explains phonemic awareness to teachers and parents while providing classroom lessons, resources, materials and assessments.
Words Their Way is a phenomenon in word study and provides a practical way to study words with students. Based on the research on invented and developmental spelling, the framework of this book is keyed to the five stages of spelling or orthographic development. Ordered in this developmental format, Words Their Way, contains more than 250 ready-to-use activities for teaching word study, spelling, vocabulary and phonics.
Fruit Phonics makes learning to read a fun adventure. Using an online video, mobile devices and the interactive 3D animation platform, they are developing Fruitphonics into a unique early learning experience for children and their parents.
Roy the Zebra provides links to reading websites for emerging readers, free reading games for interactive whiteboards as well as online guided reading stories and teaching resources with lesson plans.
The Big Read has been inspiring people across the country to pick up a good book. Listen to radio programs, watch video profiles, and read brief essays about classic authors
