Sound – Print Connection

Learning to read entails… Normally developed language skills Normally developed language skills Knowledge of phonological structures Knowledge of phonological structures Knowledge of how written units connect with spoken units (alphabetic principle) Knowledge of how written units connect with spoken units (alphabetic principle) Phonological recoding and fluency Phonological recoding and fluency Print exposure Foorman, 2008 Print exposure Foorman, 2008

Phonological (phonemic) awareness Children’s knowledge of the internal sound structures of spoken words Children’s knowledge of the internal sound structures of spoken words Correlational AND causal connection to reading success Correlational AND causal connection to reading success Becomes reciprocal with reading Becomes reciprocal with reading Dialect differences fade with orthographic experience Dialect differences fade with orthographic experience Strongest predictor of reading success, more than IQ Foorman, 2008 Strongest predictor of reading success, more than IQ Foorman, 2008

Phonological recoding… Recodings of spellings into pronunciations Recodings of spellings into pronunciations Main mechanism for word-specific learning (self-teaching model) Main mechanism for word-specific learning (self-teaching model) Allows words to move from a functional to autonomous lexicon; with practice, words become high frequency, “sight”, automatic Allows words to move from a functional to autonomous lexicon; with practice, words become high frequency, “sight”, automatic Foorman, 2008 Foorman, 2008

The Harm & Seidenberg 1999 Model of Reading Phonological Knowledge Begin by modeling pre- literate phonological knowledge that children have Can vary the strength and consistency of this knowledge … and simulate the different degrees of phonological ability children bring to bear on learning to read

Reading Uses this Phonological Knowledge Foorman, 2008 Phonological Knowledge Text The model must map print onto this structured phonological representation to read aloud The nature of the phonological representations influences what is learned during reading Core result: the phonologically impaired model learns differently

Analysis of the Model Spelling Phonology The core impairment is in phonology … But leads to poor representations between spelling and sound So effective interventions must target the relationship between spelling and sound Foorman 2008

Spoken Language Phonological Awareness -Recognizing that sentences are made up of words -Recognizing word-length -Units in compound words (e.g. cow/boy) -Rhyming -Alliteration (initial sound) -Onsets and rimes -Syllables: Blending Segmenting (counting) Isolating Deleting -Recognizing that words and syllables are made up of individual sounds

Phonemic Awareness A cognitive skill consisting of three pieces: -the phoneme is an abstract linguistic unit and not a unit of writing -the explicit conscious awareness of that unit - the ability to explicitly manipulate such units Specific Skills: Isolating phonemes Blending phonemes Segmenting phonemes Deleting phonemes Substituting phonemes

Alphabetic Principle

 Bridge between sound and print  Speech can be turned into print  Print can be turned into speech  Letters represent sounds in the language

Reading Comprehension Getting meaning from the printed word. Depends on: - understanding language - decoding, the ability to figure out a word’s individual sounds from the visual representation of letter sequences or letter groups that represent individualphonemes Graphophonic cueing system: individual speech sounds are mapped E.g. b ough t b a t Torgensen, 2004

Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing

Spoken Language Phonological Awareness  Recognizing that sentences Are made up of words  Recognizing word-length Units in compound words (e.g. cow/boy)  Rhyming  Alliteration (initial sound)  Onsets and rimes  Syllables: Blending Segmenting (counting) Isolating Deleting Recognizing that words and syllables are made up of individual sounds Phonemic Awareness A cognitive skill consisting of three pieces -the phoneme is an abstract linguistic unit and not a unit of writing -the explicit, conscious awareness of that unit -the ability to explicitly manipulate such units Specific Skills:  Isolating phonemes  Blending phonemes  Segmenting phonemes  Deleting phonemes  Substituting phonemes Reading Comprehension Deriving meaning from the printed word. Dependent on: - understanding language - decoding, the ability to derive a word’s phono- logical representation from sequence of letters or letter groups representing individual phonemes -Grapho-phonic cueing system: individual speech sounds are - mapped E.g. b ough t b a t Torgensen, 2004 Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing Sound-print Connection Alphabetic Principle

Phonemic Awareness & Phonics (Post NRP)  Research indicates that when instruction in phonemic awareness is quickly paired with phonics instruction involving letters, it strengthens both the students’ phonological awareness skills as well as their knowledge of the alphabetic principle. (Foorman et al., 2003)

Understanding the Sound-Symbol System

Key understandings Letters represent sounds. Letters represent sounds. A sound can be represented by one letter and sometimes by two or more letters. A sound can be represented by one letter and sometimes by two or more letters. There is variation in how we represent sounds in words. There is variation in how we represent sounds in words. There is overlap in how we represent sounds in words. There is overlap in how we represent sounds in words.

Pair each group with one of the key understandings. a) tail eight they say break b) clown grow c) tree d) bat coat

Key understandings (concepts) Letters represent sounds. /t/ /r/ /ee/ A sound can be represented by one letter and sometimes by two or more letters.  /b/ /a/ /t/ /c/ /oa/ /t/ There is variation in how we represent sounds in words. came tail say break they eight There is overlap in how we represent sounds in words. ow = grow clown McGuinness, 1999

Vowel graphemes (variations/overlap) ‘o-e’ o_e note oa boat oe toe o most ow grow ough though ou soul ‘ow’ ow cow ou out ough drought

Consonant graphemes (variations/overlap) ‘k’ k kite C cat ck duck ch Christmas ‘ch’ ch chip tch match

Skills needed to use a sound symbol system

With your partner write a brief description for each PA Skill BlendingSegmentingManipulation

Skills needed to use a sound symbol system  Segmenting – the ability to separate sounds in words so when you hear the word ‘stop’ you can say the isolated sounds /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/  Blending – the ability to blend sounds into words, so when you hear the sounds /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/ you hear the word ‘stop’  Manipulate phonemes – the ability to manipulate sounds in and out of words, so that when you read ‘blow’ with the sound ‘ou’ as in cow, and you realize it’s not a word, you can drop the ‘ou’ sound and add the sound ‘oe’ and read ‘bloe’ McGuinnes, 1999

Assessment-Driven Early Instruction Foorman, 2008 Assessment-Driven Early Instruction Foorman, 2008 Small-group lessons Small-group lessons Systematic/explicit plan (PA Sequence) for at-risk readers Systematic/explicit plan (PA Sequence) for at-risk readers Skills not taught in isolation; integrated with total reading & writing program Skills not taught in isolation; integrated with total reading & writing program Monitor progress Monitor progress

Instruction must be made more powerful for students at risk for reading difficulties. More instructional time More powerful instruction involves: Smaller instructional groups Clearer and more detailed explanations More systematic instructional sequences More extensive opportunities for guided practice More opportunities for error correction and feedback More precisely targeted at right level resources skill Foorman & Torgesen (2001)

Support Phonemic Awareness Development Offer a print-rich environment in which to interact Offer a print-rich environment in which to interact Engage children Engage children with print as both readers and writers with print as both readers and writers in language activities focusing on both form and content of oral and written language in language activities focusing on both form and content of oral and written language Give explicit explanations to children to aid in the discovery of the alphabetic principle Give explicit explanations to children to aid in the discovery of the alphabetic principle Provide opportunities to practice reading and writing for real reasons in different ways to promote fluency and independence Provide opportunities to practice reading and writing for real reasons in different ways to promote fluency and independence

Learning outcomes…… Understand the concepts and skills Understand the concepts and skills Perform the skills needed to use the sound-symbol system Perform the skills needed to use the sound-symbol system Internalize information about the sound-symbol system Internalize information about the sound-symbol system Know the point of reference is the sound, not the letter. Know the point of reference is the sound, not the letter. McGuinness, 1999 McGuinness, 1999

Remember… “Improvement is a process, not an event.” (Elmore, 2004, p.254) “Improvement is a process, not an event.” (Elmore, 2004, p.254) “It matters little what else they learn in elementary school if they do not learn to read at grade level.” (Fielding et al., 2007, p.49) Kenwick School “It matters little what else they learn in elementary school if they do not learn to read at grade level.” (Fielding et al., 2007, p.49) Kenwick School