Sound – Print Connection This is what we are aiming for connecting sound to print. When we go from sound to picture, to gesture to print…..? Need efficiency in recall of sound to symbol and symbol to sound. Automaticity.

Sound-print Connection Reading Comprehension Deriving meaning from the printed word. Dependent on: - understanding language - decoding, the ability to derive a word’s phonological representation from sequences of letters or letter groups representing individual phonemes Graphophonic cueing system: individual speech sounds are mapped E.g. b ough t b a t 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 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 Alphabetic Principle Phonemic Awareness skills help student access the print. Listening - Speaking - Reading - Writing

Alphabetic Principle Speech can be turned into print Print can be turned into speech Letters represent sounds in the language

Understanding the Sound-Symbol System

Concepts – provide explicit instruction in how sound-symbol system works 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 There is variation in the both consonant and vowel sound-symbols

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’ We have taught students to segments a word and represent each sound with a line. They can the decide how to represent each sound. The are not simply remembering a visual sequence of letters for each word. Blending, as the student recognizes the sound symbols, they can then blend them into words. First blending auditorily then moving to internal talk.

Students must learn… explicitly how the sound-symbol system works Implicitly the skills needed to use the sound-symbol system the symbols of the code In an explicit manner; clearly; plainly – teach how the sound symbol system works. Model this in morning messages, teacher reading and spelling words. Implied or understood though not directly expressed or learning by doing as in riding a bike. Student need practice using the skills and concepts of how the sound-symbol system works in the context of reading and writing real words in context. E.g Instead of saying sound this word out. Say, What is the first sound, what is the next sound… etc. The student is applying the skills in context with print.

Connecting Sound & Print Sound symbol system doesn’t exist in isolation from the process of segmenting, blending and manipulating phonemes These processes do not exist without the sound-symbol system Each part is one half of the whole Teach together in the context for which they exist to read and spell real words Important these skills be embedded in the purposes for which they are used to read and spell connected text.

By teaching our students knowledge of our sound symbol system, they Understand the concepts and skills Perform the skills needed to use the sound-symbol system Internalize information about the sound-symbol system Know the point of reference is the sound, not the letter.

Introducing Sound Symbols Various ways to introduce sequence of sound symbols: Early Literacy Document p. 75 K-5 ELA curric. p. 256-257 Specific programs Assessment for learning – identify which sound-symbols students need to learn and provide specific instruction based on identified need in the context of the material they are reading

Activity: Categorizing Dolch Words Individually look at all of the lists. Underline the sounds which are represented by more than one letter. Look for commonalities between the lists e.g. variations of /a-e/ sound across the lists. Note if there is overlap for any vowel symbol in a word e.g. got, most. Use handout of sound-symbols provided Refer to Grapheme (K) or (1-3) Sections of the Resource Binder for lists. - 10 minutes

Group work Divide into 5 groups. (Maureen’s Mix) Individual groups work with one of the Dolch lists: PP, P, 1, 2, 3 Group becomes the expert on that list of words. Categorize your list of words into vowel sounds e.g. list all /ae/ sound may, tail, shape, paper Use template provided Some words may appear on more than one list e.g. paper Look for variation Look for specific examples of overlap (30 minutes) On the last assessment, we noted that students had difficulty with the vowel graphemes. Today we will sort our words by vowel graphemes. Some words may appear on more than one list e.g. paper. If you come across overlap, give an example of that sound symbol used in another word. E.g. got (go)

Post Group Work Post your categorized words into the vowel category sheets provided on the wall Ensure that your lists are labeled e.g. PP, P, 1, 2, 3 Stand back, look over all the lists What pops out? What patterns, categories, trends emerge? Surprises? What are some things that are not explored? Record your information (10 minutes)

Experts Report Report back to large group - What commonalities within and across lists did you find? - What examples of variation and overlap did you find? - What strategies can we teach students to use to handle overlap? - How does an organization system help students retain words? - How did they handle words with multi-syllables?