Phonics: Language Arts and Reading

Consonant Blends (Beginning or Ending)

Two or more consonants that blend together when decoded, but with each retaining its own sound

Examples: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, str, spr, sw, tw, st, sp, sk, ct, ft, pt, lt, rk, ld, rd, mp, nt, nk, lf, lp

Consonant Digraphs

Two consonants that make a single consonant sound when together in a word

Examples: sh, ch, th, wh, kn, wr, ph, mb. In the word "wish," the letters s and h form the consonant digraph, sh.

Silent e (Vowel-Consonant-E Syllable)

A vowel is followed by a consonant and then a silent e at the end of the word that makes the vowel have its long sound

Examples: a_e, e_e, i_e, o_e, u_e. Name, mice, com-plete, trom-bone

Vowel Teams

Two vowels that make a single vowel sound when together in a word, include diagraphs and dipthongs

Examples: ai, ay, au, ee, ea, ey, ie, ou, oi, oy

Dipthongs

One vowel sound made by the combination of two vowel sounds; words with ___ require a glide between the two sounds

Examples: au, aw, oy, oi, ou, ow, oo

R-Controlled Vowels

A vowel followed by the letter r when the r dictates how the vowel is pronounced; the vowel will not make its normal short or long sound

Examples: ar, er, or, ir, ur. Stir, gui-tar, mo-ther, or-ange

Inflectional Endings

A suffix added to a word that changes its grammatical function but does not change its meaning

Examples: -ed, -er, -est, -ing, -s

1. Pre-Alphabetic Stage

Recognize words by visual cues. A stage of word recognition in which students have no working knowledge of the alphabetic system and "read" words based on memorizing what they look like

Example

2. Partial-Alphabetic Stage

Identify some letters and match them to sounds. A stage of word recognition in which students combine their limited alphabetic knowledge with context clues to read.

3. Full-Alphabetic Stage

Decode words by connecting all letters to sounds. A stage of word recognition in which students use their full working knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode unfamiliar words letter-by-letter

4. Consolidated-Alphabetic Stage

Recognize chunks or patterns, like word families. A stage of word recognition in which students read by using memorized letter chunks, affixes, and syllables to read words.

5. Automatic Stage

Instantly recognize words without sounding them out. The final stage of word recognition in which a person decodes fluently and knows many strategies to identify new words

Syllable

A unit of pronunciation that contains one vowel sound with or without consonant sounds.

Examples: mo/ tor/ cy/ cle

Closed syllable

A syllable that has a short vowel sound is spelled with one vowel letter and ends in one or more consonants. (or a syllable that ends in a consonant; vowel has its short sound)

Example: hot, help, ad-mit, bas-ket

Open syllable

Syllable spelled with a single vowel letter that ends with its long vowel sound. ( or ends in a vowel; the vowel has its long sound)

Example: me, a-gent, ro-bot, re-act

Final Stable

Syllable made with a consonant + l + silent e

Example: bu-gle, can-dle, cir-cle, tram-ple

Accuracy

The reader's ability to correctly pronounce words. Correct Pronunciation and Automaticity. It is fundamental to reading fluency because mispronunciation disrupts comprehension.

Prosody

The reader's ability to convey expression, emphasis, and tone. Refers to the expressive aspects of reading, including rhythm, tone, and pitch. It helps readers convey meaning and emotion in the text.

Speed

The pace at which the reader reads the text. Right pace and wpm (words per minute)

Fluency

is reading with accuracy, prosody, and appropriate speed. In addition to word recognition instruction, students need to be able to pronounce words accurately

Reader’s Theater

Encouraging students to use expression and tone enhances their prosody. Strategy in which a teacher directs students in a dramatic enactment of a play or book

Choral Reading

Providing opportunities to practice reading aloud and with expression in a group setting improves prosody.

Rate

refers to the speed at which a student reads. Students need to read at a pace that allows for comprehension but is not so slow that it impedes understanding.

Structual/Morphemic Analysis

Using meaningful word parts (building) (morphemes) as clues to determine the meaning of a word

Morphemes:

Can be broken down into roots and affixes.

Roots

The smallest unit or core of a word that carries meaning

Example: form means "shape," as in reform, conform, formulate

Affixes

A letter or letters that change a root word's meaningThey can be categorized as prefixes and suffixes. Cannot stand alone.

Prefix

Comes before the root of a word. Examples include un-, re-, and dis-

Suffix

Comes after the root of a word. A letter or letters at the end of a root word that changes its meaning.

Examples: s, es, ed, ing, ly, er, or, ion, tion, able, and ible

Contextul Analysis

Using the surrounding text (context clues) to determine the meaning of a word.

Definition

An unknown word is defined in a sentence. Direct or appositive definition.

Example

an _____ of the unknown word is provided

Synonym

a word that is similar to the unknown word is provided

Antonym

a word that is opposite in meaning to the unknown word is provided

Inference

a conclusion based on evidence, observation, and reasoning

Compound words

are two complete words that have joined together as one word with a new meaning.

Example: bed + time = bedtime

Homographs

are words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, and sometimes pronunciations too.

Phonics / Graphophonemic Principle

using the relationship between symbols (letters and words) and sounds of a language to read and write

Word families

a group of words with a shared ending letter group/sound

Example: back, black, stack, shack, quack, lack, tack

Connotation

the implied meaning of a word; the feeling a word conveys

Example: Describing a person as "shrewd" may make them feel negatively, even though the definition (sharp-witted, intelligent) is positive.

Rereading Familiar Text

strategy in which students reread a familiar text to increase their rate, prosody, and confidences

Grapheme

A written letter or a combination of letters that represents a single sound. The written representation of the sound.

Example: "ph" makes a "f" sound.

Choral Reading / Echo Reading

a strategy in which students first listens to the teacher read a short passage aloud, and then the class and the teacher all read it aloud at the same time

Phoneme

the smallest individual sounds in a word

Example: The word “bit” has three phonemes – b – i – t.

Automaticity

the ability to read words effortlessly

Audio/Video-Assisted Reading

a strategy in which a teacher plays an audio recording of a book or show an animated illustration of a book while students read along

Partner / Small Group Reading

a strategy in which students read semi-independently in pairs or small groups

Encoding

using individual sounds to spell a word. Sounds → Letters = Spelling (writing)

Example: a student must represent the sounds of a word with letters. For example, the word cat would be encoded as /c/, /a/ and /t/.

Independent Reading

reading done by students independent of the teacher; can be either assigned or student-selected and is typically silent

Denotation

a literal, dictionary meaning of a word

Morphology

the study of forms of words, including affixes, roots, stems, and parts of speech

Example: The word "bicycles" is made up of three individual morphemes. The prefix bi-, the stem cycle, and the suffix -s.

Teacher-Modeled Reading

a strategy in which a teacher reads aloud to students, emphasizing their own fluency and prosody

Decoding

in reading out loud, being able to sound out words by breaking them into simple forms; in reading for comprehension, the understanding of how to read each letter or letter pattern in a word to determine the word's meaning. Lettera → reading (sounding out)

Word Lists

a list of words taken out of context and written or printed consecutively

Example: Will specifically require students to read the words without the help of context from a sentence or story, an important factor in determining their stage of word recognition.

Literature Circles

strategy in which a teacher organizes students into small groups to discuss a common text

Supervised Oral Reading

a strategy in which a student reads aloud to a teacher or tutor

Diagraph

2 letters = 1 vowel sound

Examples: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa