By Oct. 24, post one thing you understand better about teaching letters, sounds, or words based on the reading. Post one question you have about such teaching.
One thing I learned about teaching letters, sounds, or words was from the making words activity. I have students on 3 different levels of reading. With this exercise, all 3 of my students can participate, even the student that doesn't recognize letters and their sounds. I loved the adaptations for this exercise, especially the magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. I have a question about the word wall. Can you have just a portable word wall instead of a classroom word wall?
The thing that I learned about letters, sounds, or words is that the making word activities can accomodate students across the board, regardless of previous orientation to the alphabet or sounds. We have went a step farther for the older resource students and created a word bank and the students take several words from a basket and create a sentence with it. The question that I have is, would having random letters on a file cabinet or bulletin board, with velcro, be a resource that student's might use independently when given free time?
In the words block, children learn to read and spell high-frequency words and learn the patterns which allow them to decode and spell lots of words.
What I liked and learned is that the Words Block are designed to be multilevel. Across each activity, there is something for children to learn regardless of whether they are struggling or accelerated.
During the daily word-wall practice, the children who have already learned to read them are learning to spell them. Other children, however, who require lots of practice with words, are learning to read them.
While rounding up the rhymes, some children are still developing their phonemic awareness as they decide which words rhyme and are learning that rhyming words usually--but not always--have the same spelling pattern. As they use the words rounded up to read and spell new words, children who need it are getting practice with beginning letter substitution. Children who already have well-developed phonemic awareness and beginning letter knowledge are practicing the important strategy of using known words to decode and spell unknown rhyming words.
Making Words includes even children with very limited literacy that enjoy manipulating the letters and making the words even if they don't get them completely made until the word is made with the big pocket chart letters. Children of all levels see how you can use the patterns you see in words to read and spell other words.
Guess the Covered Word lessons provide review for beginning letter sounds for those who still need it.
Using Words You Know lessons provide children who still need it with lots of practice with rhyming words and with the idea that spelling pattern and rhyme are connected.
My question is: Can/should we use word walls for other content area words, not just high frequency words?
I learned a ton about teaching letters sounds and words based on the reading. The experiences I've had in class have not been as thorough as the activities I've read about in the book. The students had spelling words and they wrote them on a list, wrote them 5 times each, used them in a sentence, etc. and then tested on them. I realize now that there was so much more that could be done with them and we could have learned the meaning along with the spelling of the word quite easily. I think the classroom I was in was like a lot of classrooms we've talked about in that very little time was devoted to learning to read. While gaining my practicum experience recently I've been put in charge of a reading group where we match words to other words that have the same "rime" or ending, or the same vowell sound in the middle. I now know that I can do so much more than just placing the words in columns with similar words or our little matching games we do. I read with these boys separately as well, and I know they don't often cross-check for meaning while reading. I now know that I can even use the AR books we are reading and use sticky notes to cover a Word Wall Word in a sentence and we can figure out which word goes there using the context of the sentence. I don't have a question about the reading explained each activity in Working With Words very well. I do have a comment. I liked the idea of having an "other" column so that we could put guesses that are incorrect in that column since students are andwering in front of the entire class so that they won't feel embarrassed if they're not right on target. Niki
WORKING WITH WORDS BLOCK I learned that flash cards are not the only way to teach children to read individual words. Classroom teachers can use multilevel instruction using the Four Blocks. For children with disabilities, the adaptations (technologies and strategies)increase the likelihood of achieving the same goals as peers without disabilities. The Word Wall provides different activities each day that promotes word retention. Also included are 5 activities that are used most often in teaching children how to decode and spell new words: Rounding Up the Rhymes, Making Words, Guess the Covered Word, Using Words You Know, and Reading/Writing Rhymes.
Can you give some examples how I can teach kids to show them how to use chunking in word identification?
The one thing I learned most about teaching letters, sounds, or words based on the reading is that there are MANY ways to try and reach the children. Children and their needs are very diverse, so it is important to understand that there are a variety of approaches available to help us teach them. Each of the techniques discussed had merit and I look forward to trying them in my classroom. Unbelievably, I have had so little classroom experience (other than my own growing up) that I was unaware of most of these techniques. When I was in school as a child we didn't use these activities - or any other similar ones that I can remember. We used phonics, rewriting words over and over, worksheets and more worksheets, and quizzes to assess knowledge. Thankfully, I was one of the lucky students. Reading and spelling came easily for me, but many of my classmates struggled and could have benefitted from more creative and alternative approaches.
The question I have is when did the schools start using some of these newer and more creative approaches to teaching letters, sounds and words? Was my childhood experience unusual in its lack of creative teaching or was it the norm in the early to mid-70's? Or was the lack of multiple/adaptive approaches due to the fact that it was a VERY small school? I suppose where I'm leading with this question is 'are most teachers today typically using multiple creative/adaptable approaches such as these in the chapter to teach all students or are we (as special ed students) being taught them and expected to use them because we are special educators who will be dealing with students with learning difficulties?'
The information on teaching letters, sounds, and words was very interesting. I was surprised by all of the different strategies that can be used. The word wall and it's adaptions for all students was very impressive. Providing the students with words that they will use often in text is a great idea. I also liked the strategies on the keyboard for (Making Words). The idea of using the cookie sheet or felt board and asking the children to not just read the word but to tell the teacher which of the words they made would help them read a new word if they encountered it in text, would be very useful to students. In the class that I am in there are several students who have reading difficulties, which of these activities would be best for high school students?
I liked that it is accessible to all students regardless of their disability. I learned several different activities that would help in making learning more fun for the student. What would be a good way to teach chunking in word modification.
What kinds of instructional experiences support the development of phonological awareness, letter-sound correspondences, and spelling? What are the key underlying principles of such instruction?
“The WordWall is used in activities every day with five new words added to the wall each week.The words are added gradually and practiced repeatedly until they become words that children can read with automaticity, spell with accuracy, and use to read and spell unfamiliar words.” The words need to be where all the students can see them. The words should be ones that are needed often in reading. Words are practiced by clapping, singing, and writing.(p.112)
It is hard for some students to look on the wall and back at their papers. These students need personal, portable Word Walls. Bright colored backgrounds with dark,bold words help students with visual impairments. The ease of taking these from class to class, and between home and school provides even more exposure time to these words. Word Walls can include symbols and icons for students who have high-tech communication devices. Word prediction software, such as Co:Writer, is another helpful tool. This type of software provides a list of likely words after each letter is typed. Rounding Up the Rhymes, Making Words, Guess the Covered Word, Using Words You Know, and Reading/Writing Rhymes are all good activities that are good to teach phonics and spelling.(p.112-1131)
The principles of these instruction practices is to adapt the lessons and make them appropriate for children with disabilities. It is important to ensure that all children will have the time required to spell the words letter by letter. It is necessary to use technologies and modifications to decrease the physical demands of selecting or writing letters. It is also essential to create a portable Word Wall with appropriate supports for each child. (p. 131)
Through this chapter I have learned that there are several appropriate, interactive ways to teach knowledge of words. I liked that it gave specific instructions on the activities.
When thinking of how to use this information in the classroom I am in currently the biggest question would be how to get some of the students to focus long enough to do these activities. ~Laura Chrisco
I have always thought that teaching letters, sounds, and words is a rigorous task that most students do not enjoy. Most of what I have seen happen is rote and the same lesson applies to the whole classroom without any variation. After reading “Working with Words” there were so many suggestions that centered around the strategy that I’m not sure I can name just one thing that I understand better. I think the differentiation of this strategy is the best way to describe what I understand better. The Word Wall, portable Word Wall, the color cues, the “on the back” activity, technology adaptations, and reading rhymes all made a tremendous difference in how I understand the individual needs of students. I think this strategy also implements fun activities while students are learning. I will definitely approach spelling activities with a new excitement. I believe the differentiation will allow a whole-class approach that supports a variety of students.
Do you test mastery with this strategy? What are some suggestions for testing mastery?
I love reading this chapter because some of the exercises on here I have already done with my student. When he was in the K-1 classroom I worked with him with the magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. Then we would make letters in playdough. We did an exercise where we also made letters in shaving cream on the table. These are some other exercies that we did with letters. I like the wall board. I do this with a letter card and list the words under the letter on a 4 x 6 index card.
One thing that I think I understand better is why you shouldn't put pictures with words when the goal is to identify the word. I have been guilty of this in the past. I never really thought about how a student may focus more on the picture than the word. It makes so much sense, and I can't understand how I didn't think of this. Like Melinda had stated we use lots of these methods in my class now. I often have my students unscramble letters to form words or I write the word on a small whiteboard (leaving out a letter or two)-then the student has to fill in the blank. I do think that the idea of variety really helps the child from becoming bored with so much repetition. I guess one question I would have is HOW do you make this interesting enough to make the child/student want to do the task? How do you motivate them enough? I have one student who can spell fairly well and reads wonderfully, but he has no idea why he is doing these things, and therefore; his motivation is nonexistant.
I learned so much from reading this chapter. I am helping in a class where I have not seen this used. I like the fact that this type of teaching can be used with all students regardless of their disability. It also appears that it is a more interesting and fun way of learning for the students. Much of what I have seen in the classroom is more of what is suggested not to do rather than what is recommended in the reading. In the classroom I have been observing, it is a small class but each student has a different disability and I understand that there are devices that can be used, but it seems that it would make teaching this much more difficult. Also, the students are constantly being taken out of class for OT or PT getting the other students off task making it even more difficult to teach. How would this be used in this type of setting so that students would be able to focus and simutaneously participate in this learning technique?
I understand so many things better after reading this. I believe the one thing I understand better is how to adapt each lesson for all learners to include students with disabilities as well as students without disabilities and gifted students. (With little classroom experience, this is a big concern of mine.) One idea I really liked was the concept of the portable word wall. While observing in a classroom this week for a project for another class, I noticed that a couple of the first grade students had a hard time writing their spelling words, i.e. transferring them from the word wall to their paper. I thought at the time.. wouldn’t it be helpful for them if they had the spelling list on their desk so they wouldn’t have such a hard time looking at the wall and then back down at their paper. I like the idea of coordinating the background colors on the word wall with the colors on the portable word wall. I have noticed that the use of color helps lots of students with different learning styles. I also like everything in the “Rounding up the Rhymes” section, especially the part about assisting students with disabilities in hearing rhyming sounds by giving them the word to rhyme written on a card. I like the fact that they would be able to see and ‘read’ the word as they are listening for the sounds in the word while it is read in the text. I also like the fact that this technique is adaptable. Once the student becomes skillful at finding the word in the text, he/she could use the same card to next find a word that rhymes with it. This changes the students' thinking pattern as well. I also like making the lesson visual as well as auditory for all types of learners. The text gave so many suggestions on how to adapt each lesson for students with learning disabilities, auditory processing impairments or other special needs that any question I had, I found the answer to. :)
Co-founder and former director of the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill. Currently professor in Language, Reading, and Exceptionalities Dept. at Appalachian State University.
One thing I learned about teaching letters, sounds, or words was from the making words activity. I have students on 3 different levels of reading. With this exercise, all 3 of my students can participate, even the student that doesn't recognize letters and their sounds. I loved the adaptations for this exercise, especially the magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. I have a question about the word wall. Can you have just a portable word wall instead of a classroom word wall?
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I learned about letters, sounds, or words is that the making word activities can accomodate students across the board, regardless of previous orientation to the alphabet or sounds. We have went a step farther for the older resource students and created a word bank and the students take several words from a basket and create a sentence with it. The question that I have is, would having random letters on a file cabinet or bulletin board, with velcro, be a resource that student's might use independently when given free time?
ReplyDeleteIn the words block, children learn to read and spell high-frequency words and learn the patterns which allow them to decode and spell lots of words.
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked and learned is that the Words Block are designed to be multilevel. Across each activity, there is something for children to learn regardless of whether they are struggling or accelerated.
During the daily word-wall practice, the children who have already learned to read them are learning to spell them. Other children, however, who require lots of practice with words, are learning to read them.
While rounding up the rhymes, some children are still developing their phonemic awareness as they decide which words rhyme and are learning that rhyming words usually--but not always--have the same spelling pattern. As they use the words rounded up to read and spell new words, children who need it are getting practice with beginning letter substitution. Children who already have well-developed phonemic awareness and beginning letter knowledge are practicing the important strategy of using known words to decode and spell unknown rhyming words.
Making Words includes even children with very limited literacy that enjoy manipulating the letters and making the words even if they don't get them completely made until the word is made with the big pocket chart letters. Children of all levels see how you can use the patterns you see in words to read and spell other words.
Guess the Covered Word lessons provide review for beginning letter sounds for those who still need it.
Using Words You Know lessons provide children who still need it with lots of practice with rhyming words and with the idea that spelling pattern and rhyme are connected.
My question is: Can/should we use word walls for other content area words, not just high frequency words?
I learned a ton about teaching letters sounds and words based on the reading. The experiences I've had in class have not been as thorough as the activities I've read about in the book. The students had spelling words and they wrote them on a list, wrote them 5 times each, used them in a sentence, etc. and then tested on them. I realize now that there was so much more that could be done with them and we could have learned the meaning along with the spelling of the word quite easily. I think the classroom I was in was like a lot of classrooms we've talked about in that very little time was devoted to learning to read. While gaining my practicum experience recently I've been put in charge of a reading group where we match words to other words that have the same "rime" or ending, or the same vowell sound in the middle. I now know that I can do so much more than just placing the words in columns with similar words or our little matching games we do. I read with these boys separately as well, and I know they don't often cross-check for meaning while reading. I now know that I can even use the AR books we are reading and use sticky notes to cover a Word Wall Word in a sentence and we can figure out which word goes there using the context of the sentence. I don't have a question about the reading explained each activity in Working With Words very well. I do have a comment. I liked the idea of having an "other" column so that we could put guesses that are incorrect in that column since students are andwering in front of the entire class so that they won't feel embarrassed if they're not right on target.
ReplyDeleteNiki
WORKING WITH WORDS BLOCK
ReplyDeleteI learned that flash cards are not the only way to teach children to read individual words. Classroom teachers can use multilevel instruction using the Four Blocks. For children with disabilities, the adaptations (technologies and strategies)increase the likelihood of achieving the same goals as peers without disabilities. The Word Wall provides different activities each day that promotes word retention. Also included are 5 activities that are used most often in teaching children how to decode and spell new words: Rounding Up the Rhymes, Making Words, Guess the Covered Word, Using Words You Know, and Reading/Writing Rhymes.
Can you give some examples how I can teach kids to show them how to use chunking in word identification?
Rosie Simmons
The one thing I learned most about teaching letters, sounds, or words based on the reading is that there are MANY ways to try and reach the children. Children and their needs are very diverse, so it is important to understand that there are a variety of approaches available to help us teach them. Each of the techniques discussed had merit and I look forward to trying them in my classroom. Unbelievably, I have had so little classroom experience (other than my own growing up) that I was unaware of most of these techniques. When I was in school as a child we didn't use these activities - or any other similar ones that I can remember. We used phonics, rewriting words over and over, worksheets and more worksheets, and quizzes to assess knowledge. Thankfully, I was one of the lucky students. Reading and spelling came easily for me, but many of my classmates struggled and could have benefitted from more creative and alternative approaches.
ReplyDeleteThe question I have is when did the schools start using some of these newer and more creative approaches to teaching letters, sounds and words? Was my childhood experience unusual in its lack of creative teaching or was it the norm in the early to mid-70's? Or was the lack of multiple/adaptive approaches due to the fact that it was a VERY small school? I suppose where I'm leading with this question is 'are most teachers today typically using multiple creative/adaptable approaches such as these in the chapter to teach all students or are we (as special ed students) being taught them and expected to use them because we are special educators who will be dealing with students with learning difficulties?'
The information on teaching letters, sounds, and words was very interesting. I was surprised by all of the different strategies that can be used. The word wall and it's adaptions for all students was very impressive. Providing the students with words that they will use often in text is a great idea. I also liked the strategies on the keyboard for (Making Words). The idea of using the cookie sheet or felt board and asking the children to not just read the word but to tell the teacher which of the words they made would help them read a new word if they encountered it in text, would be very useful to students. In the class that I am in there are several students who have reading difficulties, which of these activities would be best for high school students?
ReplyDeleteI liked that it is accessible to all students regardless of their disability. I learned several different activities that would help in making learning more fun for the student. What would be a good way to teach chunking in word modification.
ReplyDeleteAllen
What kinds of instructional experiences support the development of phonological awareness, letter-sound correspondences, and spelling?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the key underlying principles of such instruction?
“The WordWall is used in activities every day with five new words added to the wall each week.The words are added gradually and practiced repeatedly until they become words that children can read with automaticity, spell with accuracy, and use to read and spell unfamiliar words.” The words need to be where all the students can see them. The words should be ones that are needed often in reading. Words are practiced by clapping, singing, and writing.(p.112)
It is hard for some students to look on the wall and back at their papers. These students need personal, portable Word Walls. Bright colored backgrounds with dark,bold words help students with visual impairments. The ease of taking these from class to class, and between home and school provides even more exposure time to these words. Word Walls can include symbols and icons for students who have high-tech communication devices. Word prediction software, such as Co:Writer, is another helpful tool. This type of software provides a list of likely words after each letter is typed. Rounding Up the Rhymes, Making Words, Guess the Covered Word, Using Words You Know, and Reading/Writing Rhymes are all good activities that are good to teach phonics and spelling.(p.112-1131)
The principles of these instruction practices is to adapt the lessons and make them appropriate for children with disabilities. It is important to ensure that all children will have the time required to spell the words letter by letter. It is necessary to use technologies and modifications to decrease the physical demands of selecting or writing letters. It is also essential to create a portable Word Wall with appropriate supports for each child. (p. 131)
Through this chapter I have learned that there are several appropriate, interactive ways to teach knowledge of words. I liked that it gave specific instructions on the activities.
When thinking of how to use this information in the classroom I am in currently the biggest question would be how to get some of the students to focus long enough to do these activities.
~Laura Chrisco
This is Mary Law
ReplyDeleteI have always thought that teaching letters, sounds, and words is a rigorous task that most students do not enjoy. Most of what I have seen happen is rote and the same lesson applies to the whole classroom without any variation. After reading “Working with Words” there were so many suggestions that centered around the strategy that I’m not sure I can name just one thing that I understand better. I think the differentiation of this strategy is the best way to describe what I understand better. The Word Wall, portable Word Wall, the color cues, the “on the back” activity, technology adaptations, and reading rhymes all made a tremendous difference in how I understand the individual needs of students. I think this strategy also implements fun activities while students are learning. I will definitely approach spelling activities with a new excitement. I believe the differentiation will allow a whole-class approach that supports a variety of students.
Do you test mastery with this strategy? What are some suggestions for testing mastery?
I love reading this chapter because some of the exercises on here I have already done with my student. When he was in the K-1 classroom I worked with him with the magnetic letters on a cookie sheet. Then we would make letters in playdough. We did an exercise where we also made letters in shaving cream on the table. These are some other exercies that we did with letters. I like the wall board. I do this with a letter card and list the words under the letter on a 4 x 6 index card.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I think I understand better is why you shouldn't put pictures with words when the goal is to identify the word. I have been guilty of this in the past. I never really thought about how a student may focus more on the picture than the word. It makes so much sense, and I can't understand how I didn't think of this. Like Melinda had stated we use lots of these methods in my class now. I often have my students unscramble letters to form words or I write the word on a small whiteboard (leaving out a letter or two)-then the student has to fill in the blank. I do think that the idea of variety really helps the child from becoming bored with so much repetition. I guess one question I would have is HOW do you make this interesting enough to make the child/student want to do the task? How do you motivate them enough? I have one student who can spell fairly well and reads wonderfully, but he has no idea why he is doing these things, and therefore; his motivation is nonexistant.
ReplyDeleteI learned so much from reading this chapter. I am helping in a class where I have not seen this used. I like the fact that this type of teaching can be used with all students regardless of their disability. It also appears that it is a more interesting and fun way of learning for the students. Much of what I have seen in the classroom is more of what is suggested not to do rather than what is recommended in the reading. In the classroom I have been observing, it is a small class but each student has a different disability and I understand that there are devices that can be used, but it seems that it would make teaching this much more difficult. Also, the students are constantly being taken out of class for OT or PT getting the other students off task making it even more difficult to teach. How would this be used in this type of setting so that students would be able to focus and simutaneously participate in this learning technique?
ReplyDeleteI understand so many things better after reading this. I believe the one thing I understand better is how to adapt each lesson for all learners to include students with disabilities as well as students without disabilities and gifted students. (With little classroom experience, this is a big concern of mine.)
ReplyDeleteOne idea I really liked was the concept of the portable word wall. While observing in a classroom this week for a project for another class, I noticed that a couple of the first grade students had a hard time writing their spelling words, i.e. transferring them from the word wall to their paper. I thought at the time.. wouldn’t it be helpful for them if they had the spelling list on their desk so they wouldn’t have such a hard time looking at the wall and then back down at their paper. I like the idea of coordinating the background colors on the word wall with the colors on the portable word wall. I have noticed that the use of color helps lots of students with different learning styles.
I also like everything in the “Rounding up the Rhymes” section, especially the part about assisting students with disabilities in hearing rhyming sounds by giving them the word to rhyme written on a card. I like the fact that they would be able to see and ‘read’ the word as they are listening for the sounds in the word while it is read in the text. I also like the fact that this technique is adaptable. Once the student becomes skillful at finding the word in the text, he/she could use the same card to next find a word that rhymes with it. This changes the students' thinking pattern as well. I also like making the lesson visual as well as auditory for all types of learners.
The text gave so many suggestions on how to adapt each lesson for students with learning disabilities, auditory processing impairments or other special needs that any question I had, I found the answer to. :)