Phonics and Spelling
Learning how to read is a complex, unnatural process. Children must learn to hear the individual speech sounds in words, connect these sounds with letters that represent them, blend sounds to read words, and, at the same time, associate words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs with meaning to understand the author. Parents, guardians, and preschool and kindergarten teachers share the responsibility of preparing children to learn phonics successfully.
Prerequisite Phonics Skills and Concepts
Concepts of Print
The first step in children’s reading experience begins with learning how print works (concepts of print). Children must understand that books have authors and illustrators, front and back covers, and that English text is read from left to right, top to bottom. When reading to young children, use your fingers to demonstrate where to start reading the words on the page and how to read from left to right, top to bottom. Children must also know that words have spaces between them and are always spelled the same way (stop is always spelled s-t-o-p). Concepts of print can be taught when children are very young (pre-kindergarten).
Rapid Word Naming
Rapid word naming (RAN) refers to the speed with which children can see a picture of an object and say what it is. To assess this skill, children are timed to determine the number of everyday objects they can name in one minute. You can help develop this skill at home by teaching your children the names of things as they are encountered in the environment (toys, household items, and animals). A fun activity is pointing to pictures in books and magazines, saying what the object is, then having the children point to the object and say its name (Say, “This is a ball. Balls bounce. What is this?” The children reply, “Ball, balls bounce.”). Paste pictures of familiar objects on cards, then show them to the children to see how quickly they can name them. Make this practice game-like. Quit when children lose interest. Do not force them to stick with an activity they do not want to play.
Letter Recognition/Names
Learning letter names prepares children for phonics because some letter names provide a clue to the sound the letter represents (f, l, m…). By the end of kindergarten, children should be able to recognize and write all upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet. They should also be able to tell you which letters are vowels, which are consonants, and the sound each letter represents, including the short vowel sounds of a, e, i, o, and u. Children who do not know the above essential skills by the end of kindergarten are already performing below grade level. Providing additional instruction and practice with these basic skills and concepts is vital to ensure they are ready to start first grade.
Alphabetic Principle
Beginning readers also need to learn the alphabetic principle. The concept, or big idea, is that letters (a, b, c…) and letter combinations (ch, dge, mb…) represent speech sounds that can be combined to make words. Knowing the alphabetic principle indicates a significant step in children’s reading readiness. Foster this understanding by discussing the words children see as books are read to them or when they see environmental print (stop signs, cereal box labels, signs for fast-food restaurants, etc.)
Phonological Awareness
Another key indicator of future reading success is children’s ability to distinguish, blend, segment, and manipulate the sounds of our language. By six months of age, most babies already recognize the basic sounds of their language. Speaking and singing to children from the day they are born is paramount. It is by hearing speech that children learn the sounds of their language. Children are capable of understanding language much earlier than most people realize. Converse with babies continually; they may not reply, but know they are listening and learning. Speak to them; read to them; sing to them. Sing the same song (The Alphabet Song, nursery rhymes, and lullabies) multiple times (4-6) before moving on to the next one. Repetition enhances learning.
There are two concepts children must learn when dealing with sounds in words. The first concept is called phonological awareness. Children with phonological awareness can count the number of syllables in words, identify words that rhyme, and produce a word that rhymes with another word when prompted. For example, “Say a word that rhymes with hop.” Engaging children in activities that help them focus on sounds (“I can say words that end with the sounds /old/. Cold, hold, and mold end with the old sounds. Can you think of another word ending with /old/?” Or say, “The words book and cook rhyme. They end with /ook/. Can you say a word that rhymes with book and cook?”).
Another level of phonological awareness is the ability to distinguish onset and rime. An onset is the consonant or consonant cluster at the beginning of a one-syllable word (spl is the onset of the word splat). The rime is the vowel plus the rest of the word (at is the rime in the words cat, sat, rat, flat, and splat). Rhyming and distinguishing onset and rime is difficult for many children and requires considerable practice. Interestingly, the ability to name rhyming words is not highly correlated with reading acquisition. In other words, the inability to rhyme words or distinguish onset and rime will not prevent children from learning how to read.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is an advanced form of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is a necessary but insufficient skill for successful word recognition (reading). Children with problems distinguishing individual sounds within words (for instance, think that the word cat has one sound, not three.) will have difficulties learning phonics. Phonics, the concept of sound/spelling correspondence, will not make sense to children who cannot distinguish the individual sounds in words. Children develop phonemic awareness by playing word games that take them to the point where they can identify individual sounds in words. (“What is round, bounces, and starts with /b/?”)
Manipulating the sounds in words includes blending, stretching, and changing the sounds to make a new word. Children demonstrate phonemic awareness by:
- Recognizing a set of words that start with the same sound
(“Big, bat, and but start with /b/.”) - Isolating/saying the first or last sound in a word
(“The first sound in dig is /d/.” “The last sound in dig is /g/.”) - Combining/blending the individual sounds in a word to say it
(“/f/, /i/, /g/ ➡ fig.”) - Segmenting a word into its individual sounds
(“tap ➡ /t/, /a/, /p/.”)
Students do not need to master all phonemic awareness skills before learning phonics. Advanced levels of phonemic awareness support spelling.
Phonemic Awareness
The following section provides additional information about phonemic awareness.
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Phonemic awareness activities are initially presented orally (children work with sounds, not spellings). However, students do not need to master all phonemic awareness skills before learning phonics. Advanced levels of phonemic awareness support spelling. The following are examples of phonemic awareness activities:
Listening Activities
Children listen to the sounds in words and perform tasks such as:
- Identifying a sound and its position. “What’s the first sound in the word mat?”
- Noticing patterns. (Yak, yam, and yell are words that begin with /y/. Hot, pot, and rock are words with /o/ in the middle. Can, men, and tin are words that end with /n/.)
Note: Forward slashes (//) denote English speech sounds. When, for example, a letter or letter combination occurs between the forward slashes, it represents the sound, not the name of the letter(s) (meaning the sound the letter represents should be pronounced, not the letter’s name). For example, /b/ means, say the sound the letter b makes. It does not mean say the letter’s name.
Listening activities require children to listen carefully to the first, middle, and last sounds in words. Refrain from assuming children can readily understand how to play any phonemic awareness game. Before starting phonemic awareness activities, be sure the children understand the meaning of the words first, last, and middle. If children are having difficulty, clarify what these words mean. For example, line up three objects on a desk or table in front of the children (a pencil, an eraser, and a ruler). Point to the first object on the left and say, “The pencil is the first object in this line.” Then, change the order of the objects and again tell the children which object is first. After several demonstrations, have them identify the first object. Next, teach the concept of last using the object on the right. Middle sounds are the most difficult to differentiate. It may be necessary to provide many examples before children learn the concepts of first, last, and middle.
The first sound of a word is the easiest sound to hear or segment. Children as young as two or three can play word games that help them focus on distinguishing the first sound in a word(s). (“I see something that starts with /b/. It isn’t a book or a bear. [Emphasize the sound /b/.] Can you find the /b/ thing that I see?”)
The last sound of a word is the next level of difficulty. After children can distinguish the first sound in various words, play games with objects and words that end with the same sound. (“I am thinking of words with the same last sound. Food, mud, bed, and kid all have /d/ at the end. Can you say a word that ends with /d/?”)
Once children can distinguish first and last sounds, they are ready to progress to distinguishing sounds in the middle of words. (“Can you hear the /o/ sound in the middle of the words moth, mom, hot, and bob? Can you say a word that has /o/ in the middle?”) Actively look for opportunities to play phonemic awareness word games.
Note: Phonemic awareness lessons requiring children to distinguish and manipulate first, last, and middle sounds in words are found throughout Marvi’s Way.
For successful reading acquisition, children must be able to 1) produce/replicate phonemes, 2) isolate phonemes, 3) segment and count phonemes, and 4) blend phonemes. Other more advanced phonemic awareness skills (such as rhyming, phoneme substitution, and phoneme reversal) support spelling. The importance of phonemic awareness cannot be overemphasized. The various levels of phonemic awareness are described in Sounds and Letters for Readers and Spellers by Jane Fell Greene:
Stage 1: Phoneme production/replication example:
- Say, “Say, /m/.”
Children reply, “/m/.”
Stage 2: Phoneme isolation examples:
- Ask, “What’s the first sound in lamb?”
Children reply, “/l/.”
- Ask, “What’s the last sound in lamb?”
Children reply, “/m/.”
- Ask, “What’s the middle sound in lamb?”
Children reply, “/a/.”
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 1-18 have phoneme listening activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Oral Segmenting Activities
Segmenting activities require children to separate words into phonemes (individual speech sounds). Children segment and then count the sounds they hear in words (e.g., bat = /b/ /a/ /t/, bat has three sounds). Carefully monitor how children perform oral segmenting activities. Watch their mouths to ensure the sounds are being correctly pronounced. If children have difficulty hearing or pronouncing sounds, consult their teachers or reading specialists.
Stage 3: Phoneme segmentation and counting example:
- Say, “Say the sounds in fun.”
Children reply, “/f/ /u/ /n/.
- Ask, “How many sounds are in fun?”
Children reply, “Three.”
Elkonin boxes are helpful tools. “Elkonin Boxes, or sound boxes, help emerging readers build phonemic awareness skills. When working with words, draw one box for each sound in a target word on a sheet of paper. Children push a token into corresponding boxes in order as they say each sound in the word. Elkonin boxes also can be used in phonics instruction to support phoneme-grapheme mapping.”
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 15-122 have phoneme oral segmenting activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Oral Blending Activities
Oral blending activities require children to blend sounds to say words. Children begin with the easiest skills, blending multisyllabic words (lady·bug ➡ ladybug, pres·i·dent ➡ president), and deliberately and systematically progress to blending individual sounds.
Stage 4: Phoneme blending examples:
- Say, “Blend these syllables to say a word: ap·ple·sauce.
Children reply, “Applesauce.”
- Say, “Blend these sounds to say a word: /m/ /a/ /n/.”
Children reply, “Man.”
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 11-75 have oral blending activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Rhyming Activities
Rhyming words end with the same last sounds (mat, fat, bat; best, nest, rest). Rhyming is a challenging concept for some children. The reasons they have problems vary. Some children may have issues differentiating sounds. Others do not understand what the word last means. Another reason children have difficulty is that they are focused on the first sound(s) instead of the last sounds in words. Children may think rhyming words start with the same sound. They haven’t mastered the concept. Learning how to rhyme can take considerable time.
When working with children, be patient. Gently and respectfully determine the reason for the confusion. Children learn the concept of rhyming by playing word games. Create activities to help them learn how to rhyme. For instance, find pictures of objects that rhyme or read nursery rhymes and poetry aloud, emphasizing the rhyming words. Provide a variety of activities until children can independently rhyme words.
Stage 5: Rhyming example:
- Say, “What words rhyme with man?”
Children reply, “Ban, fan, pan, ran, tan…”
- Say, “Which words rhyme: ban, bun, can?”
Children reply, “Children reply, “Ban, can.
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 26-119 have rhyming activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Phoneme Deletion Activities
Phoneme deletion (sound deletion) activities require children to remove a sound from a word and then say the new word or remaining sounds. (“Say, strap without /s/.” [trap]) These activities are not easy. Children who easily blend or segment phonemes might struggle with this skill. Always pause and give children plenty of thinking time to manipulate the sounds before they answer. As activities increase in difficulty, the time between the prompt and the children’s responses can increase. Always allow thinking time.
Stage 6: Phoneme deletion examples:
- Say, “Say, cupcake without cup.”
Children reply, “Cake.”
- Say, “Say, cupcake without cake.”
Children reply, “Cup.”
- Say, “Say, sat without /s/?”
Children reply, “At.”
- Say, “Say, make without /k/.”
Children reply, “May.”
- Say, “Say, rat without /t/.”
Children reply, “/ra/.”
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 26-124 have phoneme deletion activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Phoneme Substitution Activities
Phoneme substitution activities require children to create new words by replacing a phoneme with a different sound. [“Change the first sound in get to /b/.” (bet)] Similar to phoneme deletion, the positions of the sounds to be substituted will vary (first, last, and middle). When children struggle to learn this skill, note what sounds are problematic. Record the position of the difficult sounds. First sounds are the easiest to substitute. Manipulating the last and middle phonemes is more challenging. Always allow thinking time.
Stage 7: Phoneme substitution examples:
- Say, “Say, cat.”
Children reply, “Cat.”
- Say, “Change the first sound in cat to /h/.”
Children reply, “Hat.”
- Say, “Say, cat.”
Children reply, “Cat.”
- Say, “Change the last sound in cat to /sh/.”
Children reply, “Cash.”
- Say, “Say, cat.”
Children reply, “Cat.”
- Say, “Change the middle sound to /o/.”
Children reply, “Cot.”
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 27-126 have phoneme substitution activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Phoneme Reversal Activities
Children create new words by moving the first sound in a word to the last position and the last sound to the first (back ➡ cab). Children will have fun switching phonemes to create different words. Many have never played with words in this fashion. Children who can perform these activities have achieved a high level of phonemic awareness.
Stage 8: Phoneme reversal examples:
- Say, “Say, cat.”
Children reply, “Cat.”
- Say, “Change the first sound to last and the last sound to first.”
Children reply, “Tack.”
- Say, “Say, “nip.”
Children reply, “Nip.”
- Say, “Change the first sound to last and the last sound to first.”
Children reply, “Pin.”
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 65-126 have phoneme reversal activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Pig Latin Activities
Pig Latin is a secret code children enjoy using in elementary school. They change words by moving the first consonant sounds (the onset) to the end of a word and then adding the long a sound to the end. (For example, bake ➡ akebay, middle ➡ iddlemay, and I can speak Pig Latin. ➡ Iay ancay eakspay igpay atinlay.)
Stage 9: Pig Latin lesson example:
- Say, “Say, cat.”
Children reply, “Cat.”
- Say, “Say, cat. with /k/ at the end.
Children reply, “/atk/.”
- Say, “Add /ā/ at the end.”
Children reply, “/atkā/.
Listen carefully during phonemic awareness activities. Watch the children’s mouths as the activities are performed. Try to detect any problems pronouncing the sounds. When children have problems, review previous, less complicated skills before teaching a new skill or concept. Consider consulting with a speech therapist when problems persist.
Note: Marvi’s Way lessons 103-125 have Pig Latin activities. Every phonemic awareness lesson in this program is directly tied to phonics lessons.
Additional Activities Include but Are Not Limited to:
- During the I Spy game, the children will not only have fun but also learn about phonemes. Choose an object in the room that starts (or ends) with a specific sound. The children will guess the object by asking questions. For example, if the sound is /k/, you can say, “I spy something that starts with /k/.” The children can then ask questions like, “Is it small? Is it on the wall? Is it round? Does it tick?” After each question, they can make their guess, “I think the /k/ object is a ____.”
- See how many words children can generate that begin with the target sound. Interesting things happen during phoneme awareness lessons. In one classroom, children thought jacket was a word that started with /ch/. The children’s teacher gently and respectfully explained that the sounds /j/ and /ch/ are formed in the mouth the same way. The difference is that /j/ is voiced, and /ch/ is voiceless.
Then, she had the children feel their throats and pronounce each sound. She said they can feel their throats (larynx/voice box) vibrate with the voiced sound /j/. When they say /ch/, they cannot feel a vibration. Next, the teacher had them place their hands in front of their mouths; the children felt a puff of air when the voiceless sound /ch/ was pronounced but did not feel a puff of air when they said /j/. This brief lesson taught the children to differentiate /j/ and /ch/ and to understand the concept of voicing. Other pairs of sounds that differ because of voicing are /b/ and /p/, d/ and /t/.
- Have children cut out pictures from magazines that start with the same sound. Then, have them paste the pictures on construction paper and label the page with the spelling(s) that represent the sound. (If the sound is /s/, photos of a circus, cereal, sand, seals, salt, sandwiches, soup, salad, and sailboats might be found.) Have the children label the page with a capital and a lowercase s. After the digraphs the ce and ci_ are taught, they add the spellings to their /s/ page.
Special consideration is necessary for children whose first language is not English. These learners may have difficulty hearing some sounds. (For example, /i/ is not a Spanish phoneme. Children whose primary language is Spanish may need multiple practice activities and targeted instruction to help them learn to hear and pronounce the short i sound.)
Phonics
Phonics is taught in kindergarten through second grade. To understand this concept, read about phonics and decoding. Effective, evidence-based phonics programs teach children sound/spelling correspondence and how to apply what they are learning to read words, sentences, and stories. Automaticity, quick and effortless word recognition, is a skill obtained with practice.
Sounds/Spellings
The term sound/spelling is used to describe a letter or letter combination that represents a speech sound (for instance, the spellings for the sound /k/ are c [cat], k [kite], ck [thick], and ch [chord]). Evidence-based reading programs explicitly introduce sounds/spellings one at a time. The sequence in which sounds/spellings are introduced is carefully orchestrated. For example:
- The spellings b, d, and p are problematic. One letter is often confused with the others because they look so similar (each consists of a circle and a straight line). Therefore, they are taught several days apart.
- The instructions for voiced and voiceless pairs are also separated. For instance, lessons for /v/ and /f/ are spread apart because their sounds are formed in the mouth the same way. Both are pronounced with the upper teeth touching the lower lip. /v/ is voiced. When this sound is pronounced, the larynx (voice box) vibrates and can be felt by placing the fingers on the throat. /f/ is voiceless. The larynx does not vibrate; however, a puff of air can be detected if the hand is placed in front of the mouth.
- Short vowel sounds are taught before long vowel sounds.
- The most common consonants (e.g., m, d, t, and s) and digraphs (spellings with two letters such as ck, ar, and er) are taught early to maximize the number of words children can read.
After just four weeks or 20 lessons of a well-designed, evidence-based reading program, first-grade children can read approximately 140 words independently. After only ten more lessons, over 500 words are added to the children’s reading vocabulary. After mastering each new phonics element, the number of words children can independently read increases dramatically. The utility of phonics soon becomes apparent with the realization that children can independently read many more words and books than they ever could using cueing or other whole-word methods.
Attend to Individual Needs.
- Review skills often.
- Read alliterative stories aloud that use the sound(s) the children are learning.
- Provide ample practice until children can identify sounds/spellings quickly and automatically. Reading comprehension goes hand in hand with fluency, so measures of reading rate can be indirect measures of reading comprehension.
Marvi’s Way: A Guide to Reading and Spelling is a downloadable reading and spelling program for parents and guardians. Each module comes with two separate workbooks (tutor and student versions) that guide users through 126 detailed lessons step by step. You do not need to be an expert; you will learn to teach reading and spelling as you work through the lessons with your children.
Spelling
Approximately 90% of English words are phonetically regular. Therefore, children must be taught basic spelling patterns, principles, and rules governing sounds/spellings. “The more a teacher understands how English spelling works, the more likely it is that students will improve their spelling and decoding (Kroese, Mather, & Sammons, 2006).”
Spelling Instruction Incorporates the Following Big Ideas:
- Alphabetic principle
- Pattern formation (syllable types)
- Closed (CVC) syllables (man, send, lit, con, cut)
- Vowel-consonant-e (VCe) syllables (mane, complete, lite, cone, cute)
- Open (CV) syllables (la·bel, be·fore, li·cense, ho·tel, hu·man)
- Vowel team syllables (stay, bean, field, grow, stew, soil)
- Vowel-r (r-controlled) syllables (fern, bird, turn, park, fort)
- Consonant-le (C-le) syllables (apple, giggle, puzzle)
- Spelling variations are often based on word origins
- Meaningful word parts (morphology)
Reading and spelling are reciprocal processes. Reading improves spelling; spelling enhances reading. Each skill supports the development of the other. Children are taught how to spell words through dictation. During dictation, model (demonstrate) how to segment the phonemes in words and match sounds with the spellings the sounds represent. Guide children step-by-step during initial dictation lessons. Watch this word-building game starting at 1:04:07 and this dictation lesson starting at 51:27. Pay close attention to children when they write. Remind them to apply the sound/spelling rules they have learned. Gently and respectfully correct mistakes.
Write the Spelling and Say the Sound
Children should practice writing spellings, words, and sentences every day. In preschool and kindergarten, they can write a spelling (letter) in the air before writing it on paper, saying the sound the spelling makes while it is written. (Saying the sound as spellings are written helps children associate the sound with its spelling.) Tactile activities (such as writing with one or two fingers in shaving cream or on carpet squares) help young children remember how individual letters are formed.
Proper letter formation is vital. Check with the children's teachers to learn the handwriting style (manuscript or D’Nealian) being taught.
Marvi’s Way: A Guide to Reading and Spelling is a downloadable reading and spelling program for parents and guardians. Each module comes with two separate workbooks (tutor and student versions) that guide users through 126 detailed lessons step by step. You do not need to be an expert; you will learn to teach reading and spelling as you work through the lessons with your children.
Spelling
Approximately 90% of English words are phonetically regular. Therefore, children must be taught basic spelling patterns, principles, and rules governing sounds/spellings. “The more a teacher understands how English spelling works, the more likely it is that students will improve their spelling and decoding (Kroese, Mather, & Sammons, 2006).”
Spelling Instruction Incorporates the Following Big Ideas:
- Alphabetic principle
- Pattern formation (syllable types)
- Closed (CVC) syllables (man, send, lit, con, cut)
- Vowel-consonant-e (VCe) syllables (mane, complete, lite, cone, cute)
- Open (CV) syllables (la·bel, be·fore, li·cense, ho·tel, hu·man)
- Vowel team syllables (stay, bean, field, grow, stew, soil)
- Vowel-r (r-controlled) syllables (fern, bird, turn, park, fort)
- Consonant-le (C-le) syllables (apple, giggle, puzzle)
- Spelling variations are often based on word origins
- Meaningful word parts (morphology)
Reading and spelling are reciprocal processes. Reading improves spelling; spelling enhances reading. Each skill supports the development of the other. Children are taught how to spell words through dictation. During dictation, model (demonstrate) how to segment the phonemes in words and match sounds with the spellings the sounds represent. Guide children step-by-step during initial dictation lessons. Watch this word-building game starting at 1:04:07 and this dictation lesson starting at 51:27. Pay close attention to children when they write. Remind them to apply the sound/spelling rules they have learned. Gently and respectfully correct mistakes.
Write the Spelling and Say the Sound
Children should practice writing spelling, words, and sentences every day. In preschool and kindergarten, they can write a spelling (letter) in the air before writing it on paper, saying the sound the spelling makes while it is written. (Saying the sound as spellings are written helps children associate the sound with its spelling.) Tactile activities (such as writing with one or two fingers in shaving cream or on carpet squares) help young children remember how individual letters are formed.
Proper letter formation is vital. Check with the children's teachers to learn the handwriting style (manuscript or D’Nealian) being taught.
Marvi’s Way: A Guide to Reading and Spelling is a downloadable reading and spelling program for parents and guardians. Each module comes with two separate workbooks (tutor and student versions) that guide users through 126 detailed lessons step by step. You do not need to be an expert; you will learn to teach reading and spelling as you work through the lessons with your children.