Guidelines for Meaningful Phonics

Instruction

Priscilla L. GriffithUniversity of Oklahoma

pgriffith@ou.edu

Myths and Truths about Phonics Instruction Phonics is a solution for all reading

problems. MYTH Phonics ignores meaning. MYTH Phonics is synonymous with

beginning reading instruction. MYTH

Phonics is an approach to word study that focuses on the relationship between spelling patterns and sound patterns. TRUTH

Goal of Phonics Instruction Get to the meaning Determine a likely pronunciation Make the leap to a known word

that contributes to the meaning of the passage being read

Examples The case of “what.” The case of “compass.”

Achieving the Goal: When? By the end of Grade 2 most

children will have sufficient knowledge of letter-sound relationships.

Beyond Grade 2 instruction focuses more on how the spelling of a word reveals its meaning.

“Stretching phonics instruction out too long, or spending time on teaching the arcane aspects of phonics – the schwa, the silent K, assigning accent to polysyllabic words – is at best a waste of time.” (Stahl, 1992)

-ed: /t/, /d/, /id/

I like to play Chutes and Ladders.Yesterday I played Chutes and Ladders

with my friend.

playplayed

Achieving the Goal: How Much? According to Stahl (1992), phonics

instruction should take up no more than 25% (and possibly less) of the total reading instruction time in the classroom.

The majority of classroom reading instruction should focus on reading connected text.

Achieving the Goal: What? Developing the alphabetic principle

– understanding the relationship between spoken and written language (The case of “ox.”) Letters Sounds Intent Data

Expanding meaning vocabulary Understanding the goal of reading Focusing on patterns

Common spelling patterns (e.g., CVC, CVCe)

Common spellings across words (e.g., 500 words can be generated from 37 rimes)

Writing

Phases of Word Learning Ehri, 1994; Ehri & McCormick,

2004Pre-alphabetic

Partial-alphabeticFull-alphabeticOrthographic

Automatic

Meaningful Phonics Instruction

LEARNING OCCURSWORDS S

IMULTANEOUSLY

TEXT STRUCTURES

PRINT CONCEPT

MEANING VOCABULARY

COMPREHENSIONSTRATEGIES

Meaningful Phonics Instruction Pre-Alphabetic

Beginning readers select non-phonemic visual characteristics to remember words.

Writing includes mock letters and random letters with no relation to sound structure of the word.

Teacher read-alouds from texts that play with language through rhyme, alliteration, or assonance.

Discuss word meanings. Alphabet books Language experience Shared reading with enlarged text

to model print concepts.

Shared writing in which teacher models the alphabetic principle

Opportunities to incorporate writing while visiting centers

Writing using invented spelling

Meaningful Phonics Instruction Partial-Alphabetic

Beginning readers use some letters and context to guess the identity of unfamiliar words.

Vowel sounds are rarely represented in invented spellings.

Continue pre-alphabetic practices. Shared reading from patterned

texts. Print studies of patterned texts. Begin explicit instruction in letter-

sound correspondences. Use Elkonin boxes to examine

spellings of known words.

Rubberband words. Manipulate the onset of common rimes

(e.g., bat/hat/cat/fat/rat). Teach mnemonics to help with reversals

of visually similar letters. Introduce interactive writing during

which the teacher and student share the pen.

Sort pictures by initial or final sounds.

Meaningful Phonics Instruction Full-alphabetic

The beginning reader has a working knowledge of letter-sound correspondences that enables him/her to decode many unfamiliar words.

Vowel sounds are represented in invented spellings.

Continue teacher read-alouds; shared and interactive writing; explicit instruction in letter-sound correspondences; and discussions of word meanings.

Provide instruction in orthographic patterns, e.g., CVC, CVCe

Sort words by focusing on common spellings across words.

Sort word families by sound: bat/bet Manipulate letters and read newly formed

words: bat/bet/bit or bat/bad/back Making words activities. Introduce common inflectional endings: -s,

-ed, -ing Much practice reading connected text

at independent and instructional levels.

Meaningful Phonics Instruction Orthographic

The reader uses multi-level units to read words.

Continue word sorts. Study affixes and common roots. Continue reading connected

text at independent and instructional levels.

Phonics interacts with knowledge of word

meanings and context to help readers get to

meaning.