This is the phase at which you work on the letter cluster-sound
links; you teach the students to link the letter cluster with
the sound pattern that you targeted in the before learning
to read the words phase.
The recommended teaching introduces the letter cluster in
a word family of 4 to 5 words. An example is the -own rime
unit shown in the following five words:
| Read each word |
Read each word with students. Students repeat reading
each word 2 or 3 times. |
| Read each word in segments |
Readers say the onset and rime of each word separately,
pointing to each letter cluster as they say it, for example,
for "town" say "t" and "own". |
| Blending letter clusters |
Teach students to read letter clusters by saying each
part and blending
- onsets and rimes into 1-syllable words
- two letter clusters into a 2-syllable word.
|
| How the words are similar |
The readers read each word again and say
- the rimes of the words in each category, for example,
own and
- what all members of the list share, both letter
clusters and shared sounds.
|
| Visualise each word and aspects of the pattern |
Readers read each word, close their eyes, make a picture
of it and write it. They
- look at 2 or 3 instances, close their eyes, 'see'
the words, imagine writing them and discuss how they
are similar.
- visualise the letter cluster in a word that has
the sound, eg., the 'ow' in an image of a crown.
- move the letter-sound cluster to other words.
|
| Spell the word |
Develop writing and spelling in parallel with reading.
Show the letters that are in the correct sequential positions
by ticking. |
| Transfer letter-sound rime units to other words |
Select other words that have the same rime but that
you haven't taught. Use nonsense words with the rime,
letter and rime cards to make up words that readers need
to say as quickly as they can. Encourage readers to predict
how to say unfamiliar words. |
| Write a sentence |
Readers make up a sentence about each word that illustrates
its meaning. |
| Discriminate the word type from similar words |
Students learning 'own' could read the following:
frown torn town fort clot clown moo tone town trod thrown
crown nod now brown slow |
| Reading prose |
Transfer the letter cluster to prose. The readers and
/ or the teacher can
- invent and write short stories that contain the
words. They read them.
- read sentences containing some of the words.
- read words containing the unit in prose.
- scan prose they are reading for other words that
have the letter cluster and list them.
Avoid prose that repeats rime units in high frequency,
unnatural ways. |
| Read 2- and 3- syllable words |
frowned drowning clown frowning crowned downer browner |
| Dictation for sentences |
Provide dictation for sentences containing the words
with the pattern. |
Teach meta-phonemic knowledge directly.
|
For the -own pattern, they discuss
- what they know about letter cluster patterns
- how they can use what they know about some words
to read others
- how they could make bigger words from the smaller
words.
- how they segment words, why segmenting words into
2 or 3 parts is useful.
- talk about their developing knowledge of word patterns
- recognise familiar letter cluster patterns in unfamiliar
words
- see themselves as 'self teachers'.
|
Organize changing knowledge in a systematic easy-to-use way.
The purpose of this phase is for students to automatise their
knowledge of the letter pattern. Rather than needing to make
the letter -sound link consciously, they are able to recognise
the letter pattern automatically. This allows readers to engage
in orthographic learning.
