MULTISYLLABIC WORD READING

1. MULTISYLLABIC WORD READING CHAPTER 8 Study Guide Compiled by Betty Jo Willey

2. WHAT!Introduction to Chapter 8 • Multisyllabic Word Reading Explicit Instruction in recognizing syllables and morphemes is essential because it gives students additional strategies for reading longer words. ~Important Because *Students often have difficulty with multisyllabic words. *5th graders and beyond must know how to decode because most of the words they encounter will have 7 or more letters and have 2 or more syllables.

3. Brain Function =Pattern Detection “To read words in text fluently and accurately, the brain’s “orthographic” processor must learn to “see” common letter patterns and recurring word parts.” (p. 260) • Pattern detection is key to recognizing syllables and morphemes.

4. Chunk it ! • Don’t understand a big word? • Brain Function = Pattern Detection Skilled Readers must be able to: • Recognize multi-letter patterns (syllables, affixes, phonograms) • Chunk it (break into smaller pieces) into parts as the reader perceives the word. • Use knowledge of common patterns found in other words.

5. Practice is Best…IntroContinued… • Key Definitions: Syllable– A word or part of a word pronounced as a unit Unit – part of a word with one vowel sound; may see more than one vowel per unit/syllable – but always hear only one vowel sound Syllabication– division of multisyllabic word into separate syllables b. What research says ~ Rules: To Know or Not To Know Past Decades NOW what researchers say = about RULES…. Memorize rigid rules ----too many ----too complex ----knowing them doesn’t necessarily improve students’ decoding skills ***Students learn they can be flexible in dividing a word into parts as long as they can ultimately make the word into a real and recognizable word. (Archer et. Al. 2003, 2006)

6. More Intro….How to Teach Students to Decode Longer Multisyllabic Words: 3 Research-based Approaches ***These approaches differ in how the words are broken down into decodable units…

7. In this Guide…

8. SECTION A WHAT

9. Section A.WHAT?...Part I. Syllables • What they are (review from slide 5) Syllable– A word or part of a word pronounced as a unit Unit – part of a word with one vowel sound; may see more than one vowel per unit/syllable – but always hear only one vowel sound Syllabication– division of multisyllabic word into separate syllables

10. Syllable Types and (most useful) Division Principles

11. b. What some researchers say…about Syllable Types

12. ….and what some researchers say about division principles

13. About dictionary-based syllabication rules • Use caution when looking up syllable breaks in a dictionary. • Most dictionaries divide words according to how a printed word should be broken into text • Sometimes has little to do with spoken pronunciation • (Moats 2005) Spoken language (reading?) divisions often do not coincide with the conventions for dividing written syllables. • Adams et al. What is important is that each unit is pronounceable (sounding out … sim-ple or simp le)

14. 4 other syllable division rules (worth mentioning..) • Divide 2 syllable compound words between the two smaller words. • Inflectional endings such as –ing, –er, –es, –ed, -est often form separate syllables. • Never separate the letters in a consonant or vowel digraph, vowel diphthong, or r-controlled vowel across syllable divisions. • One of the syllables in a multisyllabic word usually receives more stress, or emphasis. In 2 syllable words, the stress usually falls on the first syllable. In the unstressed syllable, the vowel sound is often reduced to a schwa.

15. Section A.WHAT?… Part II. Affixes. • What they are? ~Prefixes (added before a root word) ~Suffixes (added after a root word) Definition: ~ Root word – also called base word; a single word that cannot be broken into meaningful smaller words or parts Note: Syllable divisions often occur between morphemic (meaningful) units of meaning (word parts).

16. What researchers say about AFFIXES

17. So…rather than using rigid rules…teach students to beF LEX IBLE (p. 267) Segmenting multisyllabic words • Accuracy when students form consolidated connections between spellings of letter units or syllables • Break words into spoken syllables • Match spoken syllable to their spellings • Blend segments to form recognizable word (Bhattacharya & Ehri, 2004) Based on information that 1. high percentage of multisyllabic words contain at least one prefix or or suffix 2. each syllable contains one vowel sound Archer et. Al (2006) TO ACHIEVE a close approximation to the actual pronunciation of a word, the program teaches students to segment words into parts by identifying the AFFIXES and then the vowel sounds in the rest of the word.

18. SECTION B WHY

19. Section B. WHY?… Part I. Importance Important to know about multisyllabic words because: • From 5th grade on, the average student encounters about 10,000 new words, most multisyllabic, per year! • Since the meaning of intermediate-grade CONTENT AREA reading is generally carried by multisyllabic words, without the ability to decode multisyllabic words, students are unable to understand vocabulary and understand the meaning of what they read.

20. Section B. WHY?… Part II. Research says… • Good readers = accurate multisyllabic word analysis and recognition • Poor readers = inaccurate multisyllabic word analysis and recognition… which happens because the reader processes the individual letters in the word rather that breaking the word into syllables…. (Bhattacharya, 2006, Mewhort and Beal, 1977, Scheerer-Neumann 1981) Several studies have shown that teaching students strategies for decoding longer words improves their decoding skill (Archer et al.) Low decoders • correctly pronounce fewer affixes and vowel sounds • disregard large portions of letter information • 2 to 4 times more likely to omit syllables (Shefelbine & Calhoun, 1991) So…teaching strategies for decoding improves decoding ability and {improves reading?}

21. SECTION C WHEN

22. Section C. Part I. When... To teach: Instruction in multisyllabic instruction can begin after students have mastered the decoding of Single-syllable words. • Other Prerequisites include the abilities to: • pronounce common sound/spelling correspondences • ---especially vowel combinations • identify open and closed syllables • pronounce affixes in isolation Ave # of syllables increases steadily in the primary grades. Students are (by the end of) 1st grade – reading mostly 1 & 2 syllable words 2nd grade – reading mostly 2 syllable words 3rd grade – reading longer multisyllabic words

23. Section C. Part I. When... To teach: • Older Struggling Students (middle – high school students) • Mastered basic decoding but lack strategies to decode multisyllabic words • Struggle with content area words that are outside their vocabulary Ironically – current research does not indentify/specify the amount of explicit instruction necessary for struggling students after third grade.

24. Section C. Part II. When… To Assess: Begin assessment in multisyllabic word reading in mid-second grade in order to plan effective intervention. Assessment should determine whether the deficit can be attributed to a bigger problem…

25. Section C. Part III. When...To Intervene Assess mid-second grade in order to plan Effective intervention… “It is not clear form current research the amount of explicit multisyllabic word instruction necessary for struggling readers after third grade” (Torgesen et al. 2007). Early Intervention!!!!

26. SECTION D HOW (Good Teaching Ideas Outlined )

27. Section D. Parts I & II HOW…To Teach IDEAS TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM SEE CHPT 8 pp. 272-318 • Assess (pretest) • Introduce • Teach/Model • Guided Practice (monitor) • Application (independent practice)

28. THE END Chapter 8 Study Guide 