Phonics

1. 1 Phonics Professional Development Module Office of Reading First New Jersey Department of Education Session II

2. 2 Approaches to Phonics Instruction Synthetic- A part-to-whole approach in which the student learns the sounds represented by letters and letter combinations, blends these sounds to produce words, and finally identifies which phonic generalizations apply. Analytic- A whole-to-part approach in which the student is first taught a number of sight words and then relevant phonic generalizations, which are subsequently applied to other words. Analogy- Children learn to use parts of word families they know to identify words they don�t know that have similar parts. (Harris & Hodges, 1995)

3. 3 Analogy Based Phonics Children learn to use parts of word families they know to identify words they don�t know that have similar parts. (The Partnership for Reading, 2001) This instructional strategy involves the use of onsets (all the letters before the vowel) and rimes (the vowel and what follows) to read unfamiliar words. s- at h- and h- at s- and m- at b- and (Adapted from Cunningham, 2005)

4. 4 Reflection on Video What standards did this lesson address? How could the teacher assess students� understanding? What could the teacher�s next steps be in planning for future instruction?

5. 5 Phonics and Spelling Letter-sound connections promote reading and spelling ability. Take into account the developmental spelling progression. Repeated encounters with a word strengthen its retention in memory.

6. 6 Phonics Centers Linking letters Dice Word sorts Making words

7. 7 Reflection on Video What standards did each center address? How would the teacher assess students� understanding? What would the teacher�s next steps be in planning for future instruction?

8. 8 Phonics Centers Multi-level Meaningful/connected Engaging Hands-on

9. 9 Differentiation Why is differentiation important? How do I decide who needs what?

10. 10 How do I Differentiate Phonics Centers? Color coded materials Baskets/ tubs Task cards An example of a possible color-coding system:

11. 11 Reflection on Video What standards did this lesson address? How would the teacher assess students� understanding? What would the teacher�s next steps be in planning for future instruction?

12. 12 Considerations for Small Group Activities Groups should be flexible. Grouping decisions should be based on assessment. Instructional focus should be based on assessment of students� needs.

13. 13 Silent Reflection Reflect on your current phonics instruction. Are you doing whole group and small group instruction? Phonics centers? What first steps might you take to incorporate these instructional approaches?

14. 14 Reaching All Learners Motivation Model, Model, Model Guided Practice Provide Feedback Connect to Other Learning

15. 15 English Language Learners Begin with commonalities. Use knowledge of the students� home language to understand students� developmental reading and writing. Identify areas of distinction and provide explicit support. Use developmental spelling tasks to assess students� learning. Ensure that students understand foundational concepts. Include students in think-aloud processes comparing their home language and English. Provide opportunities for hands on learning and student interaction (Ortiz, 2002)

16. 16 Suggested Guidelines for Learning and Teaching Phonics Teaching phonics is not synonymous with teaching reading. Reading and spelling require much more than phonics. Phonics is one of several strategies for spelling. Memorizing phonics rules does not ensure application of those rules. Learners need to see the relevance of phonics for themselves in their own reading and writing. Teaching students to use phonics is different from teaching them about phonics. Ongoing assessment should be used to inform phonics instruction. The best context for learning and applying phonics is actual reading and writing. Phonics is one of several enablers or cueing systems that help us read. (Adapted from Strickland, 1998)

17. 17 What to do when phonics isn�t enough: Students need to be taught other decoding strategies:

18. 18 Next Steps Assessment Study groups Class visitations �Make & Take� PD for phonics centers Guest speaker Analyzing assessment Outside PD opportunities Demos by coach in classrooms