Word Recognition

Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven't seen before. (Reading Rockets)

The ability to decode unfamiliar words is a skill we use throughout our life. Proficient readers have the ability to use their knowledge of letter-sound relationships to accurately read a word. Development of the alphabetic principle and the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between letters and sounds, knowledge of syllables, and morphemes, is foundational to a students' ability to read and write. Additionally, the skills of decoding creates a path toward automaticity and orthographic mapping.

As students develop through the four stages of word reading, there are important practices that will contribute to student's mastery of decoding. Here are some for your consideration:

Note: These videos and resources were selected to be sample strategies or routines. You will need to adapt them to align with your current instructional materials.

Explicitly teach the relationship between phonemes(sounds) and graphemes (symbols) which is called phoneme/grapheme correspondence:

• Explicitly teach students the relationship between phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (one or more letters that represent a sound). Regular use of sound spelling cards and decodable text helps students remember and practice these relationships. (Make sure the sounds are pronounced correctly.) The brain needs mastery of this sound-symbol relationship in order to read. Additionally, have students practice the connections using multimodal approaches. Watch a sample video that shows one way to connect phonemes and graphemes. In this video, the teacher begins with phonemic awareness and then connects the sounds to symbols.
• Use a daily review technique to reinforce previously taught phonemes and graphemes using a predictable routine. Here is another daily review technique example. Both of these videos model the Orton Gillingham 3-part drill.This digital slide deck on graphemes can be used for review.

Introduction to Phonics Instruction

Lisa Rivera provides an introduction to phonics instruction.

Use a multimodal approach and instructional routines:

• Use multimodal techniques when teaching decoding. Engage the visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic senses.
• Use a hear, see, say, write routine to teach each grapheme, syllables, or morpheme. Using a multimodal approach can enhance the brain's ability to learn.
  • Hear: Begin each lesson with a focus on a phonemic awareness activity to ensure students can hear, pronounce and manipulate the sound(s).
  • See: Explicitly teach students to see the connections between the phoneme (sound) and the grapheme (print symbol). During this phase, you are teaching sound/symbol correspondence. Use multimodal techniques to strengthen these connections.
  • Say: Have students practice applying the sound-symbol relationship by blending words using an established blending routine. Once students have practiced applying their knowledge to the new grapheme, include a review of previously taught graphemes. Provide multiple opportunities for students to develop mastery of their blending skills. Here is a link to some digital blending slide decks. Don't forget to connect with the word's meaning for unfamiliar words.
  • Write: Use the sound spelling cards to teach students how to spell/write words using a dictation routine. Integrate multisensory practices, or techniques that support orthographic mapping. Watch a video of this practice. Here is another video showing using phoneme-grapheme mapping to write words. Here is a link to phoneme-grapheme paper.

Teach word study:

• Explicitly teach older students the syllable types and morphology. Use blending routines for multisyllabic words. Make sure students have a strategy to use when they encounter an unfamiliar word. There is a collection of videos on all of the syllable patterns on the Los Angeles County "Getting Reading Right" page.

Use sound walls instead of word walls:

• English is a phoneme-based language is is designed to connect with sound. Consequently, it is helpful for students when you use a sound walls instead of a word wall when posting words in a classroom. (Watch a webinar on sound walls.) Here is a video that explains the sound wall in more detail.

Provide opportunities for high-quality practice and interactions:

• Apply the decoding skills to connected text every day. Be sure to apply decoding skills to controlled decodable text in the primary grades or older students as needed.

Use data and small group instruction to support learning:

• Use formative assessment and feedback to support student learning. Use diagnostic assessment to determine graphemes, syllables, and morphemes students have mastered. Here is a phonics survey if needed. Use the diagnostic data to target specific priorities during small group instruction and reteaching opportunities. Here is a Decoding and Encoding Hyperdoc or Padlet you can use for reteaching vowels
• Reinforce learning during small group instruction.

Teach Students Routines for Blending Words:

• Educators will need to select the best blending routine to use with students. Please see the videos below for different examples of blending routines.
  • Sound by sound blending in kindergarten
  • Sound by sound blending part 1
  • Sound by sound blending part 2 Multisyllabic words
  • Continuous blending
  • Continuous blending in kindergarten
  • Vowel first blending

Modeling Blending Short A Words

Dr. Molly McCabe models sound by sound blending using a blending routine on Google slides.

YouTube playlist with similar blending videos.

Please refer to the complete set of blending teaching tools in Google Slides.

Teach Students a Routine for Encoding Words

Utilize a dictation routine to explicitly teach students how to spell words. This video shows one example of a dictation routine.

Modeling Dictation Short A Words

Dr. Molly McCabe models writing words using a dictation routine on Google slides.

YouTube playlist with similar dictation routine videos.

Please refer to the complete set of dictation routine teaching tools in Google Slides.

Phonics Instruction in a Digital Classroom

Dr. Molly McCabe demonstrates for educators an example of using the hear, see, say, write routine with the long A sound. 

Dr. Molly McCabe demonstrates for educators an example of using the hear, see, say, write routine with the /ou/ sound with fourth graders.

This video will walk you through digital tools to teach phonics that can be directly used with students. Because the tools were developed in Google Slides, teachers can easily utilize them the next day.

Access the Decoding and Encoding Hyperdoc or Padlet.

The third important element of word recognition is sight recognition. The goal for this strand is that decodable and irregular words are read with automaticity.

In order to achieve this, words must be Orthographically Mapped and stored into long-term memory (David Kilpatrick). This element of reading has some confusing terminology so we will begin by clarifying key terms.

A sight word is any word that we read with automaticity or by sight. This word has been orthographically mapped in our brain and is read without effort. This is different from a high-frequency word.

A high-frequency word is one of the most common words in the English language. They can have a regular or an irregular spelling.

An irregular word is a word that doesn’t follow a regular sound-spelling pattern.

The third important element of word recognition is sight recognition. The goal for this strand is that decodable and irregular words are read with automaticity.

In order to achieve this, words must be Orthographically Mapped and stored into long-term memory (David Kilpatrick). This element of reading has some confusing terminology so we will begin by clarifying key terms.

A sight word is any word that we read with automaticity or by sight. This word has been orthographically mapped in our brain and is read without effort. This is different from a high-frequency word.

A high-frequency word is one of the most common words in the English language. They can have a regular or an irregular spelling.

An irregular word is a word that doesn’t follow a regular sound-spelling pattern.