#phonics and decoding

[lessonplancurator]

[kamalkafir-blog]

hand2mind Guided Phonics + Beyond Decodable Books Unit 2, CVC Books for Beginning Readers, Science of Reading Classroom Materials, Learn to Read Leveled Readers, Preschool Curriculum for Teachers

Price: (as of – Details) Developed by Tara West, Guided Phonics + Beyond Decodable Books are designed to uniquely engage students in reading while practicing phonics skills. These books are organized to prompt students to apply their phonics knowledge and read before seeing the accompanying pictures, ensuring that guessing and cueing do not occur. The pictures then assist in comprehension after…

[ellearning]

Newcomer Decodables with Photographs

Photographs are a simple yet effective tool to use with newcomer English Language Learners. They illustrate a vocabulary word in a way that a drawing can come close to but not quite achieve. Have you heard about the Science of Reading? Research shows that it is helpful to give beginning readers decodable passages so that they can systematically practice new phonics skills. For newcomers,…

[importantandunavoidable]

For decades, reading instruction in American schools has been rooted in a flawed theory about how reading works, a theory that was debunked decades ago by cognitive scientists, yet remains deeply embedded in teaching practices and curriculum materials. As a result, the strategies that struggling readers use to get by — memorizing words, using context to guess words, skipping words they don't know — are the strategies that many beginning readers are taught in school. This makes it harder for many kids to learn how to read, and children who don't get off to a good start in reading find it difficult to ever master the process.

[...]

Phonics is challenging for many kids. The cueing strategies seem quicker and easier at first. And by using context and memorizing a bunch of words, many children can look like good readers — until they get to about third grade, when their books begin to have more words, longer words, and fewer pictures. Then they're stuck. They haven't developed their sounding-out skills. Their bank of known words is limited. Reading is slow and laborious and they don't like it, so they don't do it if they don't have to. While their peers who mastered decoding early are reading and teaching themselves new words every day, the kids who clung to the cueing approach are falling further and further behind.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

I know we have the circular Gallifreyan language, but do we have any pinyin like examples of Gallifreyan words? Also what language is primarily spoken by the populous since there’s several different types of Gallifreyan

What Gallifreyan words do we know?

We don't have very many. The problem is that Gallifreyan languages were never really designed for easy translation because, subtextually, many Gallifreyan words are impossible for humans to pronounce.

Gallifreyan languages are also layered, poetic, and sometimes have magical subtext that will literally rewrite your DNA. But! We do have a few written examples of Gallifreyan words like pinyin – aka, they give us Earth-based phonetic clues:

Arkytior – rose (Old High)

D'Arvit – a curse word, unspecified (likely Modern Low)

Gallifrey – they that walk in shadows (probably Ancient)

Gjara'vont – of darkest thought

Karn – winter (Old High)

Meyopapa – master

Mi'en Kalarash – blue fire (possibly Old High, could be metaphorically or ironically named)

Osuda – Fate (Ancient or Old)

Swowana – possibly snow

Tegorak – black mountain

Toclafane – a catch-all for bogeymen

Which Gallifreyan language is actually spoken?

The quick answer is Modern High Gallifreyan.

However, Gallifreyans don't just have one language—they have an entire linguistic caste system. Here's the basic family tree (Ancient, Neo, Sollifreyan are all theoretical):

📜 Old Gallifreyan

Old Low – Rooted in Ancient Gallifreyan phonics, it's the 'default' old Gallifreyan for general ye olde Gallifreyan chit-chat, packed with lots of swear words and probably lots of words for farming. ⤷Modern use: Unlikely anyone speaks it. Being Low, it's the language of the lower classes, so therefore, it is of no interest to Gallifreyan academics. 

Old High – Rooted in Ancient Gallifreyan phonics but far more complex, it's a language for the developing scientists and aristocracy of Gallifrey. It's attached to the Dark Times, so it holds coded powers. It is used in grimoires. If conjugated wrong, it could blow up a small moon. There are 10,000,000 letters in its alphabet and a lot of them look quite Greek. ⤷Modern use: Gallifreyan language experts at the top of their game probably know a fair amount. It's on the Time Academy syllabus as one of the more difficult subjects.

💬 Modern Gallifreyan

Modern Low – Related heavily to Old Low Gallifreyan, this would have developed alongside Modern High as the language of the lower classes, retaining its swear words and slang forms that the upper classes despise. It has however moved on to accommodate more mathematical principles and Time-related language and has 1,000,000 characters. ⤷Modern use: None of the elite in the Capitol would be interested in this, however, it's likely members of the lower classes living in the lowtown or as outsiders will know this language and use it fairly often.

Modern High – AKA the familiar 'circular Gallifreyan' (although it's been written in other forms, too). An incredibly secure language that's difficult for non-speakers to decode, and even the TARDIS has problems translating it for other species, which is why companions never see the TARDIS monitor in their native language. Posh, polite and functional, it's the one seen most regularly. ⤷Modern use: Spoken as the 'default' language of the Capitol in pre and during Time War Gallifrey.

🏫 So ...

We don't have much, but a few phonetic words exist. We also know that the most commonly spoken language is Modern High Gallifreyan—especially in the Capitol—although one day I'll tell you about the rest.

Related:

💬|🗣️👽Can humans/non-Gallifreyans learn to speak Gallifreyan?: How possible it would be to see a human speaking Gallifreyan.

💬|🗣️🤬Do Time Lords have their own curse words?: Taking you through all the bad words/phrases of Gallifrey.

💬|🗣️✍️How do Time Lords write coordinates?: How coordinates get written and work in TARDISes.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[keydekyie]

📖 Hey, Piss on the Poor site! I have a Poll for you about Reading! 📚

I just finished listening to Sold a Story, and it's made me curious about the relationship between loving to read and reading fluency. So I have a poll here for you.

Please make sure to check the descriptions of each method before voting. Also, by "reading" I do mean literally reading text, not listening to audiobooks. Audiobooks are perfectly valid ways of enjoying books, but they're not what we're talking about here.

*Phonics: decoding words by sounding out each letter phonetically. Involves starting readers on very short, easy words such as "cat" "dog" "bat" etc, then slowly progresses and introduces more difficult sounds and words later. Takes multiple years to get readers to a point where they are able to decipher whole sentences or more complex text.

**Whole Language Method (sometimes includes the "3 cueing" model): memorizing the appearance of words rather than sounding them out, and decoding unknown words by guessing through clues, such as syntax, the first letter, or context. This method specifically avoids phonics, and often starts early with more difficult words such as "though" "cough" or "dolphin" in an attempt to get readers reading more difficult text as quickly as possible.

***Balanced Literacy Method: The whole language method, but with the addition of phonics. Still usually focuses on whole language learning and is functionally very similar.

Please reblog this poll after voting so it can get as many responses as possible! Thanks!

[unopenablebox]

also frankly idk what people in the notes of that post acting like they have the special ontological good-at-reading nature are on about because even in my position as someone who 1. was raised by a literacy-trained OT and got drilled in phonics and related skills from young childhood 2. finds reading enjoyable and relaxing and 3. has a "reading technical texts critically"-heavy job:

reading is like. a skill? a teachable skill and also a loseable skill. and i guess if you learned the basics of it very early and had a lot of support in it you might not remember anything about learning or of ever being explicitly taught how to decode sentences, or maybe never even were because it all came across implictly. but like. i can tell when i've practiced and put effort into reading hard-to-decode text and when i haven't, because my ability to read very obviously changes.

in college i found reading complex text pretty easy to do because i was doing it all the time for classes and didn't have that much else going on. in early-mid graduate school, meanwhile, i actively noticed my reading capabilities getting worse, because i was desperately trying to get kind of good at showing up to a job every day at the same time and cram the procedural skill of operating lab equipment into my brain, and that involved just totally shedding a bunch of the capacities that, it turns out, i only had if they were practiced, and no longer had the energy or mental ability to maintain.

and like, it's improved, because i've now internalized enough lab capability that i kind of got out the other side a little, but even though sentence-to-sentence decoding in e.g. bleak house still isn't particularly difficult for me, i absolutely have to put in effort to e.g. 1. actually retain what the important nouns were in the sentence once i finish a sentence of that complexity and length and level of asides 2. not let my eyes skip anything in a very long paragraph, a habit i have always had even as a "good" "proficient" reader. and i still routinely fuck up at both of those. so i think assuming you're just obviously good at reading is mostly a really good way to not notice how often you, too, are almost certainly failing to actually read everything

[nectardaddy]

another rant about inumaki's speech (hi, hello I'm a teacher and used to teach primary which is all about learning letters/sounds/blends/basic words)

inumaki had to have learned his cursed words in a VERY secluded environment. I would also venture to say the inumaki clan is probably very well versed in phonics and morphology. they have to be, especially while trying to learn how to speak or teach their children how to speak.

my best guess on how he actually learned to speak is honestly pretty simple: he had to enunciate really, really slowly.

take the word "cat" (after letters, which even for him would have been pretty straightforward - there's no harm in just letters, you start with one syllable words.) he would've had to learn, even from just simple words like cat, to sound out words slowly. breaking down each letter to the point it barely sounded like a word. saying each sound with a pause, and if he knew the word was a safe word he could fully blend it together.

however with cursed words- he would do the same thing BUT he couldn't blend the word together fully unless it was a controlled environment.

I use the word "twist" as an example all the time, but it's a harder word to master so it's a good example. with twist he would've already had to learn letter blends (tw, qu, cr, etc...) he would genuinely have to sound this word out agonizingly slow when he was learning it as to not hurt himself or others. but when it came time to practice it, he most definitely failed to blend the whole word together on numerous occasions.

kids find it pretty easy to know what a letter/letter blend sounds like, but to put words together is actually very hard.

(things get REALLY complicated in 3,2,1...)

THIS BEING SAID- there's a big difference between encoding and decoding words. encoding words is using your knowledge of letter sounds to sound out words. decoding is blending these sounds together to form the word, and thus being a fluent reader. decoding (even though it seems silly, but I promise there's a science to it) helps a reader/speaker understand what they're reading. if you don't understand the word and how to say it, 9/10 you don't understand the meaning.

inumaki is probably a VERY GOOD speller because all he knows is encoding. while he can read, it's probably a bit behind because of his lack of decoding skills (not like he can help it though- his clan probably didn't even teach him certain words). he's probably a very slow reader (nothing wrong with that tho, I am too!) because he only knows how to encode words (sound out letter by letter) rather than decode them (blend the word together).

thank you for coming to my insane ted talk

@inumakis-boo @inumakisser idk if yall will enjoy this lmao but just some thoughts

[exteenpopstar]

i don't like to do a lot of doomsaying about education but "whole language" approach to reading (which started in the 90s when i was in elementary school - i owe most of my reading/decoding ability to my dad teaching me pre-public school) replacing phonics is very scary and angry-making to me

[loganremade]

https://www.tumblr.com/marianasofiaibarra/783237864104312832/whenever-i-see-a-post-about-reading-comprehension?source=share

Please get started on, I'm curious 🙏

thank you for letting me yap about it

so this is called the simple view of reading. what it means is that, in order for someone to have reading comprehension, they must first have word recognition x language comprehension

as you can see, word recognition and language comprehension have sub categories:

word recognition

phonological awareness: the ability to identify and manipulate the sounds in spoken language

decoding: the ability to translate printed words into speech. it requires readers to understand letter-sound relationships (phonics)—associate letters with sounds, blending sounds together and determine the meaning of a word

sight recognition: the ability to recognize a word without having to sound it out and/or break it apart

language comprehension

background knowledge: the information and/or experiences a reader already has about a topic

vocabulary: the words we know or need to know in order to understand something we read

language structures: the rules of how words, phrases and sentences are organized in order to create meaningful communication

verbal reasoning: understanding, analyzing and interpreting spoken or written information

literacy knowledge: encompasses understanding print concepts (title, table of contents, headings, etc) the purpose of a text (is it informative? is it persuasive?), the author’s intent and the structure of different genres

when teaching reading, you start with word recognition, then you move onto language comprehension. this is because it’s more beneficial for students to gain phonological awareness first in order to tackle language comprehension

phonological awareness is an umbrella term encompassing other terms:

phonological awareness has five levels, with rhyming and alliteration being the less complex level, and phonemic awareness being the more complex level

there’s more but these are some of the basics of reading comprehension. i’ll probably break down phonological awareness more later on. thank you once again for letting me talk about it!!!

[teachingenglishtokids]

Whole Word Recognition: A Reading Technique

Teaching children to read involves many approaches, and one effective strategy is Whole Word Recognition. This method focuses on helping children recognize entire words, especially high-frequency sight words, by sight. This article explains what the Whole Word Recognition technique is, how it works, and practical ways to implement it at home or in the classroom.

What Is Whole Word Recognition?

Whole Word Recognition is a technique that teaches children to instantly recognize entire words without decoding them letter by letter. This approach is particularly effective for high-frequency sight words that appear often in texts but may not follow standard phonics rules (e.g., "the," "and," "is").

By building a bank of words children can recognize on sight, this method helps improve reading fluency and confidence.

How Whole Word Recognition Works

1. Introduction of High-Frequency Sight Words

Begin with commonly used words like "the," "and," "is," "said," and "you."

Gradually introduce more complex sight words as the child progresses.

Focus on words that frequently appear in beginner texts and everyday contexts.

2. Repetition Through Various Tools

Use flashcards with the word printed clearly, along with illustrations if possible. Preschool High Frequency Word Flash cards Ready to Use available.

Create a word wall in the classroom or at home, displaying sight words in large, colorful letters.

Play interactive games like memory matching, bingo, or "word hunt" to reinforce learning.

3. Incorporating Visual Cues and Illustrations

Pair words with pictures to help children connect meaning to the word.

Use books with large print and illustrations where sight words are emphasized.

Include colorful posters or charts that combine sight words and images.

What You Can Do...

1. At Home

Label everyday objects around the house (e.g., "door," "chair," "table").

Practice reading sight words during storytime by pointing them out in books.

Use magnetic letters or sticky notes to create sight word displays on the fridge or walls.

2. In the Classroom

Dedicate a section of the classroom to a "word wall" that grows as students learn new words. Preschool High Frequency Sight Word Flash Cards Ready to Use, available now.

Start each day with a sight word review using flashcards or a group activity.

Incorporate sight words into songs, poems, and rhymes to make learning fun.

3. While Out and About

Point out sight words on signs, menus, and advertisements while shopping or traveling.

Encourage children to read short instructions or labels (e.g., "push," "stop," "open").

Create scavenger hunts where children look for specific sight words in their environment.

Benefits of Whole Word Recognition

Improves Fluency: Children learn to read common words quickly, making reading smoother and more enjoyable.

Builds Confidence: Recognizing words instantly reduces frustration and boosts self-esteem.

Enhances Comprehension: With fewer decoding efforts, children focus more on understanding the text.

Supports Early Writing Skills: Familiarity with sight words helps children spell and write these words correctly.

Suggested Tools

Sight Word Flashcards

Use colorful cards with a word on one side and an illustration on the other (e.g., "cat" paired with a picture of a cat).

Word Walls

Create a vibrant display of sight words in a prominent place. Use large fonts and bright colors.

Interactive Games

Design board games or digital games that involve identifying or matching sight words.

Themed Worksheets

Provide worksheets where children trace, color, and match sight words.

Sight Word Storybooks

Introduce books written specifically with high-frequency sight words for early readers.

Tips for Parents and Teachers

Be Patient: Some children may need more time and practice to remember sight words.

Celebrate Progress: Encourage and praise children as they master new words.

Mix and Match Techniques: Combine Whole Word Recognition with phonics to create a balanced reading approach.

Use Technology: Leverage educational apps and online resources that focus on sight word recognition.

Conclusion

Whole Word Recognition is an effective and enjoyable way to help children develop reading fluency and confidence. By focusing on high-frequency sight words and using tools like flashcards, word walls, and interactive games, parents and teachers can make the learning process engaging and successful. Combined with patience and encouragement, this technique ensures a strong foundation for lifelong reading and learning.

You might be interested to read other articles included in the Reading Skills series:

📚Unlocking Reading Success: The Power of CVC Words📖

The Phonics Approach to Teaching Reading

[bowditch]

Hi! Do you think there’s any room for Calkins-style story-based learning/encouraging a love for reading in the classroom, or should curriculums be purely focused on the evidence-based phonics instruction?

I'm gonna be honest, I really don't like Lucy Calkins. Her denial of the actual evidence supporting phonics-based reading programs has been incredibly detrimental to educational programs because her influence was so vast. It's only recently that she's recanted that stance or folded some phonics into her recommendations.

The truth is, with a few exceptions for precocious kids who have a natural bent for story-telling and reading, most kids aren't ready to be creative in this specific way when they're also learning to read. Many, many kids love to tell stories or make up stories or scenarios-- very few of them have any kind of recognizable story structure when they're in the 4-8 year old range. Putting that down on paper in a way that supports reading skills is ... way too much for most kids.

I'm on mobile and trying to collect/organize my thoughts, so I'll go through them with numbers to try to coherently cover the things I want to touch on. Keep in mind that I'm not a trained expert-- I'm just a life-long learner who has taught kids to read and worked with learning disabilities and neurodivergent kids, as well as NT kids.

1. Story is one of the first and earliest "academic" concepts it's beneficial to expose kids to. Kids benefit from being read to when they're very small and that benefit continues when they grow. Kids should be read to at their age level, above their age level, and for their interests. You foster a love for story by engaging with stories and the kid together. Even people who are never strong or comfortable readers can enjoy and love stories.

2. The mechanics of reading (phonics primarily, whole word for some kids depending on LDs) have very little to do with story when a kid is first reading. Pairing them often leads, in my experience, to frustration. Learning to read doesn't have to be BORING, but expecting story to "unlock" reading for a kid still working on sounds is...a bit out of order? Some kids "get" reading at some point, something CLICKS, and they find things they love to read. But for most kids, trying to retain "story" from one page to the next while they ALSO do the work of decoding sounds is a LOT.

3. Kids are SO creative, but being creative and having coherent creative output are two different things. Writing things down and reading and telling a story are all using different functions/pathways in the brain and it takes time to link those things. They need to be strong skills to work together. Asking a beginning reader to make up a new sentence about something and write it down is like telling an adult to sit and write the great american novel-- it's daunting. It's why so many kids who CAN verbally tell stories cry over homework that asks them to "describe" something. Kids in the 5-9 age set should almost always be given the option of dictating creative material to someone who can write it down for them, and even then, they need help. Their creativity at that age is a state of play, not usually a structured output. It's sort of like asking them to "demonstrate" creative playground play. A few kids will love to show off, many of them will act confused or self-conscious or freeze up.

4. I think love of story and love of reading are linked. I think they support each other. But driving reading education by using guess words and context and sight words to "unlock" story, or expecting a child's natural love of story to be part of some creative output that supports reading, are things that fail most kids. Early academic education is laying the foundation for all of these skills that should eventually work together. Reading is a skill. Writing, conceptually, is a skill. Physically writing with a pencil is a skill. Being able to tell back a story is a skill. They're all things that should be working alongside each other, but they use different parts of the brain and you can't help a kid make progress on one skill with an entirely different skill they aren't comfortable with yet.

Kids should be surrounded by story. They should get structured, specific sound education for reading. They should get to be creative. But you also have to know what their brains are doing and where they're growing to support that-- you can't ask them to work with tools they don't have yet. Teaching a kid to read and teaching them to love stories are two different things at that stage, and it leads to frustrated, struggling readers to treat them as the same thing.

[incognito-princess]

We have a teacher at our school who has taught for like 17 years, but all of them in a parochial Catholic school. Therefore she has very little experience of teaching special education students. She keeps asking why, "They (sped teachers) can't just keep them (sped students) in their room." I keep telling her, "Because those kids are our students, and they not only deserve, but are entitled to a fair and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment! It would be completely against the law!!!"

And here is why it's important to have students with learning differences in the least restrictive environment. I have 3 students who have specific learning disabilities. They struggle decoding words to read. They cannot seem to remember the phonics of the English language from week to week, day to day, often hour to hour. They can't functionally read. So they have their sped hours met by a sped teacher. They are in my general education class for 60%-80% of their day. They were in my room for whole group reading instruction when we were learning about Literary Elements- specifically Major and Minor Characters.

The other day, I had these boys in small group at the reading table. We were reading a decodable text for short e. It was simple 1st grade sentences- "Meg see the fox? The fox sleeps in the den." etc. The pictures show a little girl and her dad at the zoo. As I turn away from the group to address another student this is the literary conversation that ensues- "Meg is the major character, because she's on every page." "Right, and dad is the minor character. He's just there to tell what Meg sees." "So it's 3rd person, because Meg isn't telling her own story."

You're going to try to tell me that those special education students didn't benefit from being in my general education class? BS!!!! Those boys have a decoding glitch, but they are just as smart as anyone else in my room!

[ivansergeyevichturgenev]

reliving when i got asked "tell us what you know about the sor and what support you would need in implementing our curriculum" question. 🥰 like ask any teacher that we're ecstatic. i talked a little bit about phonological (global awareness of sounds) vs phonemic awareness (smallest unit of sounds) (i forgot to mention the word phonics explicitly but i did talk about phoneme grapheme correspondence which like is phonics), talked about svr (the "not so simple" simple view of reading as decoding x lang comprehension = reading) and i made a connection between just because you can decode, doesn't necessarily mean you know what it means so you're not actually reading and i talked about russian like if you've ever learned another language, like i have, maybe you know the letters and letter sounds and could decode a word but if you don't have any background knowledge then it is pretty much useless so they work together. i also talked about how decades of research tells us reading is incredibly complex, our brains evolved for speech but not reading, and most students need explicit, systematic reading instruction in order to read. a small percentage don't but the vast majority do. another small percentage, students with reading difficulties/sdl like dyslexia, need lots and lots of practice and trials with this type of instruction but it's not bad for everyone, regardless of ability, to get it. i also talked about how one of the reasons we should care about literacy is it's a social justice issue. we know that incarcerated youth typically either can't read or are very behind in their reading ability. when we teach all children to read, we are providing one of the single greatest tools for independence in this world and creating a more equitable world. i also said i know what reading curriculum the division uses, though i have never used it myself, and know that the va literacy act requires divisions adopt an evidence based reading curriculum, feel confident in implementing it with fidelity due to my sor background and would work together with my grade level team with planning/pacing. i would utilize plc/data talks to discuss intervention/supports for students not responding as expected to the curriculum and would ask for regular professional development to make sure i am still using the best, evidence-based instructional practices

[abihespgormley]

Readerly Exploration #5 

Due Date: October 23rd 

Titles: 

Mesmer (2019), “Introduction” 

Mesmer (2019), Chapter 1, “Know the Code: Teacher’s Reference on How English Works” 

Big Takeaway: 

A big takeaway from the "Introduction" of "Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work" by Heidi Mesmer is the importance of building a strong foundation in phonics instruction. It emphasizes the significance of teaching letter-sound relationships and decoding skills to support early reading development.

A big takeaway from Chapter 1 of "Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work" by Mesmer is the recognition of the crucial role that explicit and systematic phonics instruction plays in helping children develop strong reading skills. It emphasizes the importance of teaching letter-sound relationships and decoding strategies to support early readers on their literacy journey. 

Nugget:

An interesting aspect from the introduction of "Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work" by Mesmer is the discussion on the connection between phonics instruction and reading fluency. It explains how teaching phonics can help children become more fluent readers, leading to improved comprehension and overall reading success.

A very interesting aspect from Chapter 1 of "Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work" by Mesmer is the exploration of how phonics instruction can positively impact early reading development. It highlights the effectiveness of teaching letter-sound relationships and decoding skills in helping children become proficient readers.

Task: 

I chose “View the reading through a particular lens (faith, socioeconomic, disability studies, feminist, environmental, critical race theory, etc.) to consider the implications of the reading for a specific audience.” I chose this task because I thought it would be interesting to look at how phonics plays a role in different socioeconomic status. First, I read the text to gather the big takeaway and get an understanding. Then, I did a little research to gather a deeper understanding of socioeconomic status and the different social standings so I can view the articles through this eye. Afterwards, I reread the text but through the socioeconomic lens.  When we look at "Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work'' through a socioeconomic lens, it suggests that providing explicit and systematic phonics instruction can have a positive impact on students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. By focusing on teaching letter-sound relationships and decoding skills, this approach aims to bridge the literacy gap and give all children, regardless of their socioeconomic status, a strong foundation in reading. It highlights the importance of equitable access to high-quality phonics instruction to support literacy development for every student. Viewing "Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work" through a socioeconomic lens provides a better understanding of the text by highlighting the potential implications for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It allows us to recognize the importance of equitable access to explicit phonics instruction in bridging the literacy gap and supporting all children in developing strong reading skills. By considering the socioeconomic context, we can gain insights into how this approach can address specific needs and promote literacy success for a diverse range of students.

This part of the article I was reading from the American Psychological Association

[online-learning-e-tuitions]

The Use of Phonics in Bilingual and Multilingual Classrooms

Bilingual and multilingual classrooms are settings where students and teachers use more than one language for communication and learning. Bilingual and multilingual classrooms can have different models and goals, such as dual language, bilingual, or translanguaging programs. In these classrooms, students can benefit from learning phonics in both their home language and English, as well as transferring their phonics knowledge across languages.

Here are some benefits and challenges of using phonics in bilingual and multilingual classrooms, as well as some strategies and resources for teachers.

Benefits of Using Phonics in Bilingual and Multilingual Classrooms

Phonics can help students develop phonemic awareness, which is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words. Phonemic awareness is a crucial skill for reading, as it allows students to apply their knowledge of phonics to decode unfamiliar words. Phonemic awareness can be developed in any language, and it can transfer across languages that share similar sounds.

Phonics can help students learn the alphabetic principle, which is the understanding that letters represent sounds in written words. The alphabetic principle can also be learned in any language, and it can transfer across languages that use the same or similar writing systems. For example, students who learn the letter-sound correspondences in Spanish can use them to read and write English words that have the same or similar spellings, such as cat/gato or sun/sol.

Phonics can help students develop vocabulary and comprehension skills in both languages. Vocabulary is the set of words that a person knows and uses. Comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret what they read. Vocabulary and comprehension depend on both decoding skills (using phonics) and linguistic skills (using grammar and meaning). By learning phonics in both languages, students can access more words and texts in each language, as well as make connections between languages.

Challenges of Using Phonics in Bilingual and Multilingual Classrooms

Phonics can be challenging for students who speak languages that have different sounds or writing systems from English. For example, students who speak Mandarin Chinese may have difficulty with some English sounds that do not exist in their language, such as /th/ or /r/. Students who speak Arabic may have difficulty with some English letters that do not exist in their writing system, such as p or v. Teachers need to be aware of these differences and provide explicit instruction and practice for students to master them.

Phonics can be challenging for students who speak languages that have different spelling rules or patterns from English. For example, students who speak French may have difficulty with some English spellings that do not follow the same rules or patterns as their language, such as silent letters (e.g., knife) or irregular spellings (e.g., said). Teachers need to be aware of these differences and provide explicit instruction and practice for students to learn them.

Phonics can be challenging for teachers who need to balance the use of two or more languages in their instruction. Teachers need to be strategic in their use of the languages, such as choosing which language to use for which purpose, when to switch languages, and how to scaffold students’ learning in each language. Teachers also need to coordinate their instruction across languages, such as aligning the phonics skills and content that they teach in each language.

Strategies and Resources for Using Phonics in Bilingual and Multilingual Classrooms

Teachers can use a systematic and explicit approach to teach phonics in both languages. A systematic approach means that teachers follow a logical sequence of phonics skills from simple to complex, such as starting with short vowels and consonants and moving on to long vowels and consonant blends. An explicit approach means that teachers teach each phonics skill directly and clearly, such as explaining the sound-spelling relationship, modeling how to read and write words with that skill, and providing guided practice and feedback.

Teachers can use a cross-linguistic approach to teach phonics across languages. A cross-linguistic approach means that teachers make connections between the languages that students speak and learn, such as highlighting the similarities and differences between the sounds and spellings of words in each language, using cognates (words that have the same or similar meaning and form across languages) to build vocabulary and comprehension, and using translanguaging (the flexible use of multiple languages) to support communication and learning.

Teachers can use a variety of activities and materials to teach phonics in both languages. Some examples of activities and materials are:

Sound boxes: a visual tool that helps students segment and blend sounds in words. They consist of a long rectangle divided into squares that represent the number of sounds in a word. For example, the word cat has three sounds and three boxes: /k/ /a/ /t/. To use sound boxes for phonics, write the word on a board or a card and draw the corresponding sound boxes below it. Then, ask students to say each sound in the word as they point to each box. Next, ask them to write each letter or letter combination that makes each sound in each box. Finally, ask them to say the whole word as they slide their finger under the boxes.

Flashcards: a simple and effective way to review phonics skills with students. They can be used for individual or group practice, as well as for games and activities. To make flashcards for phonics, write each word or letter-sound correspondence on a card or use pre-made cards from online sources. To use flashcards for phonics, show each card to a student or a group of students and ask them to read the word or say the sound aloud. If they read it correctly, praise them and move on to the next card. If they read it incorrectly or hesitate for more than three seconds, tell them the correct word or sound and ask them to repeat it. Then put the card aside and review it again later.

Books or texts: a rich and authentic way to expose students to phonics skills in both languages. Teachers can select books or texts that contain words with the phonics skills that they are teaching, such as short vowels, long vowels, consonant blends, etc. Teachers can also select books or texts that are bilingual or multilingual, such as books that have the same story in two languages or texts that mix languages. Teachers can use books or texts for phonics instruction by:

Reading aloud: reading the book or text aloud to students and drawing their attention to the words with the phonics skills that they are learning, such as asking them to identify the sounds or spellings of those words.

Shared reading: reading the book or text together with students and inviting them to join in reading the words with the phonics skills that they are learning, such as asking them to point to those words or read them aloud.

Independent reading: allowing students to read the book or text on their own or with a partner and encouraging them to practice the phonics skills that they are learning, such as asking them to find those words or write them down.

Using phonics in bilingual and multilingual classrooms can help students develop their reading and writing skills in both their home language and English, as well as enhance their bilingualism and multilingualism. Phonics is not only a skill, but also a resource that students can use to access more languages and literacies.

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