Kendrick Adams will learn how to pronounce, sound out, and to read big words. Not only will he be able to read big words but he will be able to read sentences. He also learns how to read the following sentence: I put carrots in my soup. I instructed Kendrick to read the sentence. Kendrick read the sentence and didn’t know words such as carrots and soup. He was unable to read them because he hasn’t been taught these words just yet.
Direct systematic instruction has a clear connection to the Action Reading program we are utilizing for our class. By definition, this type of instruction is highly focused on teaching children phonemic awareness in a structured, scripted, predictable manner. Teachers utilizing this method often use visual aids like the cards provided by the Action Reading Program, and will diligent teach the sounds of the individual alphabet letters. I charted all the “sl” and “sp” and “st” words in several words and put together vowels and made words. Readers are expected to use semantic and word-level clues to try and decipher text. Sound out words is actually seen as a last resort.
However, using these principles of authentic phonics can be done with a reader who has developed a good basis of phonological understanding. Once the fundamentals are understood, a method like authentic phonics could easily be integrated, to further reading development. Kendrick is learning letter/ Sound Relationships by observing the spellings of other classmates names, which were written on the board, as well as on the papers they wrote. Long before Kendrick connected sounds and symbols in inventive spelling, names made their way into his written communication. First, have faith in children as learners. They can and usually will develop a grasp of letter and sound. Relationships with little direct instruction.
Though children may notice different sound elements than the teacher anticipated, this procedure gives children ownership over there own learning. A limited...