Parents Guide to Structured Literacy
Hello Parents,
So much has changed in reading and spelling instruction in the past few years. Teachers all over the world are making shifts to teach literacy in a way that is based in science and beneficial to all students. This guide will help you understand what important changes we are making and why.
If you didn’t learn reading and spelling this way, it can feel strange and overwhelming at first, but the benefits are great. We’d love for you to learn along with us this year! There are many resources available for you to watch, read, and learn each week.
Have you heard the terms Science of Reading and Structured Literacy? Check out some of our favorite resources to learn the reasons we are making some shifts to our literacy instruction.
The WHY:
Within the last few years, there has been a revolution in reading instruction. Teachers could no longer ignore that too many of our children were not reading on grade level. There is a large body of scientific research on how reading works in the brain and what instructional practices are necessary. We are changing how we teach reading. Here are some of our shifts:
1. Back to foundational skills… Phonological Awareness!
It has been proven that reading requires phonological and phonemic awareness. This is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in a language. Some students do this naturally, a lot of them need direct instruction and practice. You can learn more about phonological and phonemic awareness here.
2. Back to foundational skills… Phonics!
There is also no doubt that explicit instruction in phonics (representing sounds with letters) is needed. There was a movement to move away from phonics instruction, but it is back!
Many students will not be able to decode or spell unknown words without explicit instruction in phonics. You can find out more here.
3. Real Reading
We do not want to teach kids any strategy that takes their attention away from the letters and sounds when learning to read and spell. We do not want them guessing based on the first letter or looking at the picture for clues. That’s not real reading! Real reading is looking at the syllables and sounding out the letters or phonemes.
4. Real Practice !
When we teach students a new phonics pattern, we want them to have lots of practice reading and spelling that pattern. We use skill-based or decodable texts. These texts will only have the patterns that the students have learned. We no longer want predictable readers or texts where kids have to guess complicated words that they haven’t learned. We are controlling what they are reading so they are practicing real reading.
5. Real Knowledge!
We also want our students exposed to robust vocabulary, interesting characters who development, exciting plots and stories, rich history, fascinating science, and current events. We don’t wait to expose kids to these concepts and texts until they can independently read them. We will be reading aloud, reading together, discussing, and learning a ton this year!
The Why!
Spelling instruction has always been a source of frustration for teachers and parents. This year, we are rethinking spelling! Based on current research and the science of reading, we are changing how spelling will be taught. Random words assigned on a list Monday and tested on Friday are a thing of the past!
For decades, we have been teaching our kids spelling in a way that sets them up for failure. Asking students to memorize individual words each week is not effective. Instead, we want them to learn a pattern that can be generalized and used to spell lots of words.
The spelling of English words is more regular and patterned-based than people think. English is not that crazy! We just need to teach it in a systematic, direct way.
Our new spelling instruction will help students in both reading and writing! Students will understand how the phonics system works and will be able to crack the code of the English language. We are changing how we teach spelling. Here are some of our shifts:
1. Sound Spelling!
Students need to learn to spell by hearing and breaking apart the individual sounds of a word. Instead of relying on the visual cues (the letters or shapes) of a word, they need to learn to rely on the sounds and then match those sounds to the letters that represent them.
2. Red vs. Green Words
The terms Red Words and Greens Words come from a systematic, multisensory approach of instruction called Orton Gillingham. A Green Word is a word that follows a phonetic pattern and can be sounded out.
Example: All the sounds of camp can be heard and follow the phonetic rules. /c/ /a/ /m/ /p/
Green words do not need to be memorized!
A Red Word (sometimes called a heart word) is a word that has an irregular part that does not follow the phonetic rule. There are some fascinating reasons that these words are irregular!
Example: have –if you sound it out, it will be wrong. The letter e is not making the letter a long. It’s there because no English word ends in v! The irregular part is called the heart part.
Students need to be explicitly taught the difference between Red and Green words.
3. Weekly Spelling Lists Follow A Pattern.
No longer should spelling words be content-related, vocabulary from reading passages, or random high frequency words! Instead, students should be taught a specific spelling/phonetic pattern and work with lots of different words that follow that pattern throughout the week. The Friday Phonics Check-In (spelling test) can be any word that has that pattern. This assessment will be used only to see if the pattern was mastered or if more instruction is needed!
4. Spelling Should Be Multi-Sensory.
We teach kids to “tap out” words. They are taught the phonemic components of language (sentences, words, on-set rime, syllables, and phonemes). We teach a motion for each component, and we use these to spell words. When a student needs to spell a word, we tap a finger for each sound. Then, the student can write each letter that represents that sound in a sound box or on a line. This helps reinforce that we focus on the sounds and letters together to spell. Multisensory is the magic!
5. Tune into the Vowels
Vowels are the most crucial part of a word when it comes to pronunciation and spelling. We say they are royal, and kids always need to “tune into the vowel.” Students should always ask themselves, “What is the vowel sound? Is the vowel sound long or short?” This practice will change everything!
This check will eliminate ate being written as at. Of course, long vs. short phonetic patterns will be explicitly taught!
6. Teach Syllable Types.
As soon as students start writing, they need to recognize how many syllables a word has. Then, they can tackle and tap out one syllable at a time when spelling longer words. We use spelling scoops or syllable boards. When appropriate, spellings lists should include 2-3 syllable words that follow the spelling pattern.
7. Teach Morphology
Words are often made up of parts that carry meaning called prefixes, suffixes, and roots/bases. Teaching students to recognize and spell these parts allows them to gain not only spelling knowledge but increases vocabulary and comprehension.
Thanks for partnering with your child’s teacher this year! Here are some additional ways that you can support literacy at home. Best wishes for a successful school year!
Teachers, want this guide as a PDF to share with other parents? It is just one of many parent resources in our Reading Rev VIP site! Or, you can also get it here. How else are you sharing our literacy shifts with parents? Leave a comment below!
