Word Identification & Decoding and Fluency Development

Thompkins, Chapter 6 (same in 6th edition)

Word Identification & Decoding
1. Decoding Words
a. Phonic analysis-letter and sound correspondence (recognizing beginning
sounds, ending sounds, etc.)
b. Analogy-seeing known words in new words (a child knows ball and sees
the all in small and decodes the word correctly); children use word families
or phonograms (word chunks that occur in many words)
c. Syllable analysis-breaks the word into manageable chunks and relates to
phonics/spelling rules, making pronunciation of the word easier
i. VCCV-divide between consonants; CCC-keep blends together;
VCV-first divide after first vowel or try to divide after consonant; VV
that are not digraphs or diphthongs-divide between vowels
d. Morphemic analysis-morpheme (smallest unit of meaning); readers break
apart prefixes and suffixes to find the root word in order to determine
meaning
2. Identifying Words Automatically
a. High Frequency-instant words and Dolch words
b. Sight Words
c. Phonetically Irregular Words
3. Teaching High Frequency/Sight Words
a. Use both explicit instruction and authentic reading experiences with texts
b. Assess students to know which words they already know and still need to
know; teach based on those individualized needs
c. Words become a part of environmental print in word walls and other
written displays
i. When creating word walls, dont just put the word on the wall.
Interact with the word visually, aurally, and orally, including spelling
and writing the word.
d. Encourage and monitor use of the words in student writing
4. What strategies can we teach instead of just saying sounding it out or telling
students a word?
a. Context Clues-use the meaning of the sentence/or surrounding sentences
or even the story to determine the meaning of an unknown word; this
could be picture and text clues
b. Does it make sense? (Semantics/Meaning)-rereading the word that was
misread when the child knows that what was said does not make sense

c. Does it make sense? Syntax (grammar)- asking does that sound right? to
determine whether or not it can grammatically fit in the sentence
d. Does it make sense? Visual-does that look like the word in the text?
e. Analogies-relating it to known words
f. Look at initial sounds to try to determine the word. Sometimes this is used
in combination with looking at the pictures in the book.
g. Chunking- looking at parts of the word that we already know
h. Use classroom resources-word walls, labels, name charts, picture
dictionary
i. Knowing High Frequency Words-these are the words that occur most
frequently in the English language; Dolch lists and 100 Common Words
lists are examples; these should be learned by sight; they can contain
phonetically irregular and regular words
j. Knowing Irregular Words-these are words that have irregular spelling
patterns and cannot be sounded out; these must be learned by sight
k. Knowing Phonetically Regular Words-words that have regular, phonetic
spellings; we can decode them according to phonics rules; we can sound
them out
Fluency
1. There are three components of fluency (both oral and silent reading & writing):
a. Automaticity-reading rate and speed; reading words without decoding
each word; fluent third grade readers can read about 100 words per
minute & forming/typing letters and writing words without having to think
about how to form/type or spell each word
b. Accuracy-decoding words correctly; reading & writing words without
making miscues or errors
c. Prosody-reading with expression, voice, and intonation; includes attention
to punctuation and text features like all caps. and italics; knowing when to
adjust speed based on meaning; yes, this applies to silent reading too
because a reader has an internal reading voice & this applies to writing
because writing can have a voice (feeling or tone)
2. About Reading Automaticity/Speed
a. Studies have been linked to the number of words children can read in a
minute, but teachers/districts have misused the results of this research.
Speed is just one part of fluency. It should not be used alone to determine
a childs fluency ability. It should not be taught alone in an effort to
increase fluency.
3. Teaching All Elements of Fluency Together and Purposefully
a. Types of Reading & Writing Experiences:

i. Modeling-teachers read aloud with fluency, showing students what

fluency reading looks like; audio books with fluent narrators can
serve as models too & teachers write fluently in front of students,
thinking aloud while writing
ii. Shared/Interactive Reading & Writing-choral (reading together),
echo (repeating reading-teacher/partner reads and then student(s)
repeat the reading), simultaneous (taking turns reading) & students
write with the teacher and peers, again thinking aloud while writing
iii. Guided/Independent Reading & Writing-time engaging in reading
and writing authentic texts, as well as attention to monitoring all
elements of fluency
b. Authentic, Purposeful, Repeated Reading Activities-all should be read and
reread; written, revised, read and reread before performanceits practice
with purpose
i. Readers theater performances-based on pre-written scripts and
student-written scripts
ii. Writing and reading letters, poems, etc.-both based on pre-written
texts and student-written texts
4. Thinking about Word Identification, Decoding, and Fluency with ELL students:
a. Oral language must be developed before these skills will become
proficient-immerse them in oral language activities and help them make
connections between oral and written language
b. Dont try to eliminate accents, but do teach the prosody of punctuation
marks and model with choral and echo reading
c. Know that words that are abstract will be more different and words with
similar origins in the primary language (cognates) will be easier
d. Activating schema for words before reading/writing and giving time for
repeated reading of a familiar text is important
5. Thinking about Dysfluent Older Readers (4th grade and up)
a. Research has shown that there is no one commonality for dysfluent
readers; this means that teachers must be experts at all of the above and
assess dysfluent readers to determine their individual needs
b. Because reading and writing are closely related; work on all of the above
will help the dysfluent writer too; most dysfluent readers are dysfluent
writers.
c. How to approach all of the above with dysfluent older readers and writers:
i. Explicitly instruct based on diagnosed issues with fluency (note:
research shows that this alone is not effective; the elements below
must be included as well)

ii. Provide even more time for independent reading and writing
practice
iii. Model, model, model
iv. Make sure the student sees the link between fluency and
comprehension and composition