Devin Kearns Symposium 2024 Slides

AIM Symposium Reading and Writing Long Words 12 March 2024
Overview
From Letters to Sounds and Back • Why is it important to do science-based reading and
Again writing instruction?
• Why is spelling important?
Reading and Writing Long Words • How do spelling and reading connect?
• What does spelling require that reading does not?
• How can we reinforce both skills?
Devin Kearns, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Special Education
@devin_kearns
We are going to explore reading

because…
• It provides a case study how scientific principles
affect our understanding of learning
• I don’t know anything about math Why is it important
to do science-based
reading and writing
instruction?
Learning to read and write without scientific Learning to read and write without scientific
instruction affected my family instruction affected my students
My sister struggled
to learn to read
Sergio & Rosa Jaime & Adolfo
Her brother, age 7
I tried to help but

My sister, age 3 didn’t know how
Her brother, age 7

Mr. Kearns Wilson Elementary
teaching 3rd grade
(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 114 (c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 115
(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 1

Learning to read and write without scientific

instruction affects many children Are handwriting and spelling important?
• Noah’s spelling shows

difficulty with… for practical reasons for evidence-based reasons
• advanced vowels
• polysyllabic words
• Writing quality is first • spelling skill predicts
• morphologically complex judged on spelling and word recognition skill
words handwriting • spelling skill predicts
• handwriting
• Children want to spell written composition
• attention
things correctly quality
Ahmed et al. (2022);

Let’s write some words…

Let’s write some words…
Answers
• Remember to use the
alphabet letters to the
right.
• The bottom row is for
• /ð/
• /ɵ/
• /ð/ (alternate spelling)
Turn and Talk: Reading

How did the writing go? Word recognition
Comprehension Language
comprehension
• To what extent were you successful?

• What contributed to your success or difficulty? Phonological awareness
• How did you feel?
Decoding skill
Sight recognition
adapted from Scarborough (2001): Scarborough, H. (2001). Connecting early language and
literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson
(Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97-110). New York, NY: Guilford Press

Reading
Phonological awareness in Peter Rabbit
Word recognition
Comprehension
Once upon a time there were four little
Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, …allows us to blend syllables
Cotton-tail, and Peter. They lived with their
cɑt tɑn
Phonological awareness Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root
of a very big fir-tree.
the ability to
detect and ˈcɑʔ ɨn
manipulate sound
units in words …allows us to blend phonemes
b æ n k
bẽŋk
Reading 1. Identifying letter-
Comprehension
Decoding Skill sound connections
Word recognition
Once upon a time there were four

little Rabbits, and their names were
r r
Phonological awareness Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and
Peter. They lived with their Mother
cɑt tɑn in a sand-bank, underneath the
2. Combining letter-sounds to
root of a very big fir-tree. read unfamiliar words
Decoding skill
abbits
ˈræb ɨts s
æb b ı t
Reading
Comprehension Sight recognition
Word recognition
Once upon a time there immediate recognition of

Phonological awareness were four little Rabbits, previously encountered words
cɑt tɑn and their names were
Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail,
Decoding skill and Peter. They lived with
their Mother in a sand
sand-
Sight recognition bank, underneath the root
of a very big fir-tree.

Reading
Sight recognition Comprehension
Word recognition
Once upon a time there immediate recognition of

were four little Rabbits, previously encountered words Phonological awareness
and their names were cɑt tɑn
Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail,
and Peter. They lived with Decoding skill
their Mother in a sand

sand-
bank, underneath the root Sight recognition
Once root
of a very big fir-tree. sand
There are many models of written

Not-so-simple view of writing
composition
Text
generation
Executive
Transcription
functions
Expanded Direct and Indirect Effects Written composition means using the
Model of Writing elements of a simple(ish) view of writing
Transcription
Written Ideation
composition
Hoover & Gough, 1990

Written Written
Word
Transcription
recognition
Composition Ideation Word
Transcription
recognition
Composition
Spelling Background knowledge Spelling
Vocabulary knowledge phonological awareness

decoding
fluent Verbal reasoning
sight recognition
writing Skill in using syntax and
Handwriting Handwriting
language structure
Ability to use
strategies
What kind of
instruction will
help?
Decoding using
Decoding using sound-
spellings
sound-spellings
Value of teaching
decoding (phonics)
There are various written units

pictogram ideogram
flowering reed
Writing systems differ in the way wood

place
three
the printed words represent spoken lip
character shows
language (and have for a long time) literal meaning
character shows
abstract meaning
character represents
spoken syllable
/f/
/sa/
syllabogram glyph
(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 900

glyphs are letters Greek has 24 letters
individual ΑΒΓΔΕΖΗΘΙ
characters
that
ΚΛΜΝΞξΟΠ
represent ΡΣΤΥΦΧΨΩ
/sæwndz/
sounds
ΝΞξΟΠ
Greek has 24 letters Цыриллиц
Cyrillic has 30 to 33 letters
Аа Бб Вв Гг Дд Ее
αβγδεζηθι Ёё Жж Зз Ии Йй Кк
κ λ μ ν π ο ρ σ/ς Лл Мм Нн Оо Пп Рр
Сс Тт Уу Фф Хх Цц
τυφχψω Чч Шш Щщ Ъъ Ыы
Ьь Ээ Юю Яя
and about an equal
(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 904 (c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com number lower case 905
English has 26 letters English has 26 letters

ABCDEFG abcdefgh
HIJKLMN ijklmnop
OPQRSTU qrstuvwx
VWXYZ yz
upper case lower case

English is an alphabetic language that Other languages also follow the

follows the alphabetic principle alphabetic principle
alphabetic Letters
represent
other dansk italiano español
languages
principle sounds. that use the
Deutsch français íslenska
Latin alphabet norsk Nederlands suomi
The letter m the sound /m/ . The letter m the sound /m/ .
Languages without a Latin script also In English, the alphabetic principle

follow the alphabetic principle involves…
sounds letters grapheme-phoneme
letters that represent /m/ include phonemes graphemes correspondences
/æ/ /k/ a c d
sound-spellings
м М in Ukrainian /ʧ/ /b/
40 to 44/d/ b26 a = /æ/
many d = /d/
in Arabic multi-letter c = /k/
graphemes many
b = /b/
in Thai ch = /ʧ/
ch ea igh
many
manyc = /s/
μ М in Greek
Stop & Jot Stop & Jot: How many ways can
Many sound-spellings? Let’s see… you spell the long E sound?
Think about a word that has Write all the spellings you Word Spelling
the long E sound. know for the sound /i/.
equal E
(/ē/)
How is the long E sound long E theme E-E
spelled in that word? many beat EA
Here’s one: E as in equal
many
feel EE
turkey EY
How many other ways is
long E spelled? many chief IE
vaccine I-E
happy Y

Stop & Jot: How many ways can

you spell the long E sound? What does this mean about
teaching phonics ?
Word Spelling
YES equal E
theme E-E The sound-
beat EA spelling system
about 8 graphemes feel EE is so complex... is teaching about
turkey EY sound-spellings
for 1 phoneme
chief IE really worth it?
vaccine I-E
happy Y
What is phonics? English has a complex orthography
• A system It is a deep orthography where sound-spellings

• taught by teachers writing system are quasiregular
• practiced by students
• In which where the letters
rather than a shallow writing system
– letters or letter combinations are linked to sounds or sound really reliably
combinations
represent the sounds
– the sounds are assembled to pronounce a word
• Usually, phonics provides the student with a written

representation for a known word Finnish is shallow.
• a student has already heard but has not seen in print
aakkoset
Language % real % nonsense

It is true that the alphabetic principle is a
little more consistent in other languages… How many words? Greek 98 92
Finnish 98 95
German 98 94
Which
Researchers tested reading skills
across languages … suomi language Italian 95 89
svenska Nederlands was the best
Spanish 95 89
• with Grade 1 students overall?
ελληνικά français Swedish 95 88
• in 13 European Where does
íslenska Dutch 95 82
languages Deutsch norsk
English rank?
• asking the question Icelandic 94 86
italiano What % of real Norwegian 92 91
dansk and % nonsense
“By the end of French 79 85
Grade 1, how Português English words
many words can English could be read? Portugues 73 77
students read?” español e
Seymour, Aro, & Erskine, & the Danish 71 54
A8 COST Action Network (2003)
English 34 29

Quick aside: Why is English a deep English still does follow the alphabetic
writing system? principle
• The inhabitants of • All English
Britain didn’t do so
well in international
words have
some letters
who
conflict…
egg
that work…
eye
• Even the worst
scream 800s
900s ones… of
boatswain
400s What’s a word with
no reliable sound-
live Vikings spellings?
black Norman
French 1000s victuals
courage suite
beef
The point is that... The Great Con

“The complexity of English orthography
cannot be an excuse for not teaching the C says /k/
CK says /k/
principles and exemplary regularities in the
system” C also says /s/
Perfetti (2003)
CH says /ch/
So English uses the alphabetic principle...

CH also says /k/
and it is valuable for teaching reading…
but we do have to lie to kids… There’s also some stuff about EA….
Syllables
What kind of robot
instruction will
ro = /roʊ/
help? bot = /bɑt/
Learning strategies for
reading polysyllabic words
Bhattacharya & Ehri (2007)

Shippens et al. (2005)
Wise (1992)

Syllables Definition of a polysyllabic word

robot It contains more
than one syllable —usually marked by a vowel
ro = /roʊ/
bot = /bɑt/
poo ly y lab
y syl a ic
i
bɑt / pɑɑ lii sɪɪ læb
æ ɨɨk /
onset peak coda
onset peak coda Bhattacharya & Ehri (2007) A peak is usually a vowel sound.
Shippens et al. (2005)
Wise (1992) A unit with a peak is a syllable.
Clements & Keyser (1983)
Wait … Polysyllabic? Polysyllabic words become more

common in texts in the upper grades
• Yes…
• poly- matches the Greek origin of syllable-
• We refer to polymorphemic words, so why
multisyllabic?
• Some researchers have used this term (including me
)—it is particularly common in studies from France
Kearns et al., 2016; Renaissance Learning, 2012; Zeno, Iven, Millard, & Duvvuri, 1995
Polysyllabic words occur in a lot of Students can use syllable information to

content area texts improve reading
but…
aesthetic photosynthesis syllables are TRICKY
constitutional polynomial
Bryant, Ugel, Thompson, & Hamff, 1999

Blame the single-letter vowels in

Why blame the single-letter vowels?
polysyllabic words
razor viper /aɪ/
i
Single-letter vowels: meter linen /ɪ/
One letter that makes one sound
viper glorious /i/
motor
flexible /ə/
fusion
rabbit /ɨ/
bygone
How many
raisin // pronunciations?
at least 4
To dramatize the point... To dramatize the point...

This is true for every single-letter vowel This is true for every single-letter vowel
Letter Long sound Letter Long sound Short sound
A razor A razor wagon
E meter E meter sedan
I vital I vital vivid
O motor O motor novel
U music, tulip U music, tulip buses, unusual
Y by, silly Y by, silly gym
To dramatize the point...

This is true for every single-letter vowel
Letter Long sound Short sound Well…
A razor wagon water, Mary
E meter sedan heron, hero
I vital vivid spirit, virus Syllable-based
O motor novel mother strategies
U music, tulip buses, unusual bury, busy
Y by, silly gym yellow Syllable types

Syllable Types Teach about open and closed syllables

Teach that printed syllables have
predictable pronunciations
Open syllable
• The vowel comes at the
open syllables end of the syllable.
closed syllables • The vowel says its “long”
sound.
other types of syllables
pilot
pī
pi
/pɑi/
Teach about open and closed syllables

Teach about open and closed syllables
… but limit metaknowledge
Open syllable Closed syllable What is metaknowledge?

• The vowel comes at the • The vowel comes at the • Information related to
end of the syllable. beginning or in the the important
• The vowel says its “long” middle of the syllable. knowledge
sound. • The vowel says its • In reading, this is
“short” sound. information about
words that teachers
pilot
pī
pi pillow
pĭl
pil need but not students.
/pɑi/ /pɪl/
Metaknowledge The syllable house

This is the house.
Terminology Strategies
• Is it necessary for
students to know these
terms?
• open syllable
• closed syllable
hen
• Is it adequate to rely on
existing knowledge?
• long-vowel syllable
• short-vowel syllable This is a vowel letter
This is the door.


The syllable house The syllable house

This is the house.
This is a syllable
(and also a word)
hen What
This
does
Is thesound
is
sound
athe
letter
vowel
vowel
vowel
longletter
or short?
make?
hen
This is the door. It depends if the door
is open or closed…
The syllable house The syllable house
hen hen
The consonant
When we open
door is closed so
the door, it is an
this is a closed
open syllable.
syllable.
Because the door is When the door is

closed, the vowel open, the vowel
cannot say its name. It can say its name,
has the short sound. the long sound.
Teach about open and closed syllables:

The syllable house
Practice syllable pronunciations
Let’s practice Vowel at the Vowel in the Long-vowel
end. Long vowelmiddle. Short
reading long- and syllable.
short-vowel syllable. /lɑi/. vowel syllable. /to/. /lɑi/.
If you remember syllables. Me first. /lɪn/. /lɪn/
/to/.
nothing else,
don’t teach the Your
he n
turn.
Your Your
syllable house Your turn
turn. turn.
to read the /mɑi/.

syllables. /vo/.
/rɛp/.
(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 1080 1090

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com

Teach about open and closed syllables:

Practice vowel pronunciations
Let’s practice reading pronunciations
for these vowels. Let’s say the short • Increase flexibility in
sounds first. encountering the single-
a e i letter vowels in
o u polysyllabic words.
Syllable-based
Let’s say the long sounds now.
strategies
a e i
o u Syllable division
Let’s practice the pronunciations of Y.
Syllable division is a common approach

How does syllable division work?
in programs
Checkpoint The
Only Letters:
Literacy Forum:
Reading & for the
Literacy
Educator’s
A System for VCCV VCV
Spelling for All Many based
Reading & on the
Daily
Beginning
Reading
Students
Orton-Gillingham approach
Spelling Lesson
The
Universe Resource
/ræb/ /tɑi/
The Literacy Guide
Buchanan
Initiative:
Phonics
Strategic
Program for Organizing
Program
rabbit tiger
VCCV VCV
Level A Accelerating Reading
but the data about the value Reading Instruction Philadelphia-
for Optimal Franklin
A World of
Words
are not strong Capability
(SPARC)
Learning Reading
System
Treiman, Bowey, & Bourassa, 2002; Treiman, Mullennix, Bijeljac-Babic, & Richmond-Welty, 1995; Treiman
& Zukowski, 1990; Open Court Reading (McGraw-Hill, 2014); Wilson Reading System (Wilson, 2005)
Data on VC|CV in bisyllabic words Data on V|CV in bisyllabic words

Black = short sound (follows the pattern) Dark gray = long sound (follows the pattern)

What is the key message about syllable Syllable division patterns commonly
division? taught (not necessarily recommended)
• There are some cautions
• There is still a reason
teachers like to teach it:
VC|CV rab|bit V|V li|on
• “Knowing basic phonics is not
enough! An efficient,
structured, logical, scientific,
V|CV ti|ger VC|CCV in|stant
reliably automatic system for
dividing and pronouncing
longer words was an
essential prerequisite for my
VC|V drag|on VCC|CCCV*
academic literacy”
– Quotation from an adult
off|spring
reader with dyslexia *just kidding… there are
participating in Orton-
Gillingham instruction (Cox & almost no words like this!
Hutcheson, 1988, p. 227).
Practice reading by syllable with Practice reading by syllable with

flexibility flexibility
Syllable
• Mark the vowels dragon
.
. Card
• Divide the word one way
to make a word long-vowel
• make single-letter vowels syllable
river
open or closed
• If that doesn’t make a dray gawn
word, try the other way
What word
sounds like that?
Not a word.
I’ll try the
dray-gawn
This assumes knowledge of the long-vowel other way.
and short-vowel patterns. dray-gun
Practice reading by syllable with Practice reading by syllable with

flexibility flexibility
Syllable Syllable
• Mark the vowels
dragon
. . Card • Mark the vowels
major
. .Card
to make a word short-vowel to make a word short-vowel
• make single-letter vowels
open or closed
syllable • make single-letter vowels
open or closed
syllable
or
• If that doesn’t make a drag awn • If that doesn’t make a
word, try the other way word, try the other way madge What word
sounds like that?
What word
sounds like that?
drag-awn Not a word. madge-or

dragon I’ll try the
other way.

Practice reading by syllable with

Practice spelling words by syllable
flexibility
Syllable
• Mark the vowels
major
. .Card • Say the word.
• Say the syllables.
The word is robot.
What word?
to make a word long-vowel • Write the syllables one Robot.
• make single-letter vowels syllable
at a time.
open or closed jor • Check and correct.
Clap the
syllables.
• If that doesn’t make a Row-bot
What word
word, try the other way
may sounds like that? What’s the
Row.
first syllable?
Yes. Long-vowel
may-jor syllable. Write it.
major ro
Practice spelling words by syllable Practice spelling words by syllable
• Say the word. • Say the word.

• Say the syllables. • Say the syllables.
• Write the syllables one • Write the syllables one
at a time. at a time. Robot is spelled R-O-B-O-T.
If you need to correct it,
• Check and correct. • Check and correct. circle it and write the
correct word under it.
What’s the Mark a smiley face.
second syllable? Bot.
Yes. short-vowel
syllable. Write it.
ro bot ro bot
Syllable Writing Syllable Writing

Worksheet Worksheet
• Teach students how to • Teach students how to
use it use it
• Teach students how to • Teach students how to
correct mistakes correct mistakes
• Teach students to use it • Teach students to use it
for multiple word types for multiple word types

Teach the Teach the

peeling-off strategy tion peeling-off strategy with common morphemes
• Teach students less

individual affix re
pronunciations.
ment
pre
This prefix
is pre.
Pre.
What is it?
Find a list of common affixes.
Create a peeling-off tree as an anchor chart.
P-R-E.
Spell it.
Explain and review meanings (when they have them).
Let’s add it to the Practice reading with flash cards.
peeling-off tree 1127
Teach the Teach the

peeling-off strategy peeling-off strategy tion
pre
• Identify known affixes • Identify known affixes less
on the peeling-off tree on the peeling-off tree re
• Read the base word • Read the base word ment
• Chunk the word with the • Chunk the word with the
affixes attached affixes attached
statement
pseudo pseudo hypo para thyroid ism
state
1129 1130
(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com (c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com
Teach the
tion Use the peeling-off strategy for spelling
peeling-off strategy
pre
• Identify known affixes less • Say the word
on the peeling-off tree re • Say it by syllable
• Read the base word ment • Look for affixes on the
• Chunk the word with the peeling-off tree
affixes attached • Spell it by syllable
motionless
mow
1131 (c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 1132

Create word chains for spelling

Use the peeling-off strategy for spelling
polysyllabic words
• Give students affix tiles.
The word is
prescription.
• Say a word.
What word? • Have students say the word.
• Have students use the affixes plus tiles for the base
word or root.
• Chain across words.
prescription.
The word is
descriptive. descriptive
What word? Say the parts English spelling: Rule-driven
and spell the de. scrip. tive.
If that’s word.
descriptive, show
me description. de. scrip. tion. Spelling correctly Spelling requires
depends on knowing more patterns
many patterns than reading
s c r i p
Good readers can be
poor spellers.
tive
con pre re de ture
tion
English orthography includes multiple Position-based patterns

pattern types Double letters
sound-spellings
One consonant sound (phoneme)
• one sound can have is represented by a double letter
multiple spellings
• One spelling can position-based
represent several
patterns
sounds
Jeff will pass Buzz.
• surrounding phonemes
control spelling
meaning What is the position-based pattern?
• morphological structure
controls spelling
What precedes each double letter?
• language of origin
controls spelling

Position-based patterns Position-based patterns

Double letters Double letters
• buff • beef
• bell • bail
• hiss • house
• fuzz • freeze F, L, S, and Z double when
following a short vowel phoneme
FLoSS + ZZ rule
Position-based patterns Position-based patterns

Other final phonemes Consonant-LE
• batch • beach • LE at the end of a word says /ɨl/ or /əl/ or /ɫ/
• back • beak (reduced/no vowel)
• when preceded by b, ck, d, f, g, l, m, n, p, t, or z
• badge • barge
Concept: One sound can have multiple

Position-specific consistencies
spellings
s sit
snap s sit
snap
pass pass
missing
ss missing

Position-specific consistencies Position-specific consistencies
space
spacing
spacy
c spacing
spacy
c
ce space ce
ci ci
cy cy
Concept: One sound can have multiple

spellings
spacy
c c
space ce space ce
spacing ci spacing ci
cy spacy cy
s c
ss ce
ci
cy

Devin Kearns Symposium 2024 Slides

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Devin Kearns Symposium 2024 Slides

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

AIM Symposium Reading and Writing Long Words 12 March 2024

Devin Kearns, Ph.D.

We are going to explore reading

Her brother, age 7

I tried to help but

Her brother, age 7

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 1

Learning to read and write without scientific

• Noah’s spelling shows

Ahmed et al. (2022);

Let’s write some words…

Turn and Talk: Reading

• To what extent were you successful?

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 2

Reading 1. Identifying letter-

Once upon a time there were four

Once upon a time there immediate recognition of

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 3

Once upon a time there immediate recognition of

their Mother in a sand

There are many models of written

Hoover & Gough, 1990

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 4

Spelling Background knowledge Spelling

Vocabulary knowledge phonological awareness

There are various written units

Writing systems differ in the way wood

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 5

glyphs are letters Greek has 24 letters

English has 26 letters English has 26 letters

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 6

English is an alphabetic language that Other languages also follow the

Languages without a Latin script also In English, the alphabetic principle

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 7

Stop & Jot: How many ways can

What is phonics? English has a complex orthography

• A system It is a deep orthography where sound-spellings

• Usually, phonics provides the student with a written

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 918

Language % real % nonsense

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 8

The point is that... The Great Con

So English uses the alphabetic principle...

Bhattacharya & Ehri (2007)

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 9

Syllables Definition of a polysyllabic word

Wait … Polysyllabic? Polysyllabic words become more

Polysyllabic words occur in a lot of Students can use syllable information to

aesthetic photosynthesis syllables are TRICKY

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 10

Blame the single-letter vowels in

razor viper /aɪ/

To dramatize the point... To dramatize the point...

To dramatize the point...

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns | devin@devinkearns.com 1065

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 11

Syllable Types Teach about open and closed syllables

Teach about open and closed syllables

Open syllable Closed syllable What is metaknowledge?

Metaknowledge The syllable house

This is the door.

(c) 2024 Devin M. Kearns 12

The syllable house The syllable house

The syllable house The syllable house