Alphabetic Principle
Teaching Strategies and Examples: Sounding Out Words
Video Clip Examples of Instruction
First Grade |
Decoding and Sight Word Recognition |
Decoding |
Second Grade |
Decoding and Word Recognition |
Decoding One-Syllable Words |
Decoding and Word Recognition |
First Grade: Decoding and Sight Word Recognition
Specific Skill: Decoding and sight word reading using a word list
Skills taught prior to this clip were:
- Orally blending separate phonemes
- Saying the most common sound associated with individual letters
Things to look for in this clip:
- What the teacher does:
- Differentiates between sight words and decodable words
- Reviews previously misread words
- Confirms student understanding by repeating the correct response
- What the student does:
- Waits for teacher cue before responding
- Sounds out words in head before saying the word
- Participates actively during instruction
First Grade: Decoding and Sight Word Recognition |
The next instructional objectives for this group:
- Decoding words with consonant blends and letter combinations
- Reading connected text accurately
Instructional Materials used in this clip:
Simmons, D. & Kame'enui, E. (1999) Optimize. Eugene, OR: College
of Education, Institute for Development of Educational Achievement, University
of Oregon.
First Grade: Decoding
Specific Skill: Decoding words with consonant blends and letter combinations using a word list
Skills taught prior to this clip were:
- Letter-sound correspondences with high instructional utility
- Producing sounds of common letter combinations
Things to look for in this clip:
- What the teacher does:
- Uses finger to point to each sound
- Requires students to say sounds out continuously between sounds
- Prompts students to sound out in their heads and then read out loud
- What the student does:
- Waits for teacher cue to provide target word
- Answers with highly accurate responses in group and individually
First Grade: Decoding |
The next instructional objectives for this group:
- Using advanced phonic elements to recognize words
Instructional Materials used in this clip:
Engelmann, S., & Bruner, E. (1995). Reading Mastery II. New York, NY: SRA / McGraw-Hill Co.
Second Grade: Decoding and Word Recognition
Specific Skill: Uses advanced phonic elements to recognize words using a word list to build fluency
Skills taught prior to this clip were:
- Producing sounds of common letter combinations
Things to look for in this clip:
- What the teacher does:
- Prompts students to sound out word in their heads
- Corrects error immediately and has students repeat the correct word
- Reviews previously misread word
- What the student does:
- Waits for teacher cue before responding
- Participates actively during instruction
Second Grade: Decoding and Word Recognition |
The next instructional objectives for this group:
- Reading 90-100 words correctly per minute in connected text
Instructional Materials used in this clip:
Engelmann, S., & Bruner, E. (1995). Reading Mastery II. New York, NY: SRA / McGraw-Hill Co.
Second Grade: Decoding One-Syllable Words
Specific Skill: Using advanced phonic elements to recognize words (e.g., time, gem)
Skills taught prior to this clip were:
- Reads regular one-syllable words fluently
Things to look for in this clip:
- What the teacher does:
- Uses signaling to differentiate sounds and indicate it is time to produce the whole word
- Provides students with think time before they produce the target word
- Confirms student understanding by repeating the correct response
- What the student does:
- Waits for teacher cue to provide target word
- Answers with highly accurate responses in group and individually
Second Grade: Decoding One-Syllable Words |
The next instructional objectives for this group:
- Reading 90-100 words correctly per minute in connected text
Instructional Materials used in this clip:
Engelmann, S., & Bruner, E. (1995). Reading Mastery II. New York, NY: SRA / McGraw-Hill Co.
Second Grade: Decoding and Word Recognition
Specific Skill: Reading words with inflectional endings (e.g., grabbed, getting)
Skills taught prior to this clip were:
- Using advanced phonics elements to recognize words
Things to look for in this clip:
- What the teacher does:
- Uses a "post-it" to cover inflectional ending
- Instructs students to read the base word first
- Provides students with think time (a pause) before they provide the target word
- What the student does:
- Answers with highly accurate responses in group and individually
Second Grade: Decoding and Word Recognition |
The next instructional objectives for this group:
- Reading 90-100 words correctly per minute in connected text
Instructional Materials used in this clip:
Engelmann, S., & Bruner, E. (1995). Reading Mastery II. New York, NY: SRA / McGraw-Hill Co.