Fundamentals-Decoding

As a first grade teacher, reading is a big deal!  We talk about it and do it all day long it seems, particularly about decoding.  As I read the Fundamentals: Teaching Decoding, Vocabulary Development and Fluency,  Chapter 11, I was really pleased to see so many of the decoding techniques and strategies that have become so much a part of my daily life since starting the use of the ECRI or Enhanced Core Reading Instruction approach during the past 2 years as our school worked under a grant from the U of O. 

I think "Transaction Costs and Decoding" really highlights the point about saying as a teacher only what you need to.  Using the specific and commonly used routines aid students in the predictability of learning.  The teacher says "My turn" and then tells the student what is needed or redirects them through the process with minimal teacher talk.  They next try it on their own again with "Your turn" Using this type of  "At Bats" technique increases their opportunities for accurate practice.  It has made a huge difference for learners.  You do not let errors stand, you have students work until success.   They then move back a few words if on a list or back to the beginning of the sentence if in text for one final application of the skill.  I am a talker by nature and I really have to force myself to stick with this minimal language or I can waste a lot of valuable practice time for students.  I also think sometimes that I can use too many words and truly even cause some confusion when the correction would have been so simple if I'd stuck to the format.

I also wanted to applaud when I saw the sections about using precise language with students around decoding skills.  Terms like long and short vowels, bossy r, soft and hard g and c, silent e, and the encouragement of teaching those specific phonetic chunks or sound spellings to students, particularly when they make errors.  I've always wondered, do teachers in upper grades still refer to word parts using these terms.  Is there continuity for our students?  Or do they have a learn a whole new "language" as they change grades?  I always think of the example of how teachers in one building can use terms like silent e, magic e, sneaky e, bossy e all to mean the vce (vowel consonant silent e) pattern.  Using precise language even from a young age is possible.  Students are capable.

Doug Lemov also refers to the technique of "Speed the Exception".  For sight words or irregular words, I've learned a technique that is routine and helps students understand the different strategies they need when approaching a word that is not one you can sound out.  "Say it, spell it, say it".  This Reading First routine allows the student to hear the word 4 times as they practice, all within about 8 to 10 seconds.  Increasing the amount of practice opportunities or "at bats" in reading is critical.