beginning reading writing teks talk image

Knowledge and Skills Statement

Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--beginning reading and writing. The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell.

Use a decoding inventory assessment. Ask students to read a list of words that focuses on specific inflectional endings. The list of words can include words with one or multiple inflectional endings. Ask students to read the base word and then add the ending to the base word with a flash card to see if they can read the new word correctly. Record the number of words they read correctly for each category and use the following scoring guide:

Mastery—80%+ correct
Approaching—60%–79% correct
Intervention Needed—59% or less correct

Examples:

  • un: unwind, undo, unable, unhappy, unlucky, unusual, untie, uncertain, untrue, unwell, unfinished, unbroken, unafraid, unreal
  • re: rewind, redo, reread, remix, remove, rerun, replay, retell, retake, repack rewire, reset, repeat, rename, respray, reappear
  • dis: disable, disobey, disbelief, dislike, disappear, disagree, disloyal, discomfort, disservice, disrespect, disorder
  • s: pets, stops, trips, runs, floats, yells, lands, walks, picks, cooks, jumps, plays, laughs, gets, dogs, shops, skips
  • es: hikes, bakes, jokes, lakes, games, names, likes, piles, tales, holes, homes, crashes, dishes, buzzes, marches
  • ed: shouted, played, jumped, laughed, used, talked, walked, washed, called, worked, enjoyed, wanted, liked
  • ing: going, jumping, running, dancing, hopping, talking, singing, crying, leaving, carrying, skipping, floating, walking, stopping, laughing
  • er: louder, softer, slower, bigger, smaller, quieter, taller, wider, runner, lighter, better, wiser, mover, baker, singer, helper, toddler, faster, deeper
  • est: loudest, softest, slowest, biggest, smallest, quietest, tallest, widest, lightest, wisest, fastest, richest, deepest, poorest, smartest, youngest
Decoding is the process of translating written speech into verbal speech sounds by applying knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. It is the ability to recognize letters, apply their associated sounds, and blend the sounds to form words. Decoding applies to reading words, not comprehending word meaning.
Inflectional endings are letters that are added to a base word and change the word meaning. In second grade, students should learn the three sounds that -ed can make (/ed/, /d/,/t/) and work on decoding words with inflectional endings -s, -es, -ed, - ing, -er, and -est fluently.
Phonetic knowledge is the understanding of sound-symbol relationships and spelling patterns.
Prefixes are groups of letters that are added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. Prefixes such as re- (again), un- (not; the opposite of), and dis- (not) each have different meanings. For example, the word appear means to become visible. When students add the prefix re- to the beginning of appear (base word), the word reappear meaning “to become visible again is formed. Students must understand how the use of a prefix changes a base word.

Research

1. International Literacy Association. (2018). Explaining phonics instruction: An educator’s guide [Literacy leadership brief]. Newark, DE: Author. Retrieved from https://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-explaining-phonics-instruction-an-educators-guide.pdf

Summary: In this guide from the International Literacy Association, answers to the questions following questions are explored: (1) What is phonics?; (2) When are students ready to learn phonics?; and (3) How is phonics taught? 

2. What Works Clearinghouse. (n.d.). Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade: practice guide summary. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Science. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/21

Summary: This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendations also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills.