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What is Sound-Letter Knowledge?
Sound-Letter knowledge is the relationship between spoken sounds and written letters and words.
Sound letter knowledge or PHONICS involves:
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
The following YouTube videos demonstrate singing the alphabet sounds!
Sound letter knowledge or PHONICS involves:
- Letter names and sounds
- Word recognition and pronunciation
- Associating sounds with letters
- Recognizing previously seen words
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
The following YouTube videos demonstrate singing the alphabet sounds!
Why is Sound-Letter Knowledge Important?
Sound-letter knowledge is essential to literacy development, especially throughout elementary and middle school. Sound-letter knowledge is important because it is foundational in reading and literacy. A student or child has to understand the relationship between sounds and letters to be able to comprehend the meaning behind words. (McKenna & Stahl, 2009), (Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a).
How does Sound-Letter Knowledge Develop?
1. Word Development
Phases:
2. Spelling Development
Phases:
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
Phases:
- Pre-alphabetic
- Partial-alphabetic
- Full-alphabetic
- Consolidated-alphabetic
- Automated-alphabetic
2. Spelling Development
Phases:
- Emergent spelling
- Letter name spelling
- Within word pattern spelling
- Syllables and affixes spelling
- Derivational relations spelling
(Holdgreve-Resendez, 2010a)
Assessments for Sound-Letter Knowledge
Informal Assessments
Sound letter knowledge can be informally assessed by pointing to letters and asking for the student or child to produce the sound associated with the letter. The student or child can also complete an informal assessment by letter-sound recall, or letter reproduction.
Formal Assessments
The following formal assessments were created by the Michigan Department of Education Early Literacy Committee. They assess the students ability to recognize letters and their respective sounds.
- The MLPP Letter Sound ID assessment measures whether the child is able to state a letter and the sound that it makes.
- The MLPP Hearing and Recording Sounds allows for the student or child to demonstrate they know their sound-letter knowledge. With this formal assessment, the student or child hears a sound, and records the letter that represents the sound heard.
- The Sight Word List from the MLPP is a list of words that are considered sight words for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.
mlpp_letter_sound_id.pdf | |
File Size: | 17 kb |
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mlpp_hearing_recording_sounds.pdf | |
File Size: | 21 kb |
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mlpp_sight-words.pdf | |
File Size: | 40 kb |
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Instructional Strategies for Sound Letter Knowledge
There are many different instructional strategies for working with students and their sound letter knowledge.
- Flash cards (Repetition)
- Direct Instruction
- Story Time
- Alliteration
- Word Extension
- Kinesthetic Learning (students say sound and "become" the letter)
The following link from Reading Online provides more instructional strategies:
http://www.readingonline.org/articles/words/rasinksi.html
Issues with Sound-Letter Knowledge for Second Language Learners (SLL)
Second Language Learners may have learned their letter sounds and words differently in their native language. SLLs may be learning new sounds and words and have a hard time with pronunciation.
Multimedia Resources for Sound-Letter Knowledge
This YouTube video is a PBS news report about Sound-Letter Knowledge teaching from a Montessori style of teaching.
Additional Journals, Articles, and Power Points for Sound-Letter Knowledge
Articles and Journals (PDF)
children_learn_letter_sound_correspondences.pdf | |
File Size: | 346 kb |
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learning_letter_names_and_sounds.pdf | |
File Size: | 306 kb |
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lingustic_foundations_of_spelling_development.pdf | |
File Size: | 156 kb |
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predicting_individual_differences_in_learning_to_read.pdf | |
File Size: | 896 kb |
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Articles and Journals
Caravolas, M. (2010). The influence of syllable structure and reading ability on the development of phoneme awareness: a longitudinal, cross-linguistic study. Scientific Studies of Reading, 14(5), 464.
Corriveau, K. (2010). Auditory processing and early literacy skills in a preschool and kindergarten population. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(4 369-382), Retrieved from http://ldx.sagepub.com/content/43/4/369.abstract
Davis, B. (2010). Child miscues and parental feedback during shared alphabet book reading and relations with child literacy skills. Scientific Studies of Reading, 14(4), 341.
Corriveau, K. (2010). Auditory processing and early literacy skills in a preschool and kindergarten population. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 43(4 369-382), Retrieved from http://ldx.sagepub.com/content/43/4/369.abstract
Davis, B. (2010). Child miscues and parental feedback during shared alphabet book reading and relations with child literacy skills. Scientific Studies of Reading, 14(4), 341.
Power Points
Holdgreve-Resendez, R. T. (2010). Sound Letter Knowledge. Extracted from www.angel.msu.edu on October 13, 2010. Phonological Awareness.
sound_letter_knowledge_1_.ppt | |
File Size: | 2488 kb |
File Type: | ppt |
References
Bourassa, D, & Treiman, R. (2010). Linguistic foundations of spelling development. Linguistic Foundation, 1-20.
Castles, A, Coltheart, M, Wilson, K, Valpied, J, & Wedgwood, J. (2009). The genesis of reading ability: what helps children learn letter-sound coreespondences?. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 104, 68-88.
Holdgreve-Resendez, R.T. (2010). Sound Letter Knowledge. Extracted from www.angel.msu.edu on October 10, 2010, Morphology.
Piasta, S, & Wagner, R. (2010). Learning letter names and sounds:effects of instruction, letter type, and phonological processing skill. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 105, 324-344.
McKenna, M.C., & Stahl, K.A.D. (2009). Assessment for reading instruction, second edition, New York: Guilford.