What You Should Know About "Sounding it Out" and a Comprehensive Literacy Framework

We have to keep in mind that English is not consistently phonetic and that 40 to 50% of words cannot be solved by sounding them out. Students can use other ways along with letters and sounds to solve an unknown word. We have to support children as they build word-solving strategies. If you are a proficient reader, you know that you don't depend only on phonetics. You also look at the structure of the sentence, what part of speech the word is that is unknown, and what word makes sense with the content. Struggling readers who are focusing only on phonetics need to be taught or shown how to use other sources to figure out a word or sentence which include meaning, structure, and visual. Does it make sense? Does it sound right? Does it look right? These are questions that students should ask themselves when reading (or self-correcting). Beginning readers tend to focus on one source, which is chosen by which comes easiest to them. You can teach students to listen to themselves when they read in order to fix something if it doesn't make sense. Another thing that can be taught is using a picture and a first letter to figure out the word. Students should also be taught to skip the word and read the rest of the sentence and try to figure out what makes sense in the sentence. Modeling strategies can help students perform them as well in order to become fluent and proficient readers.
We also want to keep in mind the components of a comprehensive literacy framework. Reading includes read-alouds, shared reading, interactive read-alouds, guided reading, and independent reading. Writing can include morning message, community writing, and independent writing. Reading aloud is very beneficial for struggling readers. Hearing more and even being able to follow along can help them to see if the word looks right or sounds right. Shared reading can provide an opportunity for community, as children talk, think, listen, and join in on the reading. "Actively engaging children in reading a familiar text can support them as they begin to transfer strategies into their own reading and writing." During guided reading, children can try to solve words with help from the teacher. An introduction can be provided in order for the student to think about what he is reading. During independent reading, children can reread books, which can help build fluency, allowing the student to think more about the content of the text rather than the words, and it can also build confidence in reading for the student. Community writing can be together or in small groups. During this time, students can contribute and learn what can fit in to prewritten sentences and they can create their own sentences with the help of one another to suggest and correct as they go. It's important to focus on reading and writing because using what they know in one area can help them in another.