I Can Read: I Can Understand What Is Read to Me, but How Do I Work out These Words?

Copyright © 2018 Irene Le Roux.

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Balboa Press rev. date: 05/25/2018

Introduction

Why do some children find reading difficult?

Students who have visual or auditory processing, or short-term memory difficulties, find learning to read and write very challenging. Many of these students fail to keep up with other students when learning or to understand lengthy instructions. They often only follow part of a message because they miss what is heard or seen because of their slower processing speed; therefore, the information that is received can be muddled or confusing to them. They then lack understanding of the critical concepts of their learning. These students have the intelligence to learn; however, they require more explicit instructions, with extra time to process what is heard or seen, as compared to the speed of classroom instruction or other learners.

Students have different learning styles; visual, auditory, hands-on or they may need to talk about what they are learning. Some students require instructions to be repeated, rephrased or different explanations may need to be given for them to understand. When they are attempting to work out unknown words while reading, they can often guess words by using pictures clues; using the first letter of a word and the context of the sentence; using the meaning or sentence structure of the text. These are excellent skills, but when words get too hard or too long to work out or decode, students can get discouraged in their effort to make meaning. When specific needs or disabilities are not addressed, students learn how to adapt or cope the best way they can, and some can give up trying.

Learning how to read involves more than just decoding words. Active readers use visual information, meaning or sentence structure clues, and then they analyse and use what has been read to make meaning. They know the relationship between spoken and written language and how the purpose of reading determines how we read and find the information that we need. They assimilate their knowledge and prior experiences with what has been learned to make meaning and gain understanding. Texts empower us; however, not all students enjoy this privilege as they find the process of decoding words demanding; therefore, they require explicit teaching and extra time to learn concepts and skills.

Other factors to consider

Physical

There could be other reasons why a student may find reading hard. Often, we overlook the very basics of hearing and seeing. Some children cannot understand how letters, words or sentences are pronounced because they have hearing difficulties. If a child is experiencing problems learning, especially in literacy or numeracy, their hearing should be checked by a specialist.

There is more to reading than just seeing letters and words. A vital component of learning to read is whether the student can focus, track or see adequately to read words. Students should have their eyesight examined by a Behavioural Optometrist if you suspect any of these symptoms are affecting the child’s ability to learn. Behavioural Optometrists are specialists in the intricacies of focusing, tracking and general eyesight. Make sure you ask the Optometrist to check all of these areas. If there are problems, specific exercises for strengthening the eyes or glasses may be prescribed, to assist with learning.

Processing

Students who experience visual processing difficulties, such as those with a Specific Learning Difficulty, like Dyslexia, often reverse words, e.g. was/saw; lift/fill, or they can confuse letters, e.g. b/d; m/n; u/y; p/b. These are only some of the common confusions that students with reading and spelling difficulties experience. Students who have auditory processing or working memory difficulties can sound out a word, letter by letter, as in c-a-t but say tac. Often, these students can only remember one to two instructions at a time, so when they are trying to work out words with three or more letters or syllables, they find it challenging to recall what they have said or heard. With careful, explicit training, students can learn how to blend groups of letters together, then later chunk through longer words, using syllables to work out, multisyllabic words.

Children who have auditory or visual processing difficulties, process what they hear or see at a much slower rate than other children; therefore, we need to give them more time to respond to instructions and questions to cater for their pace of learning, so that they learn at their pace.

Why use this program?

The ‘I Can Read’ program is for students who benefit from explicit, individualised instruction, which gives them time to learn at their own pace. These exercises use phonemic awareness, phonics and the knowledge of oral language to identify sounds, letter patterns and the rules used to form words. The activities also help students decode written letter patterns back into sounds and recognised as known words. These skills are fundamental to reading. This program has been developed and used with success to help students focus on letters and letter combinations and learn how to blend them to form words to read and to spell. Decoding is only one of the strategies to work out unknown words and can be overused and underused. Some students guess words or spend too much time decoding words; therefore, by the time they have finished reading a text, they have no understanding of what they have read. This process is a blockage that often hinders them from learning how to read.

It is common practice for many children who have visual or auditory processing difficulties and short-term memory problems, to guess words, using pictures and meaning or grammar clues, in their attempt to work out unknown words. Nonsense or pseudowords are used to help counteract guessing. They have no meaning and can be used to indicate or check if the reader can decode words into their phonemes or sounds, to read or to spell a word. As these words are unfamiliar to the student, nonsense words help them to focus on the letters of words, from left to right, blending and chunking, to decode words.

Reading and writing enjoyment is often hindered because students find it challenging to learn letter sounds and their combinations to read and to write. Make cards for each phoneme and revise them frequently if students struggle to learn in this area. All phonemes are listed in the Appendix. Knowing how phonemes are used to form words enables children to learn how to read and spell. When students have success at decoding words, they are then able to establish the love of reading and gain the knowledge and enjoyment that many of the school population experience. As a teacher and Learning Support Teacher for over forty years, I have found that up to 20% of some school populations may require this one-on-one, explicit teaching.

How is the program organised?

‘I Can Read’ is a one-on-one program, with tutor and student. The tutor’s instructions at the top of each page provide the explanations and guidelines on how to complete the exercises and activities immediately below. Tutors information should always be read first and then instruct the student on how to achieve their section.

The phonemes and skills are systematically introduced, with lots of practice to consolidate learning, using repetition to promote and ensure success for the learner. Once students have the skills of how to work out unknown words like blending, syllable division and using the context and grammar of a sentence, they should be able to work out most unfamiliar words.

Nonsense words are used to introduce each phoneme, concept or skill. Real words are then presented, followed by sentences to help reinforce and use the same phoneme, concept or skill. Nonsense words are no longer used after suffix ending, (ed). Ensure that words are pronounced correctly. If a word is incorrect in a sentence, ask the student if it made sense by asking; Did that make sense? Did that sound right? Do we speak like that? Students should always re-read sentences that are incorrect.

Core sight words are included to learn with automaticity, i.e. no sounding out, to read and spell. Writing sounds and spelling words will reinforce and enhance the learning of the sight words; therefore, spelling is an essential component of the program.

Depending on the student’s ability, confidence and stress levels, tutors should judge whether to take the student through one, two or all of the columns or to read only some or all of the sentences of a page in one session. It