Transcript Chapter Title - Emerson Alternative High School

Chapter 7:
Irregular Word Reading
Heather Ginn
What?
• What are Irregular Words?
– Words that cannot be decoded by sounding out.
• Two Types of Irregular Words:
– Permanently = one or more sound/spellings in
the word are unique to that word or a few words
and therefore are never introduced.
– Temporarily = one or more sound/spellings in the
word have not yet been introduced.
What?
• How to Teach Irregular Word Reading:
– Focus on automatic recognition by repeated
exposure (more difficult words require more
practice).
• Difficulty is based on:
– 1: the # of irregularities in the pronunciation of its
sound/spelling correspondences.
– 2: whether or not the word is in a student’s oral
vocabulary.
– Word banks and word walls.
What?
• Sequence of Introducing Irregular Words:
– Word Frequency = Introduce high-frequency
irregular words first.
– Word Similarity = Introduce similarly sounding
irregular words at different times with enough time
in between for students to master the first before
learning the second.
– Word Relationship = Introduce pairs of irregular
words that contain similar letter patterns, or
phonograms, in sets.
Why?
“The rewards for learning [high-frequency]
words thoroughly and reliably are smoother,
less effortful reading and perhaps a greater
inclination to read independently (which in
turn may also increase a student’s store of
instantly recognized words).”
~ O’Connor, 2007
When?
• When to Teach Irregular Words:
– They need to be systematically introduced,
practiced, and then cumulatively reviewed.
– Introduce irregular words after students can read
regular CVC words at a rate of about 1 word
every 3 seconds.
– Start with one irregular word per lesson, and
slowly work up to 5-7 irregular words per lesson.
When?
• When to Assess and Intervene:
– Monitor each irregular word separately and
frequently by asking students to read aloud from
a set of previously introduced words.
Monitoring Timeline
At or above
grade level
Slightly below
grade level
Significantly below
grade level
Every 4-6 weeks
Every 2 weeks
Weekly
When?
GUIDELINES
Introduce highfrequency words
before low
frequency words.
Do not introduce
too many words
at once.
Introduce new
words before
they appear in
connected text.
Provide
opportunities for
students to use
the words.
Cumulatively
review previously
taught words every
day.
How?
• Irregular Word Reading:
– Sound-Out Strategy = examine all the letters in
the word and then point out the irregularity in one
or more of the word’s sound/spelling
correspondences.
• Introduce irregular words.
• Practice irregular words.
• Word reading for automaticity.
• Apply to decodable text.
How?
• Irregular Word Reading:
– Spell-Out Strategy = based on a format
described in SIPPS (Shefelbine and Newman
2004) and targets words that are irregular at one
point, but may not be irregular permanently.
• Introduce irregular words.
• Practice irregular words.
• Word reading for automaticity.
• Apply to decodable text.
Conclusion
“An irregular word is basically a word that the
student does not have the phonics skills to
read.”
~Carnine et al., 2006
These words must be introduced and regularly
reviewed and assessed again and again!