Rationale
Within my own classroom, my data showed a concern within the area of letter and sound relationships, specifically in the areas of manipulation of sounds, word families, vowel patterns, and beginning/final blends. Due to this concern, along with the the fact that my students are in first grade, a year where phonics instruction is vital to learning, I found it was logical to choose letter and sound relationships as my locus of study. Students who are given the opportunity to manipulate letters to make sounds/words, identify phonemic patterns within words, use hands-on tools to decode words, and are given ample guidance to practice phonics via word work, will greatly improve in phonemic awareness, ultimately improving reading proficiency. These are the skills my students were missing, therefore, research supported the use of these strategies in my classroom. Through the implementation of various word work elements, my first graders were given ample opportunities to grow as readers and writers.
There was a need for my capstone to be focused on instruction in letter-sound relationships, specifically implementation of explicit daily word work. This need was driven by data gathered from my students’ Fall MAP skills benchmark tests, along with qualitative data observed. MAP is an acronym for Measurement of Academic Progress, which tests for student's growth in various academic areas across a school year.
My data showed......
- 9/19 students scored a 62% or below in the fall MAP (Measurement of Academic Progress) Manipulation of Sounds skills test
- 50% of students did not have a passing score on the fall final blends skills test
- 58% of students did not pass the fall MAP Decoding Patterns & Word Families skills test
- On a Words Their Way spelling assessment, 9/19 students scored below a 66% in beginning blends and 17/19 scored below a 66% on common vowel patterns
- My students were not identifying and decoding phonological patterns, digraphs, blends, and word families while reading grade level texts
- Students were showing many spelling errors in their writing involving previously learned phonics skills
- Students were not applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships while spelling, writing, or reading words.
According to research........
Identifying, practicing, understanding, and manipulating letters and sounds are essential skills for all first-grade students. In order to attain and retain these skills, students must first be taught letter-sound relationships, as well as familiar letter and sound patterns, through phonics instruction. It is vital that these skills are taught and learned, as letter and sound relationships are the building blocks for reading. Therefore, in order to successfully read and comprehend grade level material throughout an individual's academic career, a student must first demonstrate knowledge of letter-sound relationships. Because kindergarten and first grade are vital years in reading development of young children, it is necessary that they master letter-sound relationships during these years, in order to progress as fluent readers. Because my students were missing these skills, it was my job to provide a means for them to learn, practice, and master letter-sound relationships. Once students have mastered phonics skills, it is expected that their reading fluency/accuracy, writing skills, and spelling knowledge will progressively increase.
To review research on letter-sound relationships and word study, please see link below.