Decodables to Fill Phonics Gaps
Sometimes reading deficits require comprehensive surgery. Other tim
es a few band-aids are all that are needed. If your students are stumbling over reading some words, but not others, there’s a good possibility that they have gaps in their letter-sound (phonics) skills. But which ones? What can be done without sending these students to your special education teacher or suggesting tutoring to the parents? Are there any quick fixes?
What makes sense is to first find the root and extent of the phonics deficits. Rarely do the consonant sound-spellings present the problem. It’s those tricky vowels, especially in multi-syllabic words that give some students fits.
Before taking draconian measures, I suggest administering the 52 item Vowel Sounds Phonics Assessment. It’s free and includes these admin options: Print, Google Forms, Google Sheets and 10:42 Audio File
Correct and record the specific deficits you need to band-aid. Now if more than just a few, that surgery* will be needed, but at least you can pat yourself on the back for being a good teacher. However, if your students miss less than, say 10 sound-spellings, I recommend targeting these deficits with decodable stories phonics and fluency practice. I suggest purchasing THE SCIENCE OF READING INTERVENTION PROGRAM: Assessment-Based Instruction.
The program includes 52 short stories provides phonics and fluency practice for each of the 52 diagnostic assessment items. For example, if the student misses #32 and 33 on the assessment, stories #s 32 and 33 provide the practice the students need. Simply introduce the focus phonics pattern and help students practice the word list until they understand and can decode the pattern. Then turn them loose on the stories. Each story includes a comprehension re-tell to ensure that students aren’t just reading the words.
Will this gap-filling phonics deficits work for all your students? Unfortunately, no. If some of your students will require that phonics *surgery, not a few band-aids, no worries. Got you covered with my comprehensive, scripted, accelerated, age-appropriate reading intervention programs. Check the programs out to see which ones will best address your student needs.