How did you crack the code?
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Welcome to “Keys to the Code”, a place for practical advice to help unlock the door to
new learning experiences and nurture lifelong readers. My name is Crystal Strickland, and I am
a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT). What Is a CALT?.
How did you crack the code?
Learning to read has been compared to cracking a complex
code. Try to think about your own experience with learning to
read. This may conjure up feelings of excitement, possibly
memories of frustration, or it may have been so long ago that
you can’t remember much at all about the process.
As a child of the 70s, I can vividly recall being a huge Electric
Company fan. I would watch the two silhouettes as each
would say a sound and then blend the sounds together to
form words. In first grade, my teacher gave me Dick and Jane readers for silent reading
practice. I remember the day I saw a word with the ‘igh’ pattern and applied what I had learned
from the Electric Company to read the word. It was an exciting moment, because I felt like I had
broken a secret code! I could now read several new words with the ‘igh’ pattern on my own.
I was part of the 40% of children whom researchers have estimated
will learn to read no matter how they’re taught.
Reading is not natural
But, what about the other 60%? Acquiring language is a natural
process from birth. However, reading is a human invention and not
natural. So, how do children break the code?
In previous articles, I addressed vocabulary development and
phonological awareness as a foundation for building strong readers. Another crucial piece to
this foundation is explicit, sequential, and systematic phonics instruction. Phonics is the ability
to understand the relationship between letters or groups of letters and the sounds they
represent. Think of the sounds digraph ch represents in chair /ch/, school /k/, chef /sh/. Phonics
also incorporates word parts such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Think of the meaning of the
prefix re- and the root vive in revive (again + live).
Practice, practice, practice
Acquiring basic reading skills is an ongoing process occurring over the
course of about two to three years. Like any other acquired skill,
reading takes practice. Running is one of my favorite pastimes, but it is
something that did not come naturally to me. When I first started
running, I couldn’t complete one quarter of a mile without gasping for
breath and wanting to give up. It took commitment to practicing several
days a week, adding a little more distance each time, and eventually I
ran my first 5K. A few years later I had worked up to my first half
marathon. This did not happen overnight. It took consistent practice
along with some guidance from more seasoned runners and
encouragement from my family.
How to reinforce phonics skills
Becoming a skilled reader also requires explicit
instruction from knowledgeable educators,
reinforcement through practicing new skills, and
encouragement and support from loved ones.
Researchers have discovered through brain imaging
that the brain can develop new pathways as a
response to phonics instruction. It’s like a muscle,
growing stronger with practice. That’s exciting news!
*Slashes // around a letter represent the letter sound in some of the following activities.
Have your child recite the alphabet. After singing, try saying it without singing.
This can be a challenge even for some older students.
Write letters on index cards and have your child name the letter and say the sound it
represents as you hold up one card at a time. “t /t/, p /p/”, etc. Add new letter combinations as
they learn them. Ch, th, oo, etc. The OG card deck app is another useful tool for this activity:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/og-card-deck/id709418432
Write letters on paper or get plastic letters, and put them in a bag. Let your child remove one
letter at a time and say the sound that the letter represents. With plastic letters, you could
have your child close their eyes and guess what the letter is based upon its shape before
pulling it out of the bag.
Have your child put the alphabet letters in order and then ask them what letter comes before
d, l, p, etc. You can also practice which letter comes after. This reinforces alphabet skills and
also helps teach directionality.
Say sounds of letters and have your child write the letter in sand, cornmeal, with sidewalk
chalk, etc. Paper and markers, crayons, or pencils also work if you prefer. Watch this video
for all 44 sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBuA589kfMg
Build words with letters. Start with a simple word such as cat. Have them change /k/ in cat to
/h/ to spell hat, then change /h/ in hat to /s/ to spell sat. The next day, change the last letter
sound. Another day, change the middle vowel sound.
Listen to your child read decodable passages and books. Take turns reading to model
fluency.The following link has a variety of decodable stories:
https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/
When a child misreads a word
● Always direct your child’s attention to the letters within the word. Sometimes all it
takes is silently pointing to the letter or part of the word that was mispronounced to help
them read the word.
● If they still struggle, ask them to name the letter and give the sound the letter
represents. F or example, if a student reads /slip/ instead of ‘sip’, have them name the
letters and then the sounds they represent and try again. If they eliminate a sound, point
to the letter sound that was eliminated.
● If the student can’t remember the sound or it hasn’t been taught, give them the
sound. They can only be responsible for what they’ve learned.
● If the child has trouble blending sounds together, cover the word leaving only the
first letter uncovered. For example, in the word ‘sip’, have them read the sound /s/,
uncover the second sound and have them read /s/→ /i/→ /si/, continue until the entire
word has been uncovered /s/→/si/→/sip/.
● If the word has more than one syllable, cover part of the word and have them read
one syllable at a time before trying to blend the syllables into a word. If they seem
to be getting frustrated, give them the word, praise them for their effort and what they got
right, and keep moving.
Remember the goal is to make reading with your child a positive
experience that will build their self-confidence.
Crystal Strickland, M.Ed., DT, CALT
Lauderdale County School District
355 County Road 61
Florence, AL 35634You can also read
