Word Recognition

Course Title

Reading and Development

M0

Module 1

learning to read

ver. 1.0

Lesson 1

Word Recognition

Objectives

Define word recognition;

Discover authentic techniques in developing independent readers;

Demonstrate fun games to teach word recognition;

Suggest innovations to better address students needs in working with words.

This module will provide information on how to skill up learners ability to work with words. It would
benefit a reader very little if he/she can recognize the forms and sounds of the letters that make up the
words, but cannot understand what they mean. On the other hand, if he/she cannot recognize the
forms and sounds of words, then they have no way of knowing what the words are and would not be
able to proceed to give meaning.

Introduction

Word recognition and comprehension are interrelated in the sense that when children read meaningful
materials, their understanding of what they are reading would help them decode unfamiliar words.
When they are taught to identify words by sounding them out phonetically, children may not
understand the whole passage. When this happens, the child has been taught only half of the process of
reading. Word recognition is a prerequisite to reading comprehension and proficient reading, but it
must be taught in context. The reason for reading is meaning, not the isolated clusters of scribbles called
letters that form words. Mature readers identify words with remarkable speed and accuracy. Indeed,
fluent word identification appears to be a requisite for comprehending text. If a reader must slowly
analyze many of the words in a text, memory and attention needed for comprehension are drained by
word analysis.
Beginning readers recognize very few words instantly. Through repeated exposure to the same words,
instant recognition vocabulary grows. It is particularly important that developing readers learn to
recognize those words that occur very frequently in print.

Developing readers also need to learn to recognize high-frequency words instantly because many of
them are not phonetically regular. Children's ability to recognize words can be developed by teachers'
pointing out the words, by a variety of game-like activities, and by writing those words. However, it
appears that instant recognition of words, especially high-frequency words, develops best when
students read large amounts of text, particularly text that is relatively easy for the reader (Cunningham,
1995).

What is Word Recognition?

Word recognition is the ability of a reader to recognize written words correctly and virtually effortlessly.
It is sometimes referred to as isolated word recognition because it entails a reader's ability to recognize
words individually. It is the ability to identify word automatically and accurately. It is the result of an
interactive functioning of the following strategies which a reader should use to be able to move from
print to meaning:

(a) Phonetic Analysis;

(b) Contextual Analysis;

(c)Structural Analysis;

(d)Sight Word Identification; and

(e) Spelling Patterns.

Word Recognition differentiates the beginning reader from the proficient reader. It enables the
beginning reader to focus on the form and structure of printed words. On the other hand, it enables the
proficient reader to move automatically from print to meaning. We know that a predictor of learning
to read for children is rapid recognition of all the letters. "Rapid" is important because fast, accurate
performance means that a task has not only been mastered but that the learner has achieved a level of
automaticity for that task. Effortless word recognition is the main component of fluent reading. To that
end, teachers help learners acquire, by repeated exposure, a large bank of sight words of the more
frequently encountered words and, by word analysis, a bank of the less familiar and more difficult
words. If the difficult words are more frequent words in the learner's reading, these too will become
sight words. However, not all written words are regular ones that can be decoded easily. Some words
are irregular or difficult to decode.

Why is sight word recognition important?

Learning sight word recognition skills will help learners read the following:
(a) irregular words that cannot be sounded out

Examples: there, was, said, come

(b) Words that are governed by more complex spelling rules that have not yet been taught

Examples: boy, eat

(c) Longer, more complex words that are of high interest to the learner

Examples: Spiderman, Darth Vader, horse

(d) Irregular words which one or more letters do not represent their most common sounds which must
be memorized and recognized by sight

Examples: was, of, the, to, you, I, is, said, that, he, his, she, her, for, are, as, they, we, were, be, this,
have, or, one, by, what, with, then, do, there

(e) Regular words which every letter represents its most common sound.

Examples: kin is regular, but kind is not: the most common sound for i is the sound it makes in sit.

It is very important to note that high-frequency words, meaning words that occur frequently, include
both irregular words and regular words. This would bring in the relevance of word recognition skills to
bridge fluency into comprehension.

What is the goal of teaching word recognition?

The goal of teaching word recognition is to enable the learner to move automatically and accurately
from print to meaning through certain decoding strategies. While accuracy and automaticity are
required, these are not sufficient for the learner to be a proficient reader. Word recognition only
enables the reader to decode. They still have to develop the ability to comprehend what he can decode.

To develop fluent reading, the teacher does not rest when his/her learners are already at the accurate
level of word recognition. The teacher gets them to do repeated reading of as many easy and enjoyable
books as possible so that they will become automatic at contextual reading. Thus, it is implied that word
recognition should be taught holistically and not as an isolated sub-skill of the reading process. It must
be taught in context and not through isolated word drills or word.

What words are taught as sight words?

Reading is one of the most critical skills taught at school. It is virtually impossible for a person to live a
productive life in our society without being functionally literate. One of the most important goals in
teaching young students to read is making sure they are completely proficient with Sight Words.

Sight Words (sometimes called the Dolchs Word List) are some of the most frequently used words in
the English language. Even though they number only about 200, Sight Words comprise approximately 50
to 70 percent of any given general, non-technical text. Therefore, teaching Sight Words as early as
possible is considered a crucial part of elementary education.

A large sight vocabulary enables learners to concentrate on meaning as they read;

a.) familiar words (those that are commonly known to the learners);

b.) low phonic regularity (those that cannot be taught phonetically or structurally) e.g.: though ,
thought, through, thorough; and

c.) words without visual meaning e.g.: could, should, would, either, neither etc..

What are the best approaches in developing word recognition?

1.Fuller Approach

It is an approach which is a combination of the alphabet, the phonetic and the whole word method.
How? The learner is not introduced to Lesson 1 until he/she gained complete mastery in recognizing and
sounding each consonant. Reading should be done downward-down the column first, then across the
column.

FULLER APPROACH

Lesson I

a as it sounds in cat (short sound of a)

ab

ad

ag

am

an

ap

at

cab

bad

bag
dam

ban

cap

hat

dab

cad

fag

gam

can

gap

cat

jab

fad

hag

jam

man

map

fat

gab

gad

jag

ham

pan

nap

hat
tab

had

lag

ram

ran

pap

mat

lad

nag

pam

van

rap

pat

mad

rag

sam

wan

sap

rat

pad

sag

tap

tat

sad

tag
vat

Phrases Sentences

hat for dad The bad man ran.

a fat cat The bag is on the mat.

the sad man The tag is on the bag.

sat on the mat The man is sad.

jam in the can

Story

Pat is fat.

She has a bag.

The bag is on the van.

Who is fat?

a.) Pat b.) Dad c.) Dan

What does Pat have?

a.) can b.) bag c.) pan

Where is the bag?

a.) van b.) can c.) hat

Link iread power point here

DO this: Complete your Fuller lesson, Present your work.

2. Phono-Visual Method
This is a variation of beginning consonants and then the vowels and the use of phonetic analysis. It
establishes a strong association between sounds and symbols through games, songs and interesting
exercises. Phonovisual instruction enables students to encode (write) words with a sense of accuracy.
This frees creative energies to develop independent writing. There is nothing more frustrating for a
creative mind than to ask several times for spelling help when trying to write. This interruption
generates insecurity and a loss of creative thought processes. Phonovisual can allow creative minds to
put their thoughts on paper with ease and success! With Phonovisual instruction as a starting point,
students have the security and confidence to build additional decoding skills.

Phono-Visual Method

Say the name of each picture, then write the missing letter on the blank.

p_n

w_b

n_t

b_d

h_n

_ ell

_ en

DO this: Make your own phonovisual lessons. Present your work.

_an
3. Modified Marungko Method (Decoding in Filipino)

This is a phonetic approach to teaching reading in Filipino. Letter sounds are taught in sequence
so that immediate blending of sounds will lead to immediate reading. How? Materials for the lessons
are arranged according to the sequence of sounds to be taught. After the reading lesson, writing
immediately follows so that the child can experience the satisfaction of visualizing and feeling the
letters through his/her hand movements. The letter sequence: m, a, s, i, o, b, e, u, t, l, y, n, g, ng, r, d, h,
w, c, j, n, z, qu, v.

Modified Marungko Method

(Decoding in Filipino)

Lesson 1: Mm Lesson 2: Aa Lesson 3: Ss

M Mama Sa

m ama asa

mama asam

masa

sama

sasama

masama

Lesson 4: Ii

si

isa

ima

misa

mais

sisa

Ami Sasama si mama sa masa.

Mami Iisa ang mais sa mama.

Mimi Si Ami sasama sa misa.

Do this:

Make a complete lesson on Marungko Approach. Post your work.

The following strategies illustrate how word recognition may be taught holistically:

1. Masking Technique Through Shared Reading

The Masking Technique Through Shared Reading was designed to develop a stock of basic sight
vocabulary. Eeds (1985) recommends use of shared reading as an opportunity for helping students learn
words, especially the high frequency words, which must be part of every reader's sight vocabulary.

This technique proceeds as follows:

a.) Identify high frequency word in the text.

b.) Present enlarged page of the text.

c.) Read text orally with the pupils as you point to the words with a pointer for them to focus at the
words (shared reading).

d.) Cover the high frequency words; let pupils predict what word is missing (masking technique).

e.) Uncover to show the word, let them read the text orally.

f.) Cover the target words again. Show a list of high frequency words found in the text. Ask students to
match the words with the covered or masked words in the text.

g.) Ask them to read another text to find out if they can recognize the high frequency words just learned.

h.) Take note of the words missed and teach these again using the masking technique through shared
reading.
See sample text below:

Do this: Prepare your own text and develop one complete lesson using the masking technique through
shared reading.

Description: \\fern\CHARTS\Making Generalization3.jpg

2. Rebus Reading

Rebus reading can also be used to develop a stock of basic sight words. The technique proceeds as
follows:

a.) Present an enlarged page of a text with rebus insertions.

b.) Ask the class to read orally in unison the text with rebuses.

c.) Cover the rebuses then ask the pupils to supply the missing words and write these on the blanks
covering the rebuses.

d.) Ask the class to read the passage orally again in unison, by rows, in pairs, singly.

e.) Present another passage using the words just learned and minus rebuses.

f.) Ask the class to locate in the new passage the words just learned by underlining them.

g.) Ask the class to read the new passage.

Examples:

DO this:
Make your own rebus reading text. Prepare a lesson following the instructions above. Post your work.

3. Reading and Rereading Patterned Predictable Text

It has been known and proven that rhyme and rhythm help people remember better. Rhyme and
rhythm in patterned predictable text, activate the right side of the brain to learn and store words.
Through reading and rereading of predictable patterned text, the learner expands his/her sight
vocabulary as he internalizes the sound and form of words repeatedly used in such book.

Rereading proceeds as follows:

a. Present an enlarged page of a patterned predictable text and read it aloud.

b. Read it again as you point to the words with a pointer.

c. Allow them to join in whenever they can predict the next line or word, especially in the refrain or
repetitive lines.

d. Present same text on a chart with spaces for sentence strips to be matched with the text.

e. Ask them to match sentence strips with the text as they read aloud.

f. Ask them also to match word strips with words in the text as they read aloud.

g. Ask the class to read the text in unison.

h. Ask them to write the words just learned.

Example:

Description: \\fern\CHARTS\welcome.jpg
Do this

Make your own patterned and predictable text. Use it to make a whole lesson. Post your work.

Effective Strategies to develop word recognition skills

1.Phonetic Analysis

Example:

bag

sound the first letter buh

- sound the second letter ae

- sound the third letter guh

- blend all 3 sounds to get the word bag

b a g bag

This done through sound-letter correspondence. The reader is enabled to approximate the
pronunciation of the word and identify it. The teacher can call out the sound of a letter. As the sound-
letter correspondence is learned, the letter sounds are blended to read the word.
Do this:

Make own list of words for a lesson using phonetic analysis. Post your work

2. Contextual Analysis

This is the ability to use semantics (meaning) and/or syntax (grammar structure) of a word and its
context in the sentence to assume what the word is. Write the sentence on the board. Ask the pupils to
read the sentence orally, except the difficult word. Ask if there is somebody who knows what the word
is. Guide them with questions to be able to identify the context clues. Lead them to identify/read the
difficult word. Reader uses his/her knowledge about GRAMMAR/ STRUCTURE of the language using
syntactic clues. Syntactic clues are contained in the language structure. Hence, certain words appear in
certain positions in spoken

a. Jane went out to walk her pet.

What are the things that can be walked?

her is usually followed by a noun

What does pet mean?

b. John was at home reading a journal.

What are the things that can be read?

a should be followed by a singular noun.

What does journal mean?

c. I want milk and honey for breakfast.

and will signal insertion of another food.

What is honey?

Examples:

DO this:
Make a lesson using contextual analysis. Post your work.

3. Structural Analysis

This requires the reader to examine the parts of the word (root words, suffixes, and inflections) to
identify the whole word. Look closely at the unfamiliar word. Analyze and find any part that is familiar.
Read the familiar word. You may analyze the other words phonetically to read the compound or words
with affixes

List down at least 10 new words and then make a lesson using structural analysis.

Example: bedroom, backyard, playground,

4. Sight Word Identification

This generally make up from 50 to 75 percent of the reading material encountered by students just like
the list of 220 words, prepared by E.W. Dolch, which are generally known as Dolchs Words, high-
frequency words, or "sight words". The Fry's Instant Word List is a list of 1,000 words which students
need the most to develop a powerful sight vocabulary. The first 300 words make up 65% of all written
material contained in newspaper articles, magazines, textbooks, children's stories, novels, and more.

Link Dolchs high frequency words and Frys instant word list

Do this:

Consolidate the list of basic sight words by Dolch and Fry. Use the list in two ways, assessment and
lesson. Post your work.
5. Spelling Patterns

Spelling patterns are principles that guide pronunciation and which would be of great help in
independent word recognition. Some of spelling patterns are very rare or unique, such as 'au' for the ah
sound in laugh. Most English consonants can be spelled in different ways. Young children often try to
use the sounds in words to figure out their spellings; advanced children often use this phonetic strategy
first, and then try other approaches, including applying common spelling patterns. So it is definitely
worthwhile to help children hear the sounds in words by developing phonemic awareness, and then
exploring sound/symbol relationships and spelling patterns especially if you continuously encourage
children to think about how these strategies will help them as readers and writers.

Guidelines to Spelling Patterns

1. cvc- consonant-vowel-consonant. when a word or a syllable follows a cvc pattern, the vowel is
usually short.

of the 5 vowels in the cvc pattern, children find the greatest difficulty in attacking words with the o
and u. they tend to give these vowels the filipino sound of /o/ and /u/. even we teachers sometimes
do not observe the principle in syllables with cvc pattern found in longer words.

do this: make a list of words with short vowel sounds and then use these words in preparing a c-v-c
lesson

take the word culture. many will say kool when it should be kul with a short u. the first syllable
is of the cvc pattern so the vowel sound should be short.. examples:

rat, set, sit, hot, hut

2. cvce pattern consonant-vowel-consonant and e

in the cvce pattern, the vowel becomes long and e.

examples:

rate (long a)

do this:

make a list of words with c-v-c-e pattern then prepare a lesson. post y our work.
 site (long i)

3. cvvc pattern consonant- vowel-vowel-consonant

in the cvvc pattern, there are two vowel letters together in a word or accented syllable, the first
stands for a long vowel sound and the second vowel is silent.

example: ai as in rain where

a is long and

i is silent

oa as in boat where

o is long and

a is silent

all strategies are equally important. however, phonetic analysis should be the last recourse, when all
other strategies fail. when we read, we usually use sight word identification first. if we fail to recognize a
word immediately, we may either look at the context in which it is used, or analyze the word structurally
and/or phonetically. we use anyone or any combination of these strategies. it is therefore, important
that a learner develops these five word recognition strategies.

word recognition differentiates the beginning reader from the proficient reader. it enables the
beginning reader to focus on the form and structure of the printed words. on the other hand, it enables
the proficient reader to move automatically from print to meaning.

Fun Games for Developing Word recognition skills

1. Bell Game

This can be done in small groups. Prepare a deck of cards that contains each word-recognition word
learned so far and two small bells. Follow the procedure below:

1. Divide students into two teams.

2. Have the first player from each team come up to a desk at the front of the room. Place two bells
on the desk, one for each player. Then say:
Today we are going to play The Bell Game. When I show you a word card, the first person to ring
his/her bell and read the word correctly gets one point for her/his team.

3. Make sure that you read the word before you ring your bell. If you ring your bell, but cannot read
the word immediately, within one second, your team will lose a point. Therefore, it is important that you
read the word silently before you hit your bell.

If you read the word incorrectly, the player on the opposite team gets a chance to read the word, but
this time for two points instead of one.

If both players miss the word, call on someone else in the class to give the players a hand. In this
scenario, no points are awarded.

4. Have a new set of players come to the board every round or every other round.

2. Word-form

This can be done in a small group or whole class .Given a written regular word, say the word without
sounding out. Follow the steps below:

a) Write the items on the board. (For small groups, you can also use the index card version of the
words.)

b) Let's read some words without saying the letter sounds out loud. When I touch a word, you sound
out each letter to yourself, then say the whole word out loud.

c) My turn first. Point to each letter of the first word, mouthing out the letter sounds as you touch
beneath each letter. What's the word? Say the word.

d) Your turn. As I touch each letter, sound out the word to yourself. Ready? Make sure everyone is
looking at you, and then touch just beneath each letter of the first word. Dont mouth out the letter
sounds yourself. What's the word? Students say the word.

e) Great. Next word. Continue with each of the words in the list.

f) Look for students who are not saying the words or who are saying the wrong word. Call on a mix
of several studentssome who aren't sounding out and some who are to silently sound out and then
name the words individually. In an Activity Log, make a note of students who continue to have trouble.

g) When students are able to mouth-sound-out a complete set of words without error, repeat the list
but change the format: instead of pointing to each letter and mouthing the letter sound, tell students to
sound the word out to yourself without moving your lips. Point beneath the word and pause for three
seconds before asking: What's the word? For students who are still mouthing the letter sounds, ask
them to try sounding out silently. Next time you do this activity, skip the mouthing out part of the
instruction so that students get used to reading the words without mouthing the letter sounds.

h) use activity log to record and capture specific errors individual students make every week.
An activity log can be used to capture specific errors individual students make week by week. Teachers
note a specific student error in the appropriate cell.

For instance:

If the student should have said /t/ but instead says /d/, the teacher would write: /t/ (/d/).

If the student should have read /mit/ but instead read /mat/, the teacher would write: /mit/ (/mat/).

Here is an example of an Activity Log organized by skill. Image: Activity Log.doc

3. Can I

This can be done in a small group.

Set of regular word flash cards (enough sets for each student to have 12). Give each student some cans
decorated with regular words that each student can recognize, spell and write the word with
automaticity. Any set of word-recognition words learned so far will do. Follow the steps below:

a. Have students sit in their seats at a desk.

Say:

Today, we are going to play a game called Can I. In this game, each student will receive a decorated
can and a set of word cards. You will read the words on the cards to yourself. When you get a word
correct, you can then flip over the card and write the word correctly on the other side. After youve
written the word, flip over the card and check to see if you spelled it correctly. If you have, place the
card in your can. If you did not spell the word correctly, keep it outside of your can. Keep playing until
you are finished with all your cards.

b. Show students how to pick up a card, read it, then flip it over and write the word on the back.
Place the card in the can.

Say:

I will now give you 10 minutes to play Can I. You may begin.

c. Give students 10 minutes to play. Monitor students work.

d. Stop the game by saying: Time is up, students. Please stop writing and reading. You did an
excellent job.

e. Take out your can cards and any other word cards and hold them in the air so I can collect them.

f. Collect the cards.

g. Now hold up your cans. I will collect them at this time.

h. Collect the cans. Say: Good job in following directions! Thanks for playing.

i. Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and log in difficulties.

4. Clap It

This is a set of regular word flash cards that your students have studied/learned. Given a written regular
word, the student can spell the word with automaticity. Follow the steps below to perform this game:

1. Have students sit in a circle.

Say: Today, we are going to play a game called Clap It!. In this game, we will sit in our circle and then I
will show you a word on a flashcard. I will keep the word up so you can see it as you play the game. We
will all say the word, and then clap each letter out loud. Then, after weve clapped each letter, we will
say the word one more time. After weve finished a word, well move on to the next one. Im going to
show you how to clap a word. Watch as I do it.

2. Model using a simple regular word. For example, if the word is cat c (clap), a (clap), t
(clap). Say: Lets start the game!

3. Start the game using a regular word flash card. Play the game for about ten minutes. Say: Children,
you did a great job playing Clap It! Good work!

4. Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an
Activity Log.

5. Word Chain

This activity will enable learners to master some words and that they would be able to produce their
individual chain of words for publication.

Prepare the following:

o a set of about 10-15 strips of paper per child (can be construction paper);

o stapler;

o writing utensil for each child (markers work well);

o any set of word-recognition words learned so far (list of regular words will do)

Follow the steps provided:

Have students sit in their seats/desks. Say:

Today, we are going to play a game called Word Chain. In this game, we will make the longest
possible chain of words we know. I am going to hand everyone a pen and a strip of paper to start. When
I say start, you spell any word weve have just learned. Write that word on your strip of paper and
then when youre done writing the word, flip it over, write your name and then submit it to me. I will
give you a new strip of paper and you can write another word. After five minutes, we will staple
together all the words that we have written so that we can have a chain of words. Say: I am setting the
timer for five minutes. Go!

Let students play for five minutes. Continue to hand over strips of paper. Say: Time is up!
Excellent work, children. Lets start to staple our chain together.

Begin stapling the strips of the paper together. Read the word each time you staple a new loop.
Praise the students for how long their chain is becoming.

Say: Look at our chain! You did an excellent job! Lets hang it up so we can see how smart we are!

Hang the chain up.

Note: For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an Activity Log.

6. Line Up

This activity is to get students in line quickly with fun.

Have students remain in their seats.

Instruct students to read the word correctly before joining the line.

Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an
Activity Log.

7. Label It

1. Place all images/drawings/representations of words on the board.

Say: Today, we are going to play a game called Label It where we will get to label pictures of words
you already know. I am going to give each student five words that are written on post-its/strips. You will
get to come up to one of the pictures and label it with the correct word on your post-it/strip. For
example, you might have the word bag. You will walk up to the board and find the picture of the word
bag and then put your post-it/strip on the picture. Each student gets to go to the board five separate
times to label a picture.

2. Model using a post-it/strip word and finding its picture among the collection of images. Put the
post-it/strip on the picture.
3. Everyone will go the board one at a time. We will all watch and cheer on our fellow readers each
time they correctly match the picture and word. Lets play!

4. Call each student up individually and guide the student if necessary. Remind students to
encourage their fellow readers. Play for five separate rounds.

5. Good job, class. Lets review our words weve learned.

6. Review the pictures and word cards with the whole class.

7. You successfully read regular words and matched them with their pictures. Way to go, readers!

8. Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an
Activity Log.

8. Puzzle Words

Have students sit in a circle.

Say: Today, we are going to play a game called Puzzle Words. In this game, you are going to put
together a regular words puzzle using these puzzle pieces. Show puzzles. I will give each student a few
puzzle pieces. Then, each person gets to put their pieces out in the middle of our circle. We will have
about 5 minutes to put the puzzle together. Each piece of the puzzle has one of our words on it. Are you
ready? Remember, it is important that we pay attention to each other when putting together our
puzzle. We have to make sure it fits - I promise you it all does!

Let students do the puzzle.

Say: Now that youve made the puzzle, Im going to point to a word and call on a student to read the
word.

Point to each word and have students read the word aloud.

Say: Good job creating our word puzzle and reading the words!

Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an
Activity Log.

9. Word Sorts

Hand out cards to each pair of students, face down.

Say: Today we are going to do a word sort, but before we begin, lets read through all the words we are
going to sort. Divide your cards in half so that each person has ten cards. Now, read the words on your
cards silently. After 30 seconds, quiz your partner by having him or her read all the words on your cards
without sounding them out aloud. Remember; if you need to sound out a word, please do so silently and
then say the word aloud quickly (model this). Make sure to help your partner if needed. Notify the
students after 30 seconds have passed. Then walk around the room to make sure that they are reading
correctly.

Combine your word cards into one pile. With your partner, please sort your words into categories
of your choice. For example, I would put strict and string into the same group because both words begin
with an st.

Possible sort categories include: same initial/final sound, same digraphs, same blends, same number of
letters, same vowel sounds.

Ask each pair of students to explain their word categories either to the whole class or to another
pair of students after all pairs are finished sorting their words.

Ask: Why did you sort your words in that way?

How else can you possibly sort your words? Why?

10.World of Words

Hand out a deck of cards to each pair of students. One student should shuffle the cards, and the
other should deal the cards, so that each student has half of the deck in front of him in a draw pile.

Say:

Lets begin the game. You should each have a pile of word cards face down in front of you. Now, turn
over the top card in your pile. Look at the first letter of your word, and then look at the first letter of
your partners word. The person with the word whose letter begins closer to the beginning of the
alphabet gets to read the cards first.

So, for example, if

I have the word cat and

John has the word dog,

I get to go first because the letter c comes before the letter d in the alphabet.

Now that I know I am first, I get a chance to read my entire word, plus Johns entire word. If I can read
both cards, I get to keep both cards. If I cant read one or both cards, John gets a chance to try and read
the words I missed. If he can read them, he gets to keep the card or cards he can read. If you and your
partner are both stuck, please raise your hand and I will come to help you read the words you missed.
Once both cards are read, turn over the next card in each of your draw piles and play again. Remember--
if you get to keep a card, put it face up in a treasure pile.
 If you both draw the same word, in this case you must play, rock, paper, scissors. Whoever wins
gets a chance to read both word cards--remember, in this case, the cards should have the same word on
them. If the winner of rock, paper, scissors can read both cards, he or she gets to keep them. If not, his
or her partner gets a chance to read the cards.

The game finishes once you've finished flipping over all the cards in your draw pile. The person
with the most cards in his or her treasure pile wins.

Begin playing. You may want to model a few rounds for your students if this is a new game. While
the students are playing in pairs, walk around the room to make sure they are reading the word cards
correctly. Encourage students to read the words by first sounding them out in their heads, then saying
them quickly aloud.

11. Peer Partner

1. Put students in pairs and give each pair a set of word cards.

Say: Today, we are going to play a game called Peer Partner where you get to test your partner on
how well she/he know the regular words. You get to be a teacher! Each pair has a set of word cards. The
youngest person in the pair gets to sound out the words in their heads first. Your partner will hold up a
word card and then you get to guess the word. If you know the word, the guesser can hold the word
card in their hand. If you do not know the word, your partner will put it back in the stack and you can try
again later.

2. Model with a pair in the class.

Say: Now, I will give each team four minutes to try the game on their own. I want to hear positive
words and encouragement all around. After four minutes, you will switch and the person who held the
cards at first will now get to practice saying the words.

3. Ask students if they have any questions. If not, start the game.

4. Switch the guesser and continue the game.

Say: You are doing a very nice and smart job. Good job, students. We have recognized many words
today and worked well as partner.

5. Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an
Activity Log.

12. Write-It

1. Have students sit in their seats/desks.

2. Pass on the materials- One pencil for each student, one paper, and 10 strips and rolls of masking
tape.
Say: Today, we are going to play a game called Write-it. In this game, you will all get a piece of paper.
Then, I will give you 10 strips (modified). I will read 10 words weve learned so far. So every time I say a
word, write it on your strip and stick it to your paper. Lets begin.

1. Read a word and wait for students to write it on the strip and stick it to the piece of paper. Repeat
10 times.

Say: Excellent. Now I want you to read the words to yourself. You have two minutes. Try to read them
as many times as you can.

3. Give students two minutes to read the words. Then ask them to stop.

Say: If you notice a student is reading a word incorrectly, have them stop and retry. Turn over your
paper and write your name on the back. You can take this home tonight and practice your words at
home. Good work, everyone.

4. Observe students play the game. For students who struggle, give them help and make a note in an
Activity Log.

13. Wiggle the words

1. Find an open space that is at least ten feet by ten feet. Place 20 word-recognition cards on the
floor in a winding path (or wiggly snake) formation. The cards should be placed about a foot or so apart.

2. Divide students into two teams: team A and team B. Each team should stand in a line at opposite
ends of the wiggled words.

3. Have the line leader for team A and the line leader for team B play one round of rock, paper,
scissors to determine which team will go first.

Say: Today we are going to play Wiggle the words. When I say begin, the first person in team As line
has 30 seconds to try and read every word-recognition card along the line before the timer goes off. If
team A's leader correctly reads every word along, team A gets two points, and the next person on team
A gets a chance to do the same thing. If team A's leader reads some, but not all of the words correctly,
team A gets only one point and the first person in team B gets a turn to read all of the cards in 30
seconds, but this time starting from the opposite end. Show students how to walk along the snake as
they read. They should take one step for every word they read correctly.

4. Remember to sound out each word in your head before reading it, and then say it quickly aloud as
you walk along. The team with the most amounts of points after everyone wins.

14. Word Fans

Write between twenty and thirty words on the board.

Hand each student a piece of paper and a pen.

Say: Today we are going to make word fans. Please take the piece of paper I gave you and fold it back
and forth to make it look like an accordion. Each crease should be about an inch apart. Model this
procedure.

Unfold your paper. Your paper should have eight sections. Please write one of the words I have on the
board on each section so that you have eight different words on your piece of paper. Model this
procedure. As the students write their words, walk around the room to make sure they are spelling the
words correctly, and quiz students on the words they pick by asking, what word is that? Can you read
me the other words on your paper?

Tell the students to flip over their pieces of paper once everyone has eight words written down, on the
opposite side of your paper, please draw a scene from your favorite story. Show an example scene on
the back your paper.

Fold your papers back up like an accordion. I will come around and staple one end of your accordion in
order to finish making your fans.

Find a partner and tell him or her about the scene on your fan. Make sure to explain why you chose that
scene. Afterwards, have your partner read the words on the opposite side of your fan.

Pick a student and model this procedure in front of the class. As the students share their work, walk
around to ask students about their drawings and to make sure they are reading their partners' word
correctly.

15. Lesson Demo

This lesson plan shows how to help students work with words in a very simple and fun ways. Walk
through this lesson and identify which strategies mentioned are applied.

round up

Word recognition skills represent the ways and means to gain access to unfamiliar words in written
texts. It is a process that leads to successful reading. The objective of the word recognition sequence of
activities is to teach students to recognize and decode words on sight with accuracy and automaticity as
necessary ingredients of skillful word recognition.

Journal Activity

now answer the following questions. write your answers in your journal and discuss it with your co-
learners.

Try out all the fund games in developing word recognition skills. Record all your observations using this
chart:
Fun Games

What worked well?

What didnt work well?

Why?

1. Bell Game

2. Word Form

3. Can I

4.

How can word recognition be taught in the early years?

Discuss the approaches and strategies which were proven effective in developing word recognition skills
in the children?

What other strategies and techniques do you think would be effective in teaching word recognition?
Cite examples.

Next Lesson/Module

In this lesson you learned about approaches, strategies, techniques and fun games in developing word
recognition skills of young learners. In the next module, you will learn more about vocabulary
development and how it is built on word recognition skills.
Glossary Items

accuracy

This means correct, exact and without any mistakes in reading.

automaticity

Refers to fast, effortless, and accurate word recognition that grows out of repetition and practice.

Reference

Fields, Marjorie V. and Dorris Lee (1987). LET'S BEGIN READING RIGHT, Columbus, Ohio, Merrill
Publishing Company.

Fry, E. B., Kress, J. E., & Fountoukidis, D.L. (1993). The reading teacher's book of lists, 3rd edition.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, pp.185-187. By permission. 1993 by Prentice Hall.

Hill, Susan (2006). Early Years. Developing Early Years Literacy: Assessment and Teaching. Sue Hill.

Lapp, Diane (2005). Understanding How Children Learn To Read Written Language. Chapter 2 excerpt
from Guilford Publications, Teaching Literacy in First Grade.

Zintz, Miles V. and Zelda R. Maggart (1986). CORRECTIVE READING. Dubuque, Iowa, Wm. C. Brown
Publishers.

www.phonovisual.com/method.php

Periodicals:

Santos, Natividad A., Teach and Test Word Recognition Holistically: Some Classroom Strategies. In
Touchstones in Reading, Published by the Dept of Reading, College of Education, UP, Diliman, Quezon
City, Philippines
References:

http://ireadmodule.blogspot.com/2012/08/word-recognition.html