Blending and segmenting has been shown to be key for preschoolers and kindergarteners to become strong readers and writers. The question is why is this so key. Why do so many students struggle with these skills?
English is a phonetic language. Linguistically, it is made of sound chunks blended together. As we learn to speak and communicate as young children, we pick up on the pronunciation of the words and add them to our lexicon, along with attaching the meaning of the word. The struggle often comes when we become old enough to start reading and need to decode these words in our lexicon to be able to read and write them. Why some have little difficulty with this skill and others struggle is a great question, but we are able to scaffold the skills back and assist those who struggle so they gain the understanding they need to become strong readers and writers.
Having the children blend and segment words allows them to develop the understanding that our language is made up of groups of sounds and it is key to be able to decode those sound segments as readers and writers. Often students hit second and third grade and need to be able to identify syllables in multisyllabic words and struggle. This is largely because they have not developed the understanding and skill of segmenting sounds strongly enough in our language. Students entering the upper grades having this understanding have a much easier time identifying the syllable groups or it is at this time they learn to hear the sound groups in multisyllabic words.
Both blending and segmenting are fun and fast skills for students to learn. It is true that our curricula includes blending and segmenting lessons, and the students are taught the skill. The missing link appears to be practice and keeping it fresh in their skill banks until it becomes automatic.
Preschoolers and kindergarteners should start with blending words. The teacher or adult gives the sounds in a word and the child says the word. In order to segment words, the teacher or adult give the word and the child says the sounds back. There are a multitude of activities available for working on these skills. Once it has been taught, children need to be provided with multiple opportunities to use the skills. Look for those opportunities during the day where you can provide the practice needed to keep the skill fresh in their minds and make it automatic. This might be when they are lining up, washing their hands, or waiting in the hall. Use those times to give that little extra practice they need to master these skills. If you have students who are struggling, write their name on an index card to help you remember to make a connection with them at recess or lunch and have them blend or segment a couple of words. This will not only help them with this skill but will also provide a positive reinforcement showing that you care and will help build a stronger relationship with that child in a positive way.
These are skills that have proven to have huge impact on students’ reading and writing in the older grades and are able to be developed as young as four years old. They are skills that can be done in a fun and playful way so the child is completely unaware of the impact you are having on their brain.
Let’s get these little guys blending and segmenting so they will be readers and writers.
No comments:
Post a Comment