Phonics Toolkit 1

Peer Reviewed Article

Students who struggle in the area of reading during the primary stages of their education

career often have difficulties into their secondary education and adulthood, (Erbey, McLaughlin,

Derby & Everson, 2011). Knowing the importance of early reading skills, the researchers in this

study chose to focus on improving students phonics and sight word fluency through the use of a

reading racetrack and flashcards. With the push of one-to-one devices in school and molding

each student into a 21st century learner, many people focus on skills that will help this generation

become productive members of a digital society. However, basic skills like reading should not

be placed on the back burner, especially for students who struggle with reading sight words

(Erbey, McLaughlin, Derby & Everson, 2011)

The researchers worked with three students at an elementary level, two from second

grade and one from fifth grade. These three students have learning disabilities that range from

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to traumatic brain injury (TBI). A previous

student on a drill and practice activity called reading racetracks was conducted to practice four of

the five reading components: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, and vocabulary. The board

looks like a racetrack with race cars to match and 28 blank slots to practice the intended skill. If

our skill was sight words, we would cover all 28 slots with sight words we have difficulty with.

Unlike board games, players do not have to roll dice or spin a spinner to determine how many

spaces to move. Students are required to read each word from start to finish. Although there will

not be a winner, the purpose is to increase accuracy and fluency of a discrete skill, in this case it

is sight word reading. What makes the racetrack design so popular is its ability to practice a

large number of sight words in an engaging way (Erbey, McLaughlin, Derby & Everson, 2011)
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Seeing the benefits of reading racetracks, researchers enhanced this strategy by adding

flashcards to the mix. After pre-assessments to see which words needed to be practiced,

researchers created three different lists, each consisting of three known and four unknown words.

On the racetrack each of the seven words from one list appeared four times, giving us a total of

28 words per racetrack. During the flashcard portion, in which a set is practiced three to four

times, students read each word and received correction if they read the word incorrectly.

Immediately following flashcard practice, students read through their racetrack. They were

allowed a practice round, giving them a chance to practice words without it counting. This

practice round served as a model-lead-test opportunity for researchers if students said a word

incorrectly. Students were given one minute to race through the track while the researcher point

to each word. Corrective feedback was not given during the minute, only a good job at the end

of the activity. Correct and incorrect answers were marked. It is important to note that

researchers did not introduce words that looked or sounded similar at the same time.

Over the course of this study, researchers found the use of flashcards in addition to a

reading racetrack beneficial for all their students. All students increased their sight word

accuracy, some students making greater gains than others. It was shared that flashcards and the

racetrack are easy to implement in a classroom that, Could be incorporated into the general and

special education classroom routine, (Erbey, McLaughlin, Derby & Everson, 2011). However,

there are areas that this study could improve. Students did show an increase in sight word

accuracy, but follow-data was not taken so it was not possible to see if students retained that

knowledge or if they could generalize those skills into other areas. The study could also be

deemed incomplete since the third set of words was not practiced due to timing limitations in the

classroom. The researchers only worked with three students; to further prove the effectiveness of
Phonics Toolkit 3

this intervention, more studies would have to occur with a larger number of students practicing a

variety of discrete skills.

This dual-intervention seems very reasonable in a classroom setting as it requires few

materials and a few minutes of the school day.

Practitioner Article

The author of this meta-analysis shared the importance of phonics instruction. Phonics

interventions teach associations between phonemes and orthography, thereby they differ from

pure phonemic awareness interventions in that they directly incorporate letters or text, (Suggate,

2016). Phonics instruction provides a direct connection letter sound and letter print.

Overview of Practice
Focus and Outcome of Strategy:
Students will practice sight word recognition through a drill-and-practice method with flashcards
and a reading racetrack.

Pre-Requisite Skills:
Letter identification
Letter sounds

Materials:
Reading Racetrack
Flashcards, 4 sets of 7 words
Clock/timer

Critical Components of Implementation:

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A critical component takes place in the practicing portion of this activity. While students are
reading through their flashcard words, the teacher is able to correct and give feedback.
Immediate corrective feedback is important for students. Another critical component is the large
amount of words to practice, the 28 flashcards and word slots allow students to practice
previously learned words along with new words they are struggling with.

Considerations for Implementation:

This will take place during small groups or when the teacher has an opportunity to work with the
student individually. These sessions do not last very long: a few minutes to review flashcard
sight words and then one minute to race around the track.

Mini-Lesson Plan

Standard:

1.RF.3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words; Read

common high-frequency words by sight. (e.g., the, of, to, you, she, my, is, are, do, does).

Objective:

Students will be able to read grade-appropriate high-frequency sight words.

Description of Lesson:

Direct instruction will take place in a whole group setting. The intervention with flashcards and

the reading racetrack will happen in a one-on-one student. To execute this intervention, the

teacher will need a reading racetrack blank template with 28 word slips to put onto the track.

The 28 word slips are individualized for each student since each student will be working on

different words. The teacher may choose to use a blank racetrack where they can put word cards
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to cover the blank spaces or the teacher can laminate a blank racetrack where they can write

words with an Expo pen.

Procedures for Direct Instruction:

1. Whole class instruction will take place on the carpet to review previous lesson on sight

words. New sight word introduced: again.

2. Teacher will introduce sight word, students will repeat words after. Teacher will read aloud a

book, emphasizing the sight word again.

3. As a class, they will practice previously learned sight words: from, kind, just, also, first.

4. The class will break into small groups for extra practice:

High group (5) - Independent reading, audio books

Medium group (8)- Partner practice

Low group (5) - 4 students will do independent practice activities on the computer; 1

student will work with the teacher. Students working with teacher will rotate(steps

continued below)

5. Teacher will work with student on their phonics skills. Session starts with a flashcard review

of set 1 (7 words). Teacher will show flashcard with a sight word, student will read the sight

word. If correct, they will continue. If incorrect, teacher will say the word and student will

repeat it.

6. After set 1 has been practiced 3-4 times, student will complete the Reading Racetrack.

Student will read all 28 words on the racetrack one time around to practice. Teacher will

correct any incorrect words.

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7. Student will be timed for one minute while they read through the racetrack one more time

during this session. Corrective feedback will not be given; incorrect and correct answers will

be marked for progress monitoring purposes.

8. Teacher will work with another student from the low group, following the steps 5-7 with

personalized word sets based off of sight words they are struggling.

Differentiation:

The biggest and most beneficial differentiation will be the words that students practice.

Students completing this activity will all have their own word lists, which are four sets of seven

words each. The words are based off what they already know and what they are still practicing;

on each word list, they will practice four new words and three already mastered words. Some

students may practice easier sight words, maybe mono-syllabic words, while other students may

be practicing harder sight words, like multi-syllabic words.

References

Erbey, McLaughlin, Derby, and Everson (2011). The effects of using flashcards with reading

racetrack to teach letter sounds, sight words, and math facts to elementary students with learning

disabilities. International Electric Journal of Elementary Education.

Suggate (2016). A meta-analysis of the Long-Term Effects of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics,

Fluency, and Reading Comprehension Interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities.