Word Segmenting

1st grade team

Agenda
● Search process, initial questions
● Discuss what is word segmenting
● Analyze FAST data
● Implications of word segmenting instruction
● Hands on activity
● Next steps
Search process
● Analyzed 1st grade MAP and Fast data
● Common Core standards
● Initial questions
○ What is word segmenting?
○ Why is it important to beginning readers?
○ What implications does it have in the classroom?
● Research
What is word segmenting?
● Segmenting is the knowledge that sentences can be broken down into
words, and then words can be broken down into phonemes, the smallest
units of sound.
● Word segmenting is the skill to break down words into their syllables and
individual sounds.
● Word segmenting is a part of students’ phonemic awareness
● For example:
○ Cat: /c/ /a/ /t/ (3)
○ Ball: /b/ /a/ /ll/ (3)
● The sounds in the word do not always correspond to the number of letters
● Powerful predictor of reading success
CCSS
● Word segmenting is tied together with student knowledge of phonological
awareness in the common core state standards.
● Reading Foundation Skills:

CCSS: RF.1.2. Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables,

and sounds (phonemes)
What does the data show?
● Fast Bridge assessment was used to gather assessment
○ Oral
○ Individual

● This data was collected at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year
● 1st grade data
○ 22 students were flagged as high risk (42%)
○ 27 were flagged as some risk (51%)
Why is this a problem?
● A very large of a deficit in one particular area
● Students who lack phoneme awareness may be unaware of the term sound,
and have very little knowledge of what letter represent.
○ What sound does dog start with? “woof-woof!”
● Most people who have significant reading difficulties have an underlying
problem processing the individual sounds in words.
● Adams says skillful readers ability to read long words depends on their ability
to break the word apart into sounds and syllables.
○ Knowledge of unlikely and likely strings of letters
● How do we help our students to overcome this mystified feeling toward
sound-letter relationship?
Sound to letters
The written sounds are simply not just single letter sounds.
● Meaningful units of both single letter and multiple letter sounds

Louisa Moats says that the sole instruction in the classroom can not just be from letter to sound, there
must also be sound to letter instruction.
● Leaves gaps (chew)
● Starts confusion

Alphabetic print was formed to represent speech, speech was not formed from reading.
1. Take apart words into sounds
2. Recognize their identity
3. Put them back together
Implications for Instruction
● When word segmenting and phonological awareness is explicitly taught, it
can significantly improve students’ reading skills.
● Lane and Pullen say as students develop a stronger sense of segmentation,
they are more readily able to apply these skills to decode words.
● One must have awareness of alphabetic principle, letter sounds and blends,
in order to read and spell.
○ Consistent in their letters and sounds
○ Benefit from instruction on decoding and spelling

Preparing the student for phonics instruction

● Explicit instruction leaves little room for chance thus ensuring success for each student.
Modeling
● When a student is
not understanding
the segmentation
of words, the
teacher must make
the language
sound conspicuous
to the student.

Florida Center for

Reading Research
Word Segmenting activity

● Sound box activity

○ How would students benefit from this activity?
○ How could we expand these activities to more advanced learners?
○ Where could this fit in your classroom?
Implications for Assessment
● We assess for word segmenting to identify students at risk and to progress
monitor students.
● The Word Segmenting assesses
students' ability to separate a spoken
word into individual sounds, or phonemes.
● Moats and Tulen say with progress
monitoring and assessment we can
make predictions about students’ reading
ability.

Wiley Blevins Oral segmenting assessment

Next steps- Plan of action
Coaching cycle:

1. Start with modeling

2. Collaborative planning (on going)
3. Co-teaching
4. Follow up feedback from both through coaching conversations
References
● Adams (2004). Modeling the Connections Between word Recognition and Reading.
file:///Users/chloetalbott/Desktop/Adams__2004_._Modeling_the_connections_between_word_recognition_and_reading.pdf
● Blevins, Wiley (1998) Phonics from A to Z. http://www.sess.ie/sites/default/files/Temp_Upload_Files/2014-
15/Phonemic%20Awareness%20Assessment.pdf
● Florida Center for Reading Research. (2014). Phonological awareness activities. Retrieved from www.fcrr.org/ for-educators/prek_cca.asp
● Joseph, Laurice M. (1999) Developing first graders' phonemic awareness, word identification and spelling: A comparison of two
contemporary phonic instructional approaches, Literacy Research and Instruction, 39:2, 160-169, DOI: 10.1080/19388070009558318
● Lane, H. (2014). Evidence-based reading instruction for grades K-5 (Document No. IC-12). Retrieved from University of Florida,
Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform Center website:
http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configurations/
● Lane, Holly B. ; Pullen, Paige C. ; Eisele, Mary R. ; Jordan, Luann Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth,
01 January 2002, Vol.46(3), p.101-110
● Moats, Louisa. (1998) Teaching Decoding. American Educator/ American Education of Teachers.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e888/1a3694e3201ba30c693be871ee48aeccacff.pdf
● Moats, L, & Tolman, C (2009). Excerpted from Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS): The Speech
Sounds of English: Phonetics, Phonology, and Phoneme Awareness (Module 2). Boston: Sopris West.