Module 3: Activity 2

I feel as though this form of “cracking the code” is great for younger students or less proficient readers. A student being able to create a link between sounds and letters is the key component when beginning to read. Providing students with nonsense words allows students to identify letters and create a “choppy string of sounds.”  I feel as though having students read nonsense words is a great indicator of whether or not students are able to link sounds to letters in order to decode words. Although I feel nonsense words are beneficial to students learning how to read, it is also important to have students read real words because they will see them again in different contexts. Students’ being able to recall details from a story and comprehend what they are reading is essential in becoming a proficient reader. Becoming a proficient reader requires gaining meaning from a text and not just being able to decode words.

When working in a kindergarten classroom, we had calendar time where we read a big book with the students highlighting their sight words for the week. We first modeled how to read the story and then went back and read it together as a group. The students loved being able to be engaged and interact with myself as well as one another. After the whole group time, students broke off into centers in order for students to focus on sounding out nonsense words as well as their sight words each day. Throughout the rotation that the children went through, I specifically worked with struggling readers on decoding words. Watching students experience such success was a great feeling of accomplishment for them.  Everyday we worked on a new word with the students and they had the opportunity to use a pointer to point to each letter in a word in order to sound out the word. We also provided students with alphabet magnets in order to create their own words. Then the students would sound out the words. This really helped with students linking sounds and letters.