Page 14 - iRead EL in Research Paper

activities present reading of connected texts that are carefully constructed to map to letter-sound representations introduced through direct instruction and/or interactive exercises. For the most part, students are not asked to decode words with spelling patterns they have not been taught to decode or to read high-frequency sight words to which they have not been explicitly introduced.2 Decodable texts gradually increase in length and complexity, moving from a sentence to multiple paragraphs. Through this sca olded approach, learners receive an appropriate amount of support and challenge, and thus have a greater chance of success in their earliest attempts at reading. This pattern of accomplishment, in turn, promotes positive feelings about reading, thus inducing a virtuous cycle of further reading and continued success (Adams, 1990).
Sight Words
The term “sight words,” in the context of early reading development, refers to the “high-frequency, irregularly spelled words students are taught to read as unanalyzed wholes” (NRP, 2000, p. 2-102).
Research Evidence and Expert Opinion
The importance of mastering sight words is made clear by the fact that only 14 of the 150 most frequently used words in English follow sound-symbol generalizations that early readers are likely to have encountered (Adams, 1990). Indeed, some of the most common words in English, such as does, to, were, there, one, are irregular by any standard. Yet, because of their frequency, students must master such high-frequency words before they can begin to read connected redundant text.
The 25 most common words in English represent about a third of all printed material as such sight words are the glue that holds text together (Fry & Kress, 2006). The ability to uently comprehend text—the goal of all reading instruction—depends on reading these and other sight words with automaticity.
Mastering sight words is especially critical for students entering school with low reading-readiness and those who struggle with reading. Torgesen (2002) explains that these children “encounter many more words in grade-level text that they cannot read ‘by sight’ than do average readers” (p. 10). Sight words present a challenge for English language learners (ELLs), as well. Approaches that enable children to manipulate words through categorization, word association, or semantic analysis have been shown to be effective with both native speakers and ELLs (Carlo et al., 2004; Marzano & Pickering, 2005; Nagy, 1997).
Expert opinion further suggests that appropriate usage of these words must be emphasized in instruction, and that the highest frequency words be mastered before decodable text is introduced. Before decoding is fully mastered, in order to engage with English text, students must learn to recognize high-frequency words automatically (Adams, 1990). Adams (1990; 2001; 2009) advises that in order to avoid confusion in early learners, early sight word instruction should be discrete from regular phonics instruction.
RECOMMENDATION
Teach early recognition and understanding of essential sight words in context to promote reading uency, and compartmentalize instruction to avoid mutual interference from phonics lessons.
iRead’s Approach
Because words are better understood in relation with other similar words, iRead ’s Sight Words strand presents high-utility, high-frequency, non-decodable sight words in select groups (e.g., prepositions, verbs, pronouns), thus aiding young learners in recognizing and making connections among these words.
2. This approach is consistent with evidence that reading success is enhanced by exposure to texts “with a high proportion of decodable, familiar words (complemented by high frequency words)” (Brady, 2012, p. 21).
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