Rapid Decoding
This activity is designed to improve the student’s ability to rapidly decode letter strings containing the graphemes being learned.
- Before beginning the activity show the student the pattern.
- Each day the student should read one line 3x.
Vocabulary
In each unit, there is a list of 10 words. The words only contain the letters that the student is currently learning or has previously learned. In addition, only words containing the basic pronunciation of the letters are used.
In the first session, the student is required to say the sound represented by each of the letters in the word and then blend the sounds together to form the word (e.g., /n/ /a/ /p/ /nap/). If the program is being used for a student for whom English is an additional language, make sure they understand the meaning of the word. The student’s goal is to be able to read the first 5 words accurately on day 1 and then fluently (i.e., in 5 seconds) on day 2. Days 3 and 4 are spent focusing on the second 5 words and on Day 5 the student practises reading all 10 words fluently and accurately.
Oral Reading
This section has been developed to increase the student’s ability to rapidly and accurately decode text. The text has been divided into eye span lengths to encourage the student to look at chunks of text and move away from a word-by-word focus.
The sentences include vocabulary from the list of 10 ‘Vocabulary Development’ words. Using the same words provides additional practice in the learning and retention process of both the words and the basic letter sounds.
In addition, 1-3 high frequency words, which contains graphemes the student doesn’t have the current knowledge to decode, are introduced in each unit and used throughout the sentences.
Ideally, the student completes one Oral Reading exercise each day, first with accuracy and then with fluency (i.e., meeting the time goal). On days 4 and 5, the student reads all the sentences. Ensure the student places two or three fingers of his/her writing hand under each word.
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