Title of Strategy: Multi-Sensory Approach to Blending
Description: This approach teaches children to blend the sounds of the letter(s) to say the written word. As students learn a new letter or pattern (such as -sh-, -t-, -oy- or -tion-), they can carefully trace, copy, and write the letter(s) while saying the corresponding sound. The sound may be made by the teacher and the letter name(s) given by the student. Students then decode (and spell) words, phrases, and sentences using this new pattern and previously learned patterns. Teachers and their students rely on all three pathways for learning rather than focusing on a "sight-word" or memory method, a "tracing method," or a "phonetic method" alone.
Procedure:
Application Example (after instructed in the sounds of f, i, and g).
Trace the letters and say the sounds. f i g
Underline the letters and say the sounds. f i g
Put in caret marks and say the sounds. f i g
^^^
Loop (connect carets) and say the sounds. f i g
^^^
Underline the word and say it fast. f i g
Advanced Alternative: While the student is reading, unknown words from the text can be written on a separate sheet of paper (post-it) and “decoded” using this method. (It would not be necessary to trace the letters.) This would be most effective after students have identified word “chunks” (welded sounds) to be looped (rainbow) together above the word and then underlined together below.
Example:
R oy al ly
^ ^ ^ ^
Note: Works well with the spot and dot technique.
Description: This approach teaches children to blend the sounds of the letter(s) to say the written word. As students learn a new letter or pattern (such as -sh-, -t-, -oy- or -tion-), they can carefully trace, copy, and write the letter(s) while saying the corresponding sound. The sound may be made by the teacher and the letter name(s) given by the student. Students then decode (and spell) words, phrases, and sentences using this new pattern and previously learned patterns. Teachers and their students rely on all three pathways for learning rather than focusing on a "sight-word" or memory method, a "tracing method," or a "phonetic method" alone.
Procedure:
Application Example (after instructed in the sounds of f, i, and g).
Trace the letters and say the sounds. f i g
Underline the letters and say the sounds. f i g
Put in caret marks and say the sounds. f i g
^^^
Loop (connect carets) and say the sounds. f i g
^^^
Underline the word and say it fast. f i g
Advanced Alternative: While the student is reading, unknown words from the text can be written on a separate sheet of paper (post-it) and “decoded” using this method. (It would not be necessary to trace the letters.) This would be most effective after students have identified word “chunks” (welded sounds) to be looped (rainbow) together above the word and then underlined together below.
Example:
R oy al ly
^ ^ ^ ^
Note: Works well with the spot and dot technique.