Decoding the Code: Understanding the 6 Elements of Structured Literacy
Structured literacy is a systematic and explicit approach to teaching reading and writing. It focuses on developing foundational skills that are essential for successful reading and writing development. This approach goes beyond phonics and encompasses a comprehensive set of elements that work together to equip learners with the tools they need to become confident and proficient readers and writers.
But what are these elements, and how do they contribute to successful literacy development?
Here's a breakdown of the 6 key elements of structured literacy:
1. Phonemic Awareness
What is it?
Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to identify, manipulate, and understand the individual sounds (phonemes) within spoken words. This involves tasks like:
- Identifying the first sound in a word: "What sound does 'cat' start with?"
- Blending sounds together to make a word: "What word is /k/ /a/ /t/?"
- Segmenting a word into its individual sounds: "What are the sounds in the word 'dog'?"
Why is it important?
Phonemic awareness is a fundamental building block for decoding words. It allows learners to hear the sounds in words, break them down, and use that information to sound out unfamiliar words.
Tips for Developing Phonemic Awareness:
- Use engaging activities: Play games, sing songs, and use rhymes to help children manipulate sounds.
- Focus on one sound at a time: Don't try to teach multiple sounds simultaneously.
- Provide regular opportunities for practice: Make phonemic awareness activities a regular part of your literacy instruction.
2. Phonics
What is it?
Phonics is the connection between the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they represent. It helps learners understand that letters and letter combinations represent specific sounds in spoken language. This involves:
- Understanding letter-sound correspondences: Knowing that 'c' typically makes the 'k' sound, 'a' makes the short 'a' sound, etc.
- Learning about digraphs and blends: Recognizing that 'sh' represents a single sound, while 'bl' represents two sounds blended together.
- Applying phonics knowledge to decode words: Using letter-sound knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words.
Why is it important?
Phonics is crucial for decoding unfamiliar words. It provides learners with the skills to crack the code of written language and read independently.
Tips for Teaching Phonics:
- Introduce sounds systematically: Teach letter-sound correspondences in a logical order, moving from simple to complex.
- Provide explicit instruction: Clearly explain letter-sound correspondences and provide opportunities for practice.
- Connect phonics to reading: Encourage learners to apply their phonics knowledge when reading real words and sentences.
3. Morphology
What is it?
Morphology is the study of word parts (morphemes). Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning in a language. This includes:
- Understanding prefixes and suffixes: Knowing that prefixes like "un-" and "re-" change the meaning of a word, while suffixes like "-ing" and "-ed" indicate tense or action.
- Recognizing root words: Identifying the core meaning of a word, even when it's combined with prefixes and suffixes.
Why is it important?
Morphology helps learners decode longer words, understand the meanings of unfamiliar words, and expand their vocabulary.
Tips for Teaching Morphology:
- Focus on common prefixes and suffixes: Start with the most frequent and useful morphemes.
- Break words down: Use word sorts or graphic organizers to help learners visualize and analyze word parts.
- Connect morphology to writing: Encourage learners to use prefixes, suffixes, and root words when writing their own sentences and stories.
4. Vocabulary
What is it?
Vocabulary refers to the words that a person understands and uses. In literacy, it's essential to develop a robust vocabulary for both reading and writing. This involves:
- Introducing new words: Teaching new words through direct instruction, reading aloud, and discussions.
- Building word knowledge: Helping learners understand the meanings, pronunciations, and uses of words.
- Creating connections: Connecting new words to existing knowledge and experiences.
Why is it important?
Vocabulary is crucial for reading comprehension and writing fluency. It allows learners to understand the content of what they read and write, and express their ideas effectively.
Tips for Building Vocabulary:
- Read widely and often: Exposure to a variety of texts is a powerful way to expand vocabulary.
- Use word walls and graphic organizers: Visual aids can help learners remember new words and their meanings.
- Encourage dictionary use: Teach learners how to look up unfamiliar words and use context clues to figure out their meaning.
5. Syntax
What is it?
Syntax refers to the rules of sentence structure and grammar. This involves:
- Understanding subject-verb agreement: Knowing that singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs.
- Recognizing parts of speech: Identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.
- Learning about sentence types: Distinguishing between declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences.
Why is it important?
Syntax helps learners understand the structure of sentences and how words work together to create meaning. It is crucial for comprehension, written expression, and effective communication.
Tips for Teaching Syntax:
- Model correct sentence structures: Read aloud texts with clear and grammatically correct sentences.
- Use graphic organizers: Visual aids can help learners see how sentences are constructed and the relationships between words.
- Provide opportunities for practice: Have learners write their own sentences, practice identifying parts of speech, and analyze sentence structures.
6. Fluency
What is it?
Fluency refers to the ability to read text accurately, quickly, and with expression. It involves:
- Automaticity: Being able to recognize words quickly and accurately without having to sound them out.
- Prosody: Reading with expression and intonation, conveying the meaning of the text.
- Pace: Reading at an appropriate speed, not too fast or too slow.
Why is it important?
Fluency is essential for comprehension. When learners can read smoothly and effortlessly, they can focus their attention on understanding the meaning of the text.
Tips for Developing Fluency:
- Provide repeated readings: Encourage learners to read the same text multiple times to build automaticity.
- Model fluent reading: Read aloud texts with expression and intonation.
- Use choral reading and partner reading: Engage learners in shared reading activities to support fluency development.
In Conclusion
The 6 elements of structured literacy work together to provide a solid foundation for reading and writing success. By implementing these elements systematically and explicitly, educators can help learners become confident and proficient readers and writers.