Sight Words Are So 2016: New Study Finds the Real Key to Early Literacy via Parent

Sight Words Are So 2016: New Study Finds the Real Key to Early Literacy

Parent: 4.12.2017 by Kate Koch-Sundquist

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Published in the January 2017 issue of the journal “Developmental Psychology”, the study concludes that the most valuable early literacy skill to encourage in kindergarten is neither alphabetic knowledge nor memorization of key sight words. In fact, it’s not a reading skill at all.

Cn u rd ths?

A Guide to Invented Spelling

Great Schools

The best indicator of future success as a reader is actually a child’s ability to use invented spelling as he writes.

Researchers assessed 171 kindergartners on measures of oral vocabulary, alphabetic knowledge, letter-sound association, word reading, and invented spelling. The same students were assessed a year later, and modeling revealed a causal relationship between invented spelling and increased literacy skills.

Simply put, children who used invented spelling developed stronger reading skills over time, regardless of their existing vocabulary, alphabetic knowledge, or word reading skills.

So, what exactly is invented spelling?

Invented spelling refers to a young child’s beginning attempts to spell words. Using what they know and understand about letters and writing, children who use invented spelling are encouraged to create their own spellings based on their own phonetic knowledge. As their phonetic knowledge grows, their invented spellings become more and more similar to actual word spellings.

For example, a very young child might begin writing words by using a series of non-letter scribbles. As that child progresses, he or she will begin to use random letters, and then consonants consistent with the first sound in a word. Eventually, the child will grasp both the first and last sounds, and finally the vowels or other syllables in between.

A child writing the word PEOPLE might progress from random scribbles to:

P

PPL

PEPL

PEEPL

PEEPLE

before finally reaching PEOPLE.

A recent article in Psychology Today underlines the importance of this process, pointing out that “reflection about how to spell a word allows the child to actively practice making decisions, rather than passively memorizing.” In this way, students internalize letter-sound associations rather than simply attempting to memorize the rules as instructed.

How can we help our children develop this integral skill?

To encourage development and progression of invented spelling, children should simply be encouraged to write. While writing has previously been thought of as a skill separate from reading, and one that can only be applied once a child has a basic grasp on reading, the new study suggests that writing and reading skills emerge concurrently, and that reading may actually rely more heavily on writing, rather than vice versa.  READ MORE >>