Learning Resolutions

DECODING/WORD ANALYSIS

 

Words Matter

A process of using the relationships between spelling and pronunciation at the letter, syllable, and word levels to figure out unfamiliar words. For more capable readers, it also refers to knowledge of the meanings and spellings of prefixes, root words, and suffixes. Word Analysis instruction can be very effective in helping both beginning and advanced readers to learn to read with understanding. This repeated “decoding” of words also increases the number of words that they can eventually recognize on sight.

In Words Matter, students learn to:
Identify and decode the pronounceable word parts within words
Use word building, syllabication, segmentation and imagery to increase speed of decoding
Identify the meaningful parts of a word, such as compound words, prefixes, suffixes, and roots
 
There are readers, at all levels of education, including university, that have difficulty in figuring out words with several syllables. This difficulty can seriously impair their understanding, especially in content area text (e.g. Science, Social Studies) that elementary, junior high and high school students are expected to read.