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Knowledge foundations for teaching reading and spelling

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Abstract

Changes in education policy, the accumulation of research evidence that skilled instruction prevents and ameliorates reading failure, accountability requirements, and a new emphasis on multi-tiered interventions in schools are all causing a growing interest in improving teacher knowledge and skill in reading instruction. Consensus frameworks that explain reading development and individual differences provide an outline for what teachers need to know. The details of that content, however, including the English phonological system, the organization of English orthography, and the language structures that are processed during reading and writing, are challenging for teachers to learn. Recent studies are reviewed that investigate the relationship between teacher knowledge, practice, and student outcomes. The paper argues that teachers must have considerable knowledge of language structure, reading development, and pedagogy to differentiate instruction for diverse learners. Policy mandates for improvement of reading achievement should provide for more effective teacher education, as the knowledge base is not learned casually or easily. Research on how teachers best develop expertise should inform our licensing and professional development programs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sopris West Educational Services, Longmont, CO, USA

    Louisa Moats

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  1. Louisa Moats
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Appendix

Appendix

Teacher knowledge survey

Percentage of 139 licensed, practicing primary grade teachers who earned correct scores on the item is in parentheses to the right. Correct responses are italicized.

Items 1–5: How many spoken syllables are in each word?

1.

nationality

1

2

3

4

5

(95%)

2.

enabling

1

2

3

4

5

(95%)

3.

incredible

1

2

3

4

5

(95%)

4.

shirt

1

2

3

4

5

(87%)

5.

cleaned

1

2

3

4

5

(69%)

  1. 6.

    A syllable is: (50%)

    1. a.

      the same as a rime

    2. b.

      a unit of speech organized around a vowel sound

    3. c.

      a sequence of letters that includes one or more vowel letters

    4. d.

      equivalent to a morpheme

Items 7–12: How many phonemes or distinct speech sounds are in each word?

7.

straight

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

(33%)

8.

explain

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

(1%)

9.

lodged

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

(45%)

10.

know

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

(68%)

11.

racing

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

(13%)

12.

eighth

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

(75%)

  1. 13.

    Which of the following words has a prefix? Pick one. (9%)

    1. a.

      missile

    2. b.

      distance

    3. c.

      commit

    4. d.

      interest

    5. e.

      furnish

  2. 14.

    Which of the following words has an adjective suffix? Pick one. (7%)

    1. a.

      natural

    2. b.

      apartment

    3. c.

      city

    4. d.

      encircle

    5. e.

      emptiness

  3. 15.

    Which word has a schwa (/ə/)? (55%)

    1. a.

      eagerly

    2. b.

      prevent

    3. c.

      definition

    4. d.

      formulate

    5. e.

      story

  4. 16.

    If a student spells the word “electricity” as “elektrisuty” which of the following is most likely true? (47%)

    1. a.

      The student does not know sound-symbol correspondence.

    2. b.

      The student has a poor ear for the sounds in our language.

    3. c.

      The student does not know the base word and suffix from which the word “electricity” was constructed.

    4. d.

      The student has a poor visual memory.

    5. e.

      All of the above.

  5. 17.

    The /k/ sounds in lake and lack are spelled differently. Why is lack spelled with ck? (52%)

    1. a.

      The /k/ sound ends the word.

    2. b.

      The word is a verb.

    3. c.

      ck is used immediately after a short vowel.

    4. d.

      c and k produce the same sound.

    5. e.

      There is no principle or rule to explain this.

  6. 18.

    Why is there a double n in stunning? (50%)

    1. a.

      Because the word ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, and the ending begins with a vowel.

    2. b.

      Because the final consonant is always doubled when adding -ing.

    3. c.

      Because the letter u has many different pronunciations.

    4. d.

      Because the consonant n is not well articulated and needs to be strengthened.

    5. e.

      There is no principle or rule to explain this.

  7. 19.

    A student writes: “I have finely finished my math project.” Her misspelling of the word finally most likely indicates that she: (42%)

    1. a.

      is not attentive to the sounds in the word.

    2. b.

      does not know basic letter-sound relations.

    3. c.

      has not matched spelling to the meaningful parts (morphemes) of the word.

    4. d.

      has a limited vocabulary.

    5. e.

      has a limited knowledge of sight words.

  8. 20.

    Which of the following is a feature of English spelling? (10%)

    1. a.

      A silent e at the end of a word always makes the vowel long.

    2. b.

      Words never end in the letters “j” and “v.”

    3. c.

      When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.

    4. d.

      A closed syllable must begin with a consonant.

    5. e.

      All of the above.

Part 2—True or False

  1. 21.

    Students must be able to orally segment and blend the phonemes in complex syllables before they can benefit from instruction in letter-sound correspondence. (F) (72%)

  2. 22.

    If a student is “glued to print”, reading slowly word-by-word, the student should be told to read faster and to stop spending so much effort to decode. (F) (80%)

  3. 23.

    Screening at the end of kindergarten can be efficient, reliable, and valid for predicting a child’s silent passage reading comprehension at the end of 3rd grade. (T) (39%)

  4. 24.

    The best remedy for a weakness in nonsense word reading is lots of practice reading nonsense words. (F) (65%)

  5. 25.

    Timed letter naming on DIBELS is a good risk-indicator for later reading comprehension. (T) (64%)

  6. 26.

    Phonological awareness exercises should always include letters or print. (F) (57%)

  7. 27.

    A closed syllable always begins with a consonant. (F) (36%)

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Moats, L. Knowledge foundations for teaching reading and spelling. Read Writ 22, 379–399 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9162-1

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