Literacy Matters - Winter 2020

Supporting Research–evidenced Phonics Instruction with Authentic Children’s Literature

By Elke Schneider

Such a multisensory, carefully structured and explicit approach, also referred to as multisensory structured, metacognitive language instruction is particularly important because English, as opposed to German, Greek or Finnish, is an opaque language with multiple spelling and pronunciation variations for a given letter pattern or pronunciation (Trask, 1999). For instance, the long vowel A has up to nine different spellings as indicated in the underlined letter patterns in the sentence Vacation came on a rainy day and eight reindeer did not obey and took a break to stretch and rest their vertebrae. Also, the consonant cluster {ch} has three different pronunciations represented in the sentence “ What a cheap chemistry machine!” Over 80 years of research provides evidence for the effectiveness of multisensory structured, metacognitive language instruction of English to native speakers of English. Since the mid-1980s a consistent body of research also documents the effectiveness of multisensory structured phonics instruction to nonnative speakers of English in foreign or second language learning contexts (Kormos, 2017; Schneider & Crombie, 2003; Schneider & Evers, 2009). This is an essential fact because South Carolina is considered one of the top five states with the fastest increase of English as a second language learners and the nation’s highest increase of English language learners in public schools between 1997 and 2008 (Ruiz Soto, Hooker, & Batalova, 2015). However, in spite of such research-evidenced resources, national and South Carolina data on grade level reading performances call for a more in-depth approach to teaching the complexities of English phonics to native and non-native speakers of English so they can become self-motivated, effective readers. Nationally, 32% of 4th graders still read below grade level and South Carolina ranks 44th out of 54 in students’ grade level reading skills (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2017). Additionally, South Carolina’s recent acceptance of Multi-tiered Support Services (MTSS) for struggling learners in Act 213 (SCDE, 2019) places increased responsibilities on elementary school teachers to routinely implement more differentiated, research- evidenced, explicit, multisensory, structured literacy instruction and intervention in large or small group settings than in the past. In response to research that documents teachers’ needs for more explicit and diversified support to be able to provide effective literacy instruction beyond the use of commercial materials (Brady, 2011; Joshi et al., 2009, Lyon &Wiser, 2009) and encouraged by recent informal, personal conversations with over forty elementary school teachers in the upper region of South Carolina (personal conversations between 8/15/18-4/30/19), who expressed independently and unprompted that they would welcome assistance in how to more explicitly link commercial phonics instruction with the English language arts requirement

ABSTRACT — Currently, elementary schools in South Carolina commonly implement a variety of commercial reading and phonics programs to ensure research-evidenced, initial literacy skills acquisition. In order to provide teachers with transitory practices to reinforce phonics concepts while also directly engaging students with authentic literature different from commercially available leveled readers, this article introduces a time-effective, phonics analysis approach for authentic children’s literature that allows them to infuse authentic, age-and-reading- skill-appropriate literature into daily literacy practices directly related to identified phonics concepts that are initially covered in commercial phonics programs. Field-tested, pre-reading, during-reading and post-reading activities are presented for this purpose that are based on research-evidenced multisensory structured metacognitive language learning principles. Introduction The 2015 South Carolina College and Career Standards clearly highlight the need for explicit, phonics skills instruction in K-5 ELA standards as an essential prerequisite for students to be able to engage in reading and discussion of authentic literature sources of narrative, non-fiction and poetry nature as soon as possible (SCDE, 2015). To achieve this goal, school districts in South Carolina commonly use commercially available leveled reader programs (i.e., Fountas & Pinnell, 2015) that offer fiction and nonfiction leveled reading materials and instructional support resources to assist elementary school teachers in helping students become successful readers from the start. Significantly struggling readers often receive additional specialized support through commercially supported multisensory structured phonics programs such as Reading Recovery (Clay, 1993), the S.P.I.R.E Reading Intervention Program (Clark-Edmands, 2005), Project Read (Greene & Enfield & 2011), Lindamood-Bell (Bell, 2013), Orton-Gillingham (Gillingham & Stillman, 1968), or the Wilson Reading System and Early Intervention Program , a specific classroom focused version of the Orton- Gillingham approach (Wilson Language Training Cooperation, 2002). These programs share the philosophy that the highly complex reading and spelling challenges of English must be made explicit to learners from the start with many age-appropriate, explicit, multisensory reading and spelling strategies and learning activities that are carefully sequenced from less to more complex concepts, and that include repeated practice opportunities with increasingly challenging tasks. The programs also emphasize the fact that students are to learn and understand any existing reasons for why a certain spelling or pronunciation is used in a word so students have the metacognitive tools to effectively self-check and self- correct reading or spelling challenges (Birsh & Carraker, 2018; Bitter &White, 2011; Henry & Hook, 2006; McIntyre & Pickering, 2003).

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| 12 | Literacy Matters | Volume 20 • Winter 2020 | scira.org

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