6 minute read
Research in Action
by General
Geodes help teachers put research-based best practices into action.
Research Says
“Young children’s listening and speaking competence is in advance of their reading and writing competence. That is, they can understand much more sophisticated content presented in oral language than they can read independently. As children are developing their reading and writing competence, we need to take advantage of their listening and speaking competencies to enhance their vocabulary development” (Beck, et al. 48).
“Studies indicate that giving children the opportunity to tell stories helps their language development by enhancing vocabulary, syntactic complexity, sense of story structure, and comprehension” (Strickland and Morrow 261).
“Our chances of successfully addressing vocabulary differences in school are greatest in the preschool and primary years” (Biemiller 30). Students need to be given opportunities to leverage their oral expression skills as they build their literacy knowledge through talking about books and orally retelling stories. Practicing storytelling develops students’ sense of story structure and comprehension in addition to building vocabulary and syntax knowledge.
Students need to develop a depth of vocabulary to support comprehension. The first two Geodes modules each include two Wordless Picture Books, which offer students the opportunity to learn story elements and structures, practice retelling, and boost their oral vocabulary.
Geodes in Modules 1 and 2 include an About section, a summary that provides students and teachers with the specific events and vocabulary underlying the text. In addition, all Geodes books include a More section, a brief informational selection that extends and enhances the content knowledge and vocabulary that correspond with each book.
The Geodes teacher resource, Inside Geodes®, includes vocabulary routines and suggested words to introduce. In the Book Notes for Modules 1 and 2, words are selected from the adult-read text within the book. For Modules 3 and 4, vocabulary words are selected from both the child- and adult-read text. Book Notes in Modules 3 and 4 also highlight five Oral Recurring Content Words for each module. Students can use these words to discuss key ideas within and across books. Using the provided vocabulary routine bolsters students’ content knowledge and encourages students to include these words in their book discussions.
Students Need Geodes Respond
Research Says
“Every point in a child’s development of word-level reading is substantially affected by phonological awareness skills, from learning letter names all the way up to efficiently adding new, multisyllabic words to the sight vocabulary” (Kilpatrick 66).
“On the basis of longitudinal correlational studies, we conclude that phonological awareness plays a causal role in the acquisition of reading skills” (Wagner and Torgesen 208).
“There is, then, considerable research support for the conclusion that phonological awareness can be trained in the prereader and that such training causes children to make better and faster progress when they later undertake to learn how to read and to spell” (Liberman and Liberman 189).
“[L]earning to read in an alphabetic writing system such as English requires the acquisition of the alphabetic principle—the insight that the visual symbols of the writing system (graphemes) represent the sounds of the language (phonemes)” (Castles et al. 11).
“Research quite clearly shows that overemphasizing prediction from context for word recognition can be counterproductive, possibly delaying reading acquisition” (Grossen).
“Predictable reading materials offer a number of advantages. ... Yet these very advantages may not work to facilitate the acquisition of words that can be used to support the readers’ efforts in the nonpredictable materials they will encounter as they grow as readers” (Johnston 253). Students Need
Phonological awareness and phonics instruction support students’ growth as readers. Students need sustained time and deliberate practice to establish a strong foundation for reading.
Students need to use their decoding skills to read words rather than rely on illustrations or a predictable text structure. Geodes Respond
The first two Geodes modules also include Sound Search Books. These books offer multiple ways for students to grow their phonological awareness by listening for Focus Letter Sounds at the beginning and end of a word as well as by identifying items that start or end with those sounds. Students also practice their association with letter-sound correspondence, thus building their alphabetic knowledge.
Geodes align with students’ phonetic development. Students are not asked to attempt decoding words until the second half of the year, when they are equipped with the phonetic skills to do so.
In Modules 3 and 4, the child-read portion of the Duet Books is 90 percent decodable or higher. The remaining percentage is comprised of nondecodable words, many of which are included because they convey key content knowledge.
Research Says
“Further, the results suggest that when there is a match between method of instruction (i.e., synthetic phonics) and the decodability of words in initial reading texts, a more consistent and successful use of a letter-sound correspondence strategy will result than when there is a mismatch” (Juel and Roper/ Schneider 150–151).
When students read books in which they can apply their phonics knowledge, they can see that “phonics is worth learning and worth using” (Adams 39).
“It is critical that students have the opportunity to practice the phonics patterns they have learned in the context of reading” (Student Achievement Partners 14).
“Indeed, unconstrained skills such as vocabulary and comprehension develop before, during, and after constrained skills are mastered, so there is no evidence to warrant instructional priority of constrained skills over unconstrained skills” (Paris 200).
“Unconstrained skills are particularly important for children’s long-term literacy success (that is, success in outcomes measured after third grade)” (Snow and Matthews 59).
“Even while students are learning to read words, they can and should have opportunities to build knowledge from texts with worthwhile ideas and words. Delaying attention to knowledge building can be especially disadvantageous for students whose academic experiences occur primarily in schools” (Cervetti and Hiebert 501). Students Need
Students should read texts that consistently include the phonetic concepts they have been taught. This match supports students in applying and eventually internalizing their phonics knowledge.
In the early grades, students need instruction in constrained skills, such as letter naming, phonics, and concepts of print, as well as unconstrained skills, such as vocabulary and comprehension. Additional unconstrained skills include recognizing story structure, gaining topic-specific knowledge, and knowing how to seek new information. Postponing instruction in unconstrained skills, including those listed above, could hinder rather than help students. Geodes Respond
In Modules 3 and 4, Geodes provide students with decoding practice aligned to the Fundations® scope and sequence. This alignment reinforces students’ phonetic knowledge and gives them an opportunity to transfer their learning while engaged in an authentic reading experience.
All Geodes allow students to practice constrained and unconstrained skills in conjunction, rather than in isolation. When students explore Geodes with appropriate teacher support, they learn that the purpose of reading is not just to decode but to seek meaning and gain understanding.
Research Says
“Comprehension requires both a broad vocabulary and factual knowledge” (Willingham).
“Readings and activities should be designed to build on one another and create a coherent body of knowledge” (Liben and Liben 5).
“Our results indicate that content exposure during kindergarten may be an important means for promoting the early achievement of children. We find a consistent and positive effect of exposure to advanced content for all children in both reading and mathematics” (Claessens et al. 424). Students must read books with rich content and vocabulary to build the knowledge necessary to make the connections that lead to comprehension. Each Geodes module focuses on one topic, such as America, Then and Now, with two to four text sets expanding on that topic. This module design supports students in building content knowledge. Students leverage their new knowledge to boost their comprehension of the next book in the set.
Students Need Geodes Respond
