Table of Contents
Foreword Nell K. Duke 8
Introduction 10
A Little About This Book 11
A Little About Me 13
Chapter 1 What are Foundational Skills and Why are they Important? 15
Foundational Skills Defined 16
Models of Reading 23
Two More Critical Principles: Joy and Cultural Responsiveness 29
Chapter 2 Decoding and its Essential Elements 32
Decoding Defined 33
The Science of Recognizing a Word and Orthographic Mapping 35
The Elements of Decoding 39
Bringing It Together 40
Chapter 3 Element One: Oral Language and Vocabulary 41
What Are Oral Language and Vocabulary, and Why Are They Important? 42
Essential Instructional Swap: Less Foundational Skills Overload, More Language- and Reading-Rich Instruction 44
Bringing It Together 46
Chapter 4 Element Two: Print Concepts 47
What Are Print Concepts and Why Are They Important? 48
Principles of Great Print Concepts Instruction 57
Essential Instructional Swap: Less Pointing to Text in Predictable Books, More Engaging in Shared Reading 59
Bringing It Together 63
Chapter 5 Element Three: Phonemic Awareness 64
What Is Phonemic Awareness and Why Is It Important? 65
Principles of Great Phonemic Awareness Instruction 70
Essential Instructional Swap: Fewer Rhymes, More Phonemes 73
Bringing It Together 75
Chapter 6 Element 4: Alphabet Knowledge 76
What Is Alphabet Knowledge and Why Is It Important? 77
Principles of Great Alphabet Instruction 79
Essential Instructional Swap: Teach Like a Hare, Not a Tortoise! 84
Bringing It Together 88
Chapter 7 Element Five: Sound-Spelling Knowledge 89
What Are Sound-Spelling Relationships and Why Are They Important? 90
Principles of Great Phonics Instruction 93
Essential Instructional Swap: Fewer Random Phonics Activities, More Reading and Spelling Opportunities 100
Bringing It Together 103
Chapter 8 Using the Elements to Decode Words 104
Principles of Great Decoding Instruction 106
Essential Instructional Swap 1: More Decodable Texts, Fewer Non-Decodable Texts 114
Essential Instructional Swap 2: Less Decoding for Phonics Instruction, More Decoding for Everyday Reading 122
Essential Instructional Swap 3: Less Unsupported Independent Reading, More Supported Independent Reading 125
Bringing It Together 127
Chapter 9 Adding the Elements of Chunking 128
Chunking Defined 129
The Elements of Chunking 132
Syllabication 135
Morphology 137
Principles of Great Chunking Instruction: Blending Syllabication and Morphology 142
Essential Instructional Swap: Consider Multiple Approaches, Not Just One 145
Bringing It Together 145
Chapter 10 Fluency and Beyond 146
What Is Fluency and Why Is It Important? 147
Essential Instructional Swap: Less Fluency as Speed Reading, More Holistic Fluency 149
Bringing It Together 150
A Call to Action 152
References 153
Index 158