ST.

XAVIER’S COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (AUTONOMOUS)

ASSIGNMENT

SUBJECT: SPECIAL ENGLISH EDUCATION

TOPIC: FORMATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

SUBMITTED BY
BRINDHA. S (21BE05)
ENGLISH.

SUBMITTED TO
DR. A. JOHN LAWRENCE
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN ENGLISH EDUCATON
ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Word-Attack Skills

Reading is not just pronouncing words—it requires understanding. Most experienced readers use
a variety of strategies to understand text. Research has shown that teachers can, and should, teach
these strategies to beginning readers. Also known as decoding skills, these help an individual to
find meaning in printed words. Word attack skills involve the ability to recognize the phonemes
that form a word and to know the meaning of the word, recognize it in context, and understand
whether or not it is correctly used in a sentence. Children must develop these skills to become
successful readers.

Students, who lack word attack skills, can make mistakes such as adding sounds that are not
there, omitting sounds that are there, switching sounds, and substituting sounds.

In the English language, “Wednesday” or “Tough” are examples of words that students might
have difficulty sounding out. However, in any case, students learning to read are taught about
“silent letters” along with words with letters that don’t make the sounds they would expect.

When children lack word attack skills, they might express frustration because of their
unsuccessful attempts to sound a word out. In some instances, they might take a very long time
to sound out a word that they no longer understand what the text they are reading is about. They
might also give up trying to sound words out, simply guessing what a word might be by seeing
its first letters. Students might try to memorize every word, which works well up until the point
when vocabulary and curriculum begin to get more sophisticated. These students might make
excuses to stop reading or ask their parents for help. Signs of trouble might also be observed in
their writing samples.

If a child is having trouble with word attack skills or other literacy skills, their parents should
talk to the teacher about the steps that can be taken to help them develop. If the strategies
recommended by the teacher don’t help, parents should have the child assessed for a learning
disability.

Word-attack skills stand for the strategies that readers utilize to identify, pronounce, and
comprehend unfamiliar words. These strategies help students attack words from a different angle
or piece by piece. It means when reading unfamiliar words, students can try to break them down
into smaller pieces. They can also utilize the context of what they’re reading for clues to
unfamiliar words.

Early intervention plays a crucial role in improving a child’s word attack skills. Regardless of
whether a child suffers from a learning disability, they need to receive help addressing their
reading problems.
The following skills can help students understand any text in any subject.

 Make Predictions
 Visualise
 Ask and Answer Questions
 Retell and Summarise
 Connect the Text to Life Experiences, Other Texts, or Prior Knowledge
 Word-breaking Strategies

Make Predictions

Predictions encourage active reading and keep students interested, whether or not the predictions
are correct. Incorrect predictions can signal a misunderstanding that needs to be revisited.
Instruct students:

● Look at the pictures, table of contents, chapter headings, maps, diagrams, and features.
What subjects are in the book?
● Write down predictions about the text. During reading, look for words or phrases from
those predictions.
● While reading, revise the predictions or make new ones.

Visualise

Many students think visually, using shapes, spatial relationships, movement, and colours, and
can benefit greatly from this strategy. Instruct students:

● Imagine a fiction story taking place as if it were a movie. Imagine the characters' features.
Picture the plot in time and space.
● Imagine processes and explanations happening visually. Use nouns, verbs, and adjectives
to create pictures, diagrams, or other mental images.
● Use graphic organisers to lay out information. Make sketches or diagrams on scrap paper.

Ask and Answer Questions

Having students form their own questions helps them recognize confusion and encourages active
learning. Instruct students:
 ● Before reading, think about the subject based on the title, chapter heads, and visual
information. Make note of anything you are curious about.
● While reading, pause and write down any questions. Be sure to ask questions if there is
confusion.
● Look for the answers while reading. Pause and write down the answers.
● Were all the questions answered? Could the answers come from other sources?

Retell and Summarise

Relating the text in students' own words clears up language issues. Retelling challenges them to
aim for complete retention. Summarization allows students to discriminate between main ideas
and minor details. Instruct students:

● During reading, note the main ideas or events. Put a check mark in the book or write a
note to point out a main idea.
● At the end of chapters or sections, review the information or story. Note main ideas or
events and the details that support them.
● After reading, retell or summarise the text. Focus on the important points, and support
them with relevant details.
● Refer to the book to check the retelling or summarising.

Connect the Text to Life Experiences, Other Texts, or Prior Knowledge

Connecting a text to students' experiences and knowledge helps students personalize the
information. It also helps students remember information when they link it to their lives. Instruct
students:

● Is the subject familiar? Do the characters resemble familiar people? Have you learned
about the concept from school, home, or other experiences?
● Is the style or genre familiar? Does it resemble other texts? Television shows, movies,
and games can be considered "texts."
● Write down similarities between the current text and experiences, knowledge, or other
texts.

Word-Breaking Strategies

Word-Breaking strategies help students decode, pronounce, and understand unfamiliar words.
They help students attack words piece by piece or from a different angle. Model and instruct
students:
Sound Out the Word

● Start with the first letter and say each letter-sound out loud.
● Blend the sounds together and try to say the word.
● Look at the world to make a connection between its spelling and its sounds.
● Try substituting another sound.

Look for Chunks in the Word

● Look for familiar letter chunks. They may be sound/symbols, prefixes, suffixes, endings,
whole words, or base words.
● Read each chunk by itself. Then blend the chunks together and sound out the word.

Connect to a Word You Know

● Make connections to background vocabulary.

Conclusion

All readers will encounter words they don’t recognize. Emerging readers may quickly become
frustrated when coming across these unfamiliar words because they don’t know what to do.
Word attack skills are ways that help learners to decode, pronounce and understand unfamiliar
words. These strategies empower learners, much like giving them clues to solve a puzzle. There
are many strategies available, but the readers may choose whichever method is easier for them.