Module 9 Definitions
Sight words (n.) - printed words stored in memory by the reader that can be read immediately, "at first sight" without having to use decoding strategies.
Sight words are critical to reading because they are used so often, but also because many cannot be sounded out or illustrated very easily. Pictures accompanying a text cannot help decipher sight words well. Because they are used to frequently, it is important that readers are able to recognize them on sight.
Schwa (n.) - a vowel sound in English that often occurs in an unstressed syllable, such as the /uh/ sound in the first syllable of the word above.
Schwa is important because it serves as a means of conveying proper stress and rhythm in the English language.
Digraph (n.) - two letters that represent one sound. There are consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs, though the term most commonly refers to consonant digraphs. Common consonant digraphs include sh, ch, th, and wh. Consonant digraphs at the beginning of words are onsets.
Digraphs are important for a few reasons. First, many sight words use digraphs, which may help students learning to read new, unfamiliar words explore letter pairs. Additionally, learning that the two letters blended in a digraph make a singular sound is critical because otherwise, learning and reading new words would be increasingly difficult.
Blend (n.) - a phonics term for an orthographic unit of two or three letters at the beginning or end of words that are blended together. There are l-blends such as bl, cl, or fl; r-blends such as gr, tr, and pr; s blends such as pc, scr, and squ; and final blends such as ft, rd, and st. Every sound represented in a blend is pronounced, if only briefly.
Blends are building blocks in children learning how to read. Learning to mentally join speech sounds together to make words helps students decode new, unfamiliar words using letter-sound patterns when reading.
Phonograms (n.) - often called word families, phonograms end in high-frequency rimes that vary only in the beginning consonant sound to make a word. For example, back, sack, black, and track are phonograms with the rime -ack.
Phonograms are one of the foundation elements of English learning. As the most basic elements of written English, knowing phonograms is crucial to learning how to decode written English language. Learning all the sounds of each phonogram prevents students from needing to treat many words as sight words and provides students with a more accurate understanding of the language.
Onset (n.) - the initial consonant(s) sound of a single syllable or word.
Rime (n.) - a unit composed of the vowel and any following consonants within a syllable.
Because onset and rime work together, they are important for similar reasons. Both help children learn about word families, which lays the foundation for future spelling strategies. They also help develop childrens' literacy skills (especially decoding), and learning both onset and rime strongly predicts reading and spelling acquisition.
Sight words are critical to reading because they are used so often, but also because many cannot be sounded out or illustrated very easily. Pictures accompanying a text cannot help decipher sight words well. Because they are used to frequently, it is important that readers are able to recognize them on sight.
Schwa (n.) - a vowel sound in English that often occurs in an unstressed syllable, such as the /uh/ sound in the first syllable of the word above.
Schwa is important because it serves as a means of conveying proper stress and rhythm in the English language.
Digraph (n.) - two letters that represent one sound. There are consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs, though the term most commonly refers to consonant digraphs. Common consonant digraphs include sh, ch, th, and wh. Consonant digraphs at the beginning of words are onsets.
Digraphs are important for a few reasons. First, many sight words use digraphs, which may help students learning to read new, unfamiliar words explore letter pairs. Additionally, learning that the two letters blended in a digraph make a singular sound is critical because otherwise, learning and reading new words would be increasingly difficult.
Blend (n.) - a phonics term for an orthographic unit of two or three letters at the beginning or end of words that are blended together. There are l-blends such as bl, cl, or fl; r-blends such as gr, tr, and pr; s blends such as pc, scr, and squ; and final blends such as ft, rd, and st. Every sound represented in a blend is pronounced, if only briefly.
Blends are building blocks in children learning how to read. Learning to mentally join speech sounds together to make words helps students decode new, unfamiliar words using letter-sound patterns when reading.
Phonograms (n.) - often called word families, phonograms end in high-frequency rimes that vary only in the beginning consonant sound to make a word. For example, back, sack, black, and track are phonograms with the rime -ack.
Phonograms are one of the foundation elements of English learning. As the most basic elements of written English, knowing phonograms is crucial to learning how to decode written English language. Learning all the sounds of each phonogram prevents students from needing to treat many words as sight words and provides students with a more accurate understanding of the language.
Onset (n.) - the initial consonant(s) sound of a single syllable or word.
Rime (n.) - a unit composed of the vowel and any following consonants within a syllable.
Because onset and rime work together, they are important for similar reasons. Both help children learn about word families, which lays the foundation for future spelling strategies. They also help develop childrens' literacy skills (especially decoding), and learning both onset and rime strongly predicts reading and spelling acquisition.
References
Bear, D. B., Invernizzi, M.,
Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2011). Words their way:
Word
study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction (6th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Pearson.
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