Mastering ‘Silent e’ and Becoming More Fluent with Michael, Third Grader — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00[Music]
2. 0:02"Michael: I couldn't find my house.
3. 0:04Linda Farrell: When you went back, you couldn't find your house?
4. 0:08Michael: No.
5. 0:11Narrator: Michael is in third grade at Windy Hill Elementary School in Calvert County, Maryland.
6. 0:16Reading expert Linda Farrell will be helping him work toward mastering the 'silent e' letter pattern.
7. 0:22It's part of a plan to speed up his reading.
8. 0:25Linda Farrell : When we assessed Michael, I found him to be a very interesting student.
9. 0:31He's in the third grade, and he's a very slow reader.
10. 0:37He was quite accurate -- not perfectly accurate, but he did
11. 0:42pretty well in text. And he understood what he read.
12. 0:45Just start reading right here, and you're gonna read right to the number. Okay.
13. 0:49Michael: Don was a lad. Pip was a pup.
14. 0:57Don and Pip had a run. The sun was hot.
15. 1:04Linda Farrell: Okay. And when we dug deeper into Michael, what we found
16. 1:09is that he has almost mastered basic skills. But it's the "almost" that's
17. 1:16keeping him from being faster and more accurate.
18. 1:22The good thing about him is that he's not a guesser.
19. 1:27That's why he's slow. He's trying to get it right.
20. 1:31He's not trying to race through and guess.
21. 1:36Narrator: Michael can read many words accurately. But he reads slowly.
22. 1:40To find out why, Ms. Farrell first checks to make sure that Michael
23. 1:45knows his vowel sounds, both long and short.
24. 1:47Linda: What's the short 'a' sound?
25. 1:49Michael : Short 'a' … /a/.
26. 1:50Linda: /a/.
27. 1:52Linda : What's the short 'e' sound?
28. 1:53Michael: /eh/
29. 1:53Linda Farrell: What's the short 'i' sound?
30. 1:55Michael: /i/
31. 1:56Linda Farrell: The short 'o' sound?
32. 1:58Michael: /ah/
33. 1:59Linda Farrell: And the short 'u' sound?
34. 2:00Michael: /u/
35. 2:02Linda Farrell: You do know your vowel sounds -- your short vowel sounds.
36. 2:05Do you know your long vowel sounds?
37. 2:06Michael: [nods]
38. 2:07Linda Farrell : What are they?
39. 2:08Michael: /ay/, /ee/, /eye/, /oh/, and /you/
40. 2:19Linda Farrell: You got it.
41. 2:20Okay.
42. 2:21Narrator –Then she checks Michael's phonemic awareness.
43. 2:24That's his ability to notice, to think about, and to work with the individual sounds in words.
44. 2:29Linda Farrell: Now we're gonna stretch a couple of words, okay?
45. 2:31The way you stretch words is you go like this. Get ready.
46. 2:34Okay, sit up straight and get ready. Okay? I'll say a word and you repeat it.
47. 2:40Bake.
48. 2:41Michael: Bake.
49. 2:42Linda Farrell: Okay. Now we stretch it. /b, ay, k/ -- "bake." You stretch it.
50. 2:46Michael: /b, ay, k/ ... "bake"
51. 2:48Linda Farrell: Okay. And I'm gonna ask you what's the vowel sound in "bake."
52. 2:52Do you know the vowel sound in "bake"?
53. 2:54Michael: /ay/
54. 2:56Linda Farrell: /ay/.
55. 2:57And what do we call that vowel sound? Short 'a' or long 'a'?
56. 3:00Michael: Long 'a.'
57. 3:02Linda Farrell: Great. Ready? "Back." Repeat?
58. 3:05Michael: "back"
59. 3:07Linda Farrell: Stretch "back."
60. 3:08Michael: /b, a, k/ ... back
61. 3:09Linda Farrell: What's the vowel sound in back?
62. 3:13Michael: 'a'
63. 3:15Linda Farrell: 'A' is the name of the letter.Can you stretch "back"?
64. 3:19Michael: /b, a/ ...
65. 3:20Linda Farrell: Stop right there. What's that sound right there?
66. 3:23Michael: /a/
67. 3:24Linda Farrell: /a/. When I ask you for the sound, it has to be one of the
68. 3:28sounds on your fingers. So the vowel sound in "back" is what?
69. 3:30Michael: /a/
70. 3:31Linda Farrell: What do we call that sound?
71. 3:33Micheal: Short vowel.
72. 3:35Linda Farrell: Even though Michael knew his short vowel sounds and he knew his long vowel
73. 3:40sounds when I asked -- pretty well for somebody who hadn't really been having phonics lessons.
74. 3:45And he could, I'd say stretch the sounds, /b/ /i/ /t/.
75. 3:49He could stretch that.
76. 3:51"What's the vowel sound in 'bit'?" "I." He wanted to go and give me
77. 3:55the letter, which tells me he's not thinking in terms of sounds.
78. 4:01We have to straighten out all that. What's the sound?
79. 4:04What's the name of the letter? What do we call the sound?
80. 4:08And we worked with some of that with him, so that when I went to this is an /a/,
81. 4:12and this s an /ay/, he could think in terms of sounds.
82. 4:17Linda Farrell: Tight. Repeat.
83. 4:19Michael: Tight.
84. 4:20Linda Farrell: Stretch.
85. 4:21Michael: /t, eye, t/ ... tight
86. 4:23Linda Farrell: What's the vowel sound in tight?
87. 4:25Michael: /eye/
88. 4:26Linda Farrell: What do we call it?
89. 4:29Michael: A long 'i.'
90. 4:31Linda Farrell: Ready?
91. 4:32Fish.
92. 4:33Michael: /f, i, sh/ ... fish
93. 4:35Linda Farrell: Vowel sound?
94. 4:36Michael: /i/
95. 4:37Linda Farrell: What do we call it?
96. 4:38Michael: Short 'i.'
97. 4:39Linda Farrell: You got it.
98. 4:41You're getting it aren't you?
99. 4:43Narrator: Next Ms. Farrell has Michael read a passage containing consonant-vowel-consonant words
100. 4:47like "hat" and "ran," further checking that short vowel knowledge.
101. 4:51Linda Farrell: Try the gray box.
102. 4:54Michael: Don got a tan hat.
103. 4:59He sat on a log.
104. 5:01He had a nap in the sun.
105. 5:07Linda Farrell: I think this is just a little teeny tiny bit too easy for you.
106. 5:10So we have to get harder.
107. 5:11Michael: Yeah, it was really easy.
108. 5:14Linda Farrell: It was.
109. 5:16Narrator: But when Ms. Farrell gave Michael a passage with the 'silent e' vowel pattern -- including
110. 5:20words like 'luke' and 'rice' -- his accuracy fell off.
111. 5:22Linda Farrell: Now I'm just gonna ask you to read this right here.
112. 5:25Okay?
113. 5:26Michael: Mike went to a lake with luck.
114. 5:33They rode, rode their bikes to the lake.
115. 5:38They had rick, I mean, rike, lim, limes, chips, and cake in a blackpack."
116. 6:01Linda Farrell: A student who can tell you /i/ is the short 'i' sound, /eye/ is the long
117. 6:07'i' sound, can tell you all the rules, and yet they don't read it correctly, the word
118. 6:12correctly -- that's often a result of a slow print processor.
119. 6:19What happens is ... when print gets there, they have a slow reaction time to pulling
120. 6:29out what that print is trying to say, whatever sound, whatever word.
121. 6:34Narrator: Michael can get faster by fully absorbing and mastering the 'silent e' spelling pattern,
122. 6:39so that when he sees a word with a vowel, a consonant, and an 'e' at the end -- such
123. 6:43as "lake" -- he automatically knows that the vowel will be long.
124. 6:48How can he master this?
125. 6:49Linda Farrell: Not teaching him rules.
126. 6:52He knows the rules.
127. 6:53I didn't ask him, but he could have told me the rule that 'e' jumps over.
128. 6:57What we do is get him to recognize the pattern.
129. 7:01If it's one letter it's a short sound. If it's that letter plus an 'e,' it's a long sound.
130. 7:07And we're trying to get him to recognize the pattern.
131. 7:11Now I'm going to do some teaching.
132. 7:13And I'm gonna see if you can get this 100% next time, if you can get all the words right.
133. 7:18And here is the teaching we're gonna do.
134. 7:21We are going to learn about 'silent e.'
135. 7:26I bet you've heard 'silent e' before, haven't you? Okay.
136. 7:30So we're gonna learn something called two-finger touch and say.
137. 7:33So when you touch with one finger, you're gonna say /a/.
138. 7:37That's the short 'a' sound, so touch with one finger.
139. 7:39Are you -- if you were to write your name,yeah.
140. 7:41So touch with this finger, okay?
141. 7:43Michael: Okay. /a/
142. 7:44Linda Farrell: Okay.
143. 7:45When we touch like this, we're gonna say /ay/.
144. 7:48When it's an 'a' and an 'e' together, go /ay/.
145. 7:50Can you do that?
146. 7:51Michael: /ay/
147. 7:52Linda Farrell: Okay, so go ...
148. 7:53Michael: /a/, /ay/
149. 7:54Linda Farrell: Now watch me touch and say this word.
150. 7:57/M, a, d/ ... mad.
151. 8:00You do it.
152. 8:01Michael: /M, a, d/ ... mad.
153. 8:03Linda Farrell: So I used one finger to touch that 'a.'
154. 8:05Now watch this.
155. 8:07I have an 'a' and an 'e' here.
156. 8:10So I'm gonna use two fingers, so watch me.
157. 8:11/M, ay, d/ ... made.
158. 8:13You do it.
159. 8:14Michael: /M, ay, d/ ... made.
160. 8:16Linda Farrell: Okay, and you go like this: /m, ay, d/ ... made.
161. 8:20You do it.
162. 8:22Michael: /M, ay, d/ ... made.
163. 8:25Linda Farrell: Okay.
164. 8:27So you know about two-finger touch and say.
165. 8:29Narrator: Ms. Farrell thinks this multi sensory technique will help
166. 8:32Michael internalize his ability to recognize the 'silent e' letter pattern.
167. 8:37It takes a while to learn this approach, but it will be worth it.
168. 8:40Linda Farrell: Now, we're gonna just practice, right here.
169. 8:43So I want you to practice saying /ay/, /a/, /ay/, /a/, /a/, /ay/.
170. 8:49Okay.
171. 8:50Michael: /ay/, /a/, /ay/, /a/, /a/, /ay/
172. 8:55Linda Farrell: Let's do this one again.
173. 8:58Okay?
174. 9:02Michael: /a/, /ay/, /a/, /a/, /a/, /ay/, /ay/, /a/, /ay/, /a/
175. 9:09Linda Farrell: Ten out of 10.
176. 9:11Okay.
177. 9:12Now what we're gonna do is we are going to practice touch and say.
178. 9:18So can you touch and say that word?
179. 9:21Michael: "Rat".
180. 9:23Linda Farrell: Okay.
181. 9:23And here's how we touch and say.
182. 9:25/R, a, t/ ... "rat."
183. 9:26/R, ay, t/ ... "rate."
184. 9:28You do it.
185. 9:29Michael: /R, a, t/ ... "rat."
186. 9:31Linda Farrell: Touch and say that one.
187. 9:32Now what do you do when you have an 'a' and a ...
188. 9:34Michael: /R, ay, t/ ... "rate."
189. 9:36Linda Farrell: Okay.
190. 9:38Touch and say that one again.
191. 9:40Michael: /R, a, t/ ... "rat."
192. 9:42Linda Farrell: Okay.
193. 9:44Michael: /R, ay, t/ … "rate."
194. 9:46Linda Farrell: Try that one again.
195. 9:48Michael: /R, ay, t/ ... "rate."
196. 9:50Linda Farrell: Okay.
197. 9:51Now we're gonna try something a little different.
198. 9:56This time I'm just gonna go /a/, "rat," /ay/, "rate. You do it.
199. 10:00Michael: /a/, "rat," /ay/, "rate"
200. 10:05Linda Farrell: Try it again.
201. 10:08Michael: /a/, "rat," /ay/, "rate"
202. 10:13Linda Farrell: Okay. Now you're gonna do these.
203. 10:16Just like you did "rat" and "rate," do these. Okay.
204. 10:19Michael: /a/ ...
205. 10:22Linda Farrell: Watch me, okay?
206. 10:24I'm gonna do this.
207. 10:26/Ay/, "mate," /a/, "mat," /ay/, "tape," /a/, "rack," /a/, "tap," /ay/, "rake."
208. 10:34You do it.
209. 10:36Michael: /Ay/, "mat" -- "mate," /a/, "mat"...
210. 10:43Linda Farrell: One finger.
211. 10:45Do two fingers.
212. 10:47Michael: /Ay/, "mate," /a/ ...
213. 10:50Linda Farrell: [whispering] One finger. Michael: …"mat" ...
214. 10:55Michael: /Ay/, "tape," /a/, "rack," /a/, "tap," /ay/, "rake."
215. 11:12Linda Farrell: You just got all those right.
216. 11:13We're gonna try something a little different this time.
217. 11:15I just want you to touch the vowel sound. So you'll go like this: /ay/, /a/.
218. 11:18Don't even read the word.So you'll go like this: /ay/, /a/. Okay? You do it.
219. 11:24Michael: /ay/, /a/, /ay/, /a/, /a/, /ay/
220. 11:29Linda Farrell: Okay. Can you do that one more time?
221. 11:30I wanna make sure you're touching with one finger when you should and two fingers …
222. 11:33Michael: /a/ …
223. 11:34Linda Farrell: Wait, wait.
224. 11:36Michael: /Ay/. Wait. /Ay/, /a/, /ay/, /a/, /a/, /ay/.
225. 11:46Linda Farrell: Oh! It was perfect. Okay.
226. 11:48Now go back and touch with two fingers and then read the word.
227. 11:52Okay. And, uh, down here.
228. 11:55Michael: /Ay/, "mat" -- "mate."
229. 11:58Linda Farrell: Start again.
230. 12:00Michael: /Ay/, "mate" ...
231. 12:02Linda Farrell: Go /ay/, "mate" ...
232. 12:04Michael: /Ay/, "mate," /a/, "mat" ...
233. 12:08Linda Farrell: [whispering] One finger.
234. 12:10Michael: /A/, "mat," /ay/, "tape," "ra-" -- /a/, "rack," /a/, "tap," /ay/, "rake."
235. 12:26Linda Farrell: Okay ... That skill is recognizing spelling patterns.
236. 12:32It is incredibly important, because many people will tell you the English language is nutso.
237. 12:40It -- sometimes a letter is spelled this way and sometimes the letter is spelled that way.
238. 12:46spelled that way. And the English language is not nutso.
239. 12:48It follows patterns. It follows lots of patterns.
240. 12:54Most of the time in a one-syllable word when you have a vowel,
241. 13:01and then you have a consonant, and an 'e' at the end, that vowel is going
242. 13:05will spell the long vowel sound. It's not random. It is absolutely not random.
243. 13:13Strong readers -- and especially strong spellers -- pick up these patterns automatically.
244. 13:20Those who struggle to learn to read or look like they're struggling, who need more practice
245. 13:26really, they don't pick them up on their own; and that's where we come in.
246. 13:30We're teachers. That's when we get to teach as opposed to just guide.
247. 13:35So understanding the spelling patterns in English will tell you with
248. 13:44about 80% accuracy what that vowel sound should be.
249. 13:46Linda Farrell: See if you can do that whole row -- 10 words.
250. 13:50And you're gonna do /ay/ and then read the word. Okay?
251. 13:53And make sure you get your fingers right. You can go slowly.
252. 13:56I don't care how fast you go.
253. 13:58Michael: /a/, "stack" ...
254. 14:02Linda Farrell: Let's try that -- what happened?
255. 14:03What happens when you ...
256. 14:04Michael: … /ay/, 'stake," /a/, "stack" ...
257. 14:10Linda Farrell: [whispering] Touch that with one finger.
258. 14:11Michael: ... /a/, "stack" ...
259. 14:14Linda Farrell: What?
260. 14:15Michael: ... /a/, "mad," /ay/ -- wait, I mean /a/, "fat," /ay/, "made."
261. 14:27Linda Farrell: You would see, even though he knew the word was "shake," he would read
262. 14:31"shack," then he'd say, "No, 'shake,'" because he wants that word to come out before his
263. 14:35brain has processed. One of the things we would want to do
264. 14:36if we were working with him long term is get him to slow down
265. 14:42first, because if he'd slow down, he would eventually get faster, because he
266. 14:49would be in the habit of doing things accurately. And he would be
267. 14:52using the patterns. He has every ability to be an accurate reader if
268. 14:54he can recognize the patterns -- and to read at a reasonable rate.
269. 15:04Narrator – So Ms. Farrell focuses on accuracy, knowing that speed will
270. 15:08come later, once Michael has really mastered the skill.
271. 15:12Linda Farrell: That was 100% perfect. High five on this one, too.
272. 15:15Okay, now you're gonna read some -- you don't have to do the /ay/, /a/.
273. 15:20You just read the words.
274. 15:21Michael: Okay.
275. 15:22Linda Farrell: Okay? So what, what line do you wanna do?
276. 15:27Michael: I wanna do that one.
277. 15:30Linda Farrell: Okay. Do number four.
278. 15:33Michael: shad, Glad, same, Sam, pane
279. 15:42Linda Farrell: Okay. Now we're gonna go back to that passage that we just read.
280. 15:48Let's see if you can read it again. Go.
281. 15:53Michael: Mike went to a lake with Luke. They rode their bikes to the lake.
282. 16:09They had rice.
283. 16:11Linda Farrell: What you saw is that once we taught Michael how to read
284. 16:16long and short 'a,' he applied it in the paragraph the next time.
285. 16:24And we didn't have him read a new paragraph.
286. 16:28We had him read the same paragraph.
287. 16:31Once he reads that paragraph accurately, we're going to go to another one.
288. 16:34But if it takes him 10 times to read that paragraph accurately, we're going to keep
289. 16:38reading that paragraph accurately, applying his new skill that he had used.
290. 16:44Michael: They also had Coke to drink.
291. 16:51Linda Farrell: 30 out of 30. You got 30 out of 30
292. 16:55Linda Farrell: He made an improvement.
293. 16:57And had we had more time, I think we would have
294. 17:00seen him making even more improvement as he practiced.
295. 17:04Michael was a real good example of the importance and necessity
296. 17:09of practicing to mastery. Even though he's in the third grade, we need
297. 17:13to make sure that we get his basic phonics and his even advanced phonics
298. 17:16get his basic phonics and his even advanced phonics
299. 17:19advanced phonics straightened out, and that he's accurate
300. 17:23at those, automatically."
301. 17:25[Music]
302. 17:26We'd like to thank the wonderful students and families at Windy Hill Elementary School
303. 17:30in Calvert County, Maryland. We hope that sharing these experiences will
304. 17:33help other children who are learning to read.
305. 17:37Special thanks also to Kelly Cleland, Julie Donovan, Joanne Harbaugh
306. 17:42and their outstanding colleagues at Windy Hill Elementary ... and to Leanne Meisinger
307. 17:46colleagues at Windy Hill Elementary and to Leanne Meisinger
308. 17:49at Calvert County Public Schools.
309. 17:51We are deeply grateful to Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, and Nicole Lubar of Readsters for
310. 17:56for their invaluable contributions to this project.
311. 17:58Produced by Noel Gunther
312. 18:01Edited by Christian Lindstrom
313. 18:03Graphic Design Tina Chovanec
314. 18:05Camera Richard Chisolm
315. 18:07Audio Dwayne Dell
316. 18:09For more information about teaching reading, please visit
317. 18:12www.ReadingRockets.org
318. 18:16Reading Rockets is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C.
319. 18:21Copyright 2019, WETA, Washington, D.C.