Ask early elementary school teachers what they mean by the recently popularized term ‘science-based reading instruction’ and it likely has something to do with decoding. Decoding is the process of converting a word from print to sound by matching letters and their combinations with the sounds they read aloud. make.

This makes sense because deciphering is a hallmark of early literacy. Similarly, in the act of spelling and writing, as opposed to encoding, decoding, spoken words are broken down into individual sounds.

However, from the first grade, encoding has received less attention than decoding, despite evidence that writing practice strongly aids and complements the teaching of reading comprehension. As a result, according to some literacy experts, students suffer.

“Encoding and decoding go hand in hand. They’re like two sides of a coin,” said Crystal Whitman, an education coach at Rothman Elementary School in Transylvania County, North Carolina. “Our hands have been heavy on the deciphering side, so there are some weak spellers, weak writers.”

As literacy experts have strongly suggested, encoding is often underestimated in early literacy instruction, even in programs that claim to be permeated with evidence-based practice.

Education Week spoke with literacy experts, researchers, and educators to find out why and what students miss out on when their exposure to encoding is irregular or minimal. We also collected strategies from structured literacy advocates on how to incorporate encoding into daily classroom instruction.

How was the encoding overlooked?

Literacy consultant Steve Graham has been studying the “hows” of writing for over 40 years. How writing develops, how to teach effectively, and how to use writing to support reading and learning. The lack of emphasis on teaching writing is nothing new, he points out.

“In pre-revolutionary times, you could teach someone how to read, but without additional instruction, they didn’t necessarily learn how to write,” says Arizona State University’s Teacher College. Professor Graham said.

In many of today’s early literacy programs, the pendulum weight is more firmly rooted in teaching reading than writing. Inadvertently, with the recent rise of evidence-based literacy programs based on the results of Congress in 2000, National Reading Panel may be partially responsible.

This nationally publicized committee advocates combining phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, guided oral reading, vocabulary teaching, and reading strategies to teach children to read. Recommended.

This report refers to writing as students are learning how to manipulate sounds and letters, especially in the context of phonemic awareness and phonics. But it doesn’t specifically mention encoding or other detailed aspects of writing. And even today, very little research has been published on the components of effective writing instruction.

“I’ve done a lot of national research,” says Graham. “Writing and encoding are given less emphasis in the curriculum than reading.”

Other literacy professionals share similar experiences. “Most phonics instruction focuses on decoding. They want children to learn to read words. They may do the encoding, but that is often an afterthought.” , said Margie Gillis, a nationally recognized literacy expert and president of Connecticut-based Literacy How, Inc. .

Reading professor Amy Murdoch says she’s seen schools “introduce” phonological awareness programs that are separate from other important components of early literacy such as spelling and writing.

Why encoding matters and what it looks like in the classroom

Murdoch, assistant dean and associate professor of education at Mount St. Joseph’s University in Cincinnati, said:

This is especially true for encoding and decoding. “We really take that point home [decoding and encoding] They are mutually beneficial and bootstrap each other,” Gillis said.

Ideally, brush strokes, which children begin practicing before they enter kindergarten, form important building blocks for encoding letters, and later words and sentences. According to literacy experts, teaching proper letter formation through repetition fosters automaticity, which is important to the writing process.

“I’m obsessed with letter formation. If our children don’t automatically form letters correctly, they have to figure out how to form those letters, which hinders their spelling and writing.” .

As students develop automaticity in their letters, they can shift their focus to what they are writing, says Austin, Texas-based licensed dyslexia therapist. dyslexia classroomprovides resources for learners with dyslexia and online courses for educators, parents and therapists.

Carrie Norris, Director of K-8 Curriculum and Education at Transylvania County Schools in North Carolina, has seen firsthand the benefits of focusing on early character development among her district’s kindergarteners. “They first learn how to make strokes. Students do horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circular strokes,” said Norris, who consistently formed letters correctly when given gradual steps. He added that the ability of students to do so has improved significantly. Practice opportunities in kindergarten.

But even the early stages of encoding shouldn’t be done in a vacuum, experts explain. “We’re tying muscle movement and tactile kinetic letter formation to hearing sounds and associating them with their names,” Gillis said.

Spelling assignments often miss the mark

Very young students who are just beginning to connect their understanding of speech recognition to letter and word writing can struggle with the fine motor skills required for these tasks. Having fun helps. Gillis suggests having students write on a plate of shaving cream. Colored sand is a favorite, as is the grooved surface that feels good on students’ fingertips. “It doesn’t have to be a drill and kill,” she said.

Despite ample evidence of a reciprocal and necessary relationship between decoding and encoding, some conventional assignments continue to miss the mark. For example, let’s look at the spelling list.

“I still see spelling instructions. [spelling] Words are sent home that may or may not contain a spelling pattern,” says Harrison. “It makes me realize that the deep connection between spelling sounds for reading and spelling sounds for writing is not fully understood.”

She doesn’t suggest getting rid of the old spelling list. Rather, I’m proposing to modify its usage. “Spelling instruction should be part of the daily reading and writing lessons,” Harrison said. “But we want students to take advantage of their knowledge of the clef and their connection to reading instruction.”

Harrison explains her version of the spelling test. As a former classroom teacher and now a certified dyslexia therapist, she created a video of her spelling concept of the week (e.g., spelling the final /k/ pronunciation or the vowel-consonant-e pattern) and then use all. Students focus on decoding and encoding words containing rules. On Friday, students will take a spelling test. Harrison includes rules She chooses 10 to 20 words and has students write the words using the concepts they learned during the week.

When the student spells the word correctly, Harrison finds out that he doesn’t simply remember a list of words that he later tends to forget. Rather, they have mastered the phonetic rules of English and can apply them in reading and spelling other words.

“I tell them: I can’t teach you every word in the English language, but I can give you the tools to read and spell new, unfamiliar words,” Harrison said.

The science of reading exercise has been primarily driven by advocates for students with language disabilities. And like decryption, teaching encryption in a systematic and explicit way benefits all children, but is especially important for children with processing disabilities.

“These are our students who have trouble accessing phonological codes,” Harrison said, referring to students with dyslexia. It really needs to be decomposed into a sensible approach.”

Students who cannot spell words experience cascading effects, such as lower homework scores and a disconnect between the spoken and written language, which can lead to lower self-esteem and negative perceptions of schoolwork. There is, Harrison observes. The opposite can happen as students develop proficient reading and spelling skills.

“I want to empower my students,” Harrison said. “It does it by connecting reading and spelling.”