Word-attack skills

At the beginning of each lesson, students practise identifying sound combinations and words. All words are read aloud. Reading aloud tells the teacher whether the student is correctly identifying a word or what kind of errors the student is making. 

The introduction of words is not based on word frequency, but on correcting specific error tendencies for the struggling reader.

Students decode some words by identifying an underlined sound combination and then reading the word. Other words are read and then spelled by letter names. Other words are simply read.

The process is:

Students work with two major types of word list. Similar lists, list all words that have a common sound or sound combination. 

Random lists, lists a mixed presentation of word types. Similar lists show students how a structure works, while random lists test students and shape their memory.