Description of SpellRead — Phonological Auditory Training

Efficient processing of language requires the automatic and continuous bridging between an individual’s oral language and his/her “sound system.” Few people naturally acquire an efficient sound system because most lack the essential element, well-developed phonemic skills (the ability to automatically recognize and manipulate individual speech sounds).

An efficient phonological processing system enables individuals to easily process language auditorily. Phonemic skills are the foundational building block of this system. When an individual masters each of the skills that make up this system, to the point where they function automatically in combination, he/she is then able to process language effortlessly.

Efficient Phonological Processing
	• Phonetic Skills; mastery of sound-letter relationships • Phonemic Skills; ability to automatically process speech sounds auditorily		• Semantic Skills; understanding the meaning of words and sentences
			• Syntactic Skills; knowledge of structure and grammar
			• Other Skills; awareness of phrasing, stress patterns, etc.

Those who have difficulty mastering phonemic skills often develop compensating techniques enabling them to read. For example, rather than effortlessly decoding an unfamiliar word, they will use complex strategies that require a combination of higher intellectual functions involving use of context, visual memory and/or rhyming schemes. These compensating techniques tend to be highly complex, consuming substantial amounts of processing capacity, leaving little for the comprehension and retention of what has just been read.

The SpellRead program integrates essential elements of phonemics, phonetics, and instruction in language-based reading and writing. P.A.T. stands for Phonological Auditory Training, a comprehensive and fully integrated program that encompasses 140 carefully defined lessons presented in three distinct phases:

Phase A introduces the 44 sounds of English and trains the student to manipulate them automatically (with no hesitation whatsoever).

Phase B teaches the secondary spellings (e.g. ay & ai for the a_e sound), the consonant blends, such as str, _nt and bl, and syllabication and auditory-visual automaticity (automatic decoding) for two-syllable words.

Phase C continues training at the multi-syllable level and introduces the most common clusters (tion, ture, tious, etc.) as well as syllabication, pronunciation, and spelling of verb forms.
The Spell Read program consists of the following components:

• learning the “sound system” accurately, completely, and automatically.
  This involves acquiring phonemic skills (single sounds and sound combinations) and phonetic skills (sound-symbol relationships)
  
  
• share-reading, using a shadow reading approach, where each student reads aloud and also follows the print as others read, to help students transfer the phonemic and phonetic skills they are learning, to the reading process
  
  
• free-writing using the sounds that the individual can now discriminate in words. This removes the restriction of having to write using only words that the individual knows how to spell, rather than simply writing the way one would speak.

All classes include these basic activities, which are varied to serve the needs of students at different stages of skill development.

• Entry into reading is for those who are not aware of spoken/written word relationships. Oral language and memory are used to break the students into reading while they are explicitly taught the sound system. The sounds of the language are taught so that they become internalized. As a result, they can be transferred automatically to the reading and spelling processes.
  
  
• Beginning reading is for those who recognize spoken/written word relationships, but are unable to read without assistance. They know that reading is oral language written down and can use their knowledge of language to read predictable books. At this level the use of a particular series of books gives an early reader the repetition needed because the books use similar language. This is much like the effect of repeated readings and enables the child to use his/her newly acquired phonemic and phonetic knowledge in combination with language skills.
  
  
• Developing reading is for those who read with poor fluency and/or comprehension. This group tends to struggle because of an excessive reliance on context, visual memory, or syllable-level decoding to identify unfamiliar words. These coping strategies are used in place of automatic, efficient decoding based on a solid sound system. These individuals must begin to read at an easy level where they can achieve at least 95 percent accuracy. Progress to more advanced reading is dependent on this level of accuracy being achieved. The newly acquired phonemic and phonetic skills begin to be used in the reading process as the student achieves mastery.
  
  
• Reading enhancement is for those who may be able to read high-level material or material at grade level, but must read and re-read to have full comprehension. Their inefficient skills prevent them from reading and comprehending with ease.
  

Summary

P.A.T. is specific, organized, and detailed. It requires mastery of clearly-defined skills — first the students build accuracy and then they build their speed.

Training begins with the sounds that are easiest to hear and manipulate and progresses to the more difficult sounds and combinations. It is not rule-based, but trains an individual to internalize concepts so that the brain’s auditory processing functions become automatic. This frees the reader from the stress of using numerous inefficient strategies to read, write, and spell. As a result, the individual is able to effortlessly read words, retain and comprehend what is read, and more fully express ideas when writing.

© 2006 Kaplan, Inc.