sound blending again - thanks for your patience

I think if there is one thing most of the teachers and parents on this board agree on is that decoding is important and that to read a new word a child must be able to make the individual sounds(segmenting) and be able to push them together (blending). There is no way a child can match sound to symbol without the skill of segmenting. A child can’t spell without the skill of segmenting. Good readers are excellent segmenters.

An good way to check your child’s segmenting skills is to draw four lines on a white board or piece of paper. Ask your child to point to each line as he says the sounds in a four sound word such as ‘desk’ or ‘flag’ or ‘steam’ or ‘cloud’. See what you get.

If he can’t segment this is the place to begin your reading instruction.

Blending can hard for some kids, especially the young ones. Teach segmenting first, it is much easier to learn than blending. I think you said you used PG, follow their lessons to teach these skills. They also have a FAQ on their site with help for poor blenders.

Lil, Do a search for Reid Lyon and it will come up the research that NIH has done on reading. They will have a hard time disputing him. Remember, who you are talking to know nothing about reading!

Lil wrote:
>
> Hi again everyone,
>
> My son’s IEP team is telling me that sound blending and
> segmenting are not necessary skills for reading. They are
> telling me that subtest scatter doesn’t matter, and since
> everything works out to “average” in the summary that he is
> an “average” reader.

There are some statistical items in there that make a small, weak potential case for their side. Depends on the tests used kind of thing. With most tests, the individual subtest scores are not nearly so reliable as when a group are blended together. (However, this is still a smoke & mirrors game IMO.)

> I have researched many papers that say sound blending and
> segmentation are necessary skills for decoding - and decoding
> is necessary for reading. I have looked at several methods
> of reading instruction - whole language, phonics, direct
> instruction. They all say that decoding is necessary for
> reading, they simply vary as to how and when decoding skills
> are taught. But since I am only a mom, the IEP team thinks I
> obviously don’t know what I’m talking about.

That is what drove me to taking instruction in reading and teaching my own child. We ran out of tutors and he wasn’t growing in skills. The IEP “team” (I use the term loosely) would verbally out-fox me every time. I had no teaching certificate. They knew they had the right to select materials and methods used in their school.

> How can I convince them? More research papers? I really
> don’t thing I am wrong - but after I hear it often enough, I
> start to worry!

1. Take an expert to the meeting with you. (That will likely rile them more, IMO, but you will feel validated.)
2. Agree to disagree and spend your effort and emotions on something more productive than budging concrete walls.
3. Give them more research papers—as wrapping around their Christmas gifts.

I haven’t read the other postings yet. That should be fun.

The Christmas wrapping is wicked fun - I’ll probably use it - around some of the homemade hand-gilded gifts my son has been making for the family! I wonder if I’ll be able to convince him that my “friends” need them, too! :-)