Improving letter/sound recognition using picture sorts

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Improving letter/sound recognition using picture
sorts

• Susan Matthews
• Yadkinville Elementary School
• Yadkin County Schools
• Kindergarten

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Background

• I chose this topic because of the number of
  students that knew the alphabet but did not have
  sound knowledge.

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Background
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Research Says

• The Development of reading skills requires a
  foundation of letter recognition (Dodd, 2003).
• Picture sorts aide students in the relationship
  between letters and sounds through phonics (Bear,
  D., Invernizzi, M., Johnston, F., Templeton,
  S., 2008).
• An important foundation of literacy is learning
  the sounds that letters symbolize in words
  (Francis, D., Mouzaki, A., Rodriguez, K.,
  Tincoff, R., Treiman, R., 1998).

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Research Question-

• What are the effects of picture sorts on the
  letter/sound recognition skills of
  kindergarteners?

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What is a picture sort?
Picture sort A categorization task in which
pictures are sorted into categories of similarity
and difference. (Bear, D., Invernizzi, M.,
Johnston, F., Templeton, S., 2008).
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Participants

• Focus with 8 Kindergarten Students
• Age 5
• 5 Boys, 3 Girls
• 4 Caucasian
• 2 Served in Speech
• 1 Multi-Racial
• Served in Speech
• 3 Hispanics
• 2 Served in ELL

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Intervention/Instruction Procedures

• 5 weeks of research 10 letters and sounds were
  taught during class instruction.
• Modeled picture sorts for the first week for the
  students whole group.
• Students sorted individualized sorts for 20
  minutes each day based on their success.
• My assistant and I observed the students as we
  sat with them and helped as needed.

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Data Collection

• Anecdotal Notes
• Kept daily for each student
• Check sheet
• At the beginning and end of research, students
  were checked formally.
• Each week students were checked informally.
• Student work samples
• Student Survey

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Data Analysis

• Notes were taken from observation during picture
  sorts and recorded in a notebook.
• Weekly progress of sound recognition was charted
  on a spreadsheet.
• Student work was collected and checked for
  knowledge of sound recognition.

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Results Letter/Sound Recognition

• Each students letter/sound recognition improved.
• I saw that children were very confident doing
  picture sorts.
• Students were able to carry their sound knowledge
  over into our writing time.

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Results Letter/Sound Recognition

• Students often self-corrected their initial
  picture placement as they discussed their sort
  with the teacher.
• Kathy who is served in ELL and Travis who is
  served in speech, had difficulty doing picture
  sorts.
• These students made progress but at a slower
  pace.

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Results

• Student Interview

Are picture sorts helpful?
Yes, help us learn pictures. (Kathy)
Yes, help us learn our letters. (Daniel)
Yes, so we can know what the sounds are. (Jack)
Yes, because they are fun. (Emma)
What is your favorite part of picture sorts?
Helping me learn. (Dylan)
It has lot of pictures. (Vance)
Learning the sounds and playing with picture cards. (Travis)
Learning the sounds. (Alexia)
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There was no substantial difference in the
effects of picture sorts on girls versus boys.
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Discussion

• Picture sorts help students with letter/sound
  recognition.
• Students were able to make meaning with letters
  and initial sounds.
• The other Kindergarten teachers were interested
  in picture sorts. One teacher implemented them
  in her classroom.

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Future Direction

• I will continue to use picture sorts in my
  classroom to enhance letter/sound recognition.
• I also plan to go further with the Words Their
  Way book and use other sorts
• Letter Sorts
• Word Family Sorts
• Short and Long Vowel Sorts

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References and Resources

• Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S.,
  Johnston, F. (2008). Words their way
  spelling, phonics and vocabulary . (fourth ed.).
  Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Prentice Hall.
• Dodd, Barbara Carr, Alex. (2003). Young
  childrens letter-sound knowledge Language,
  speech, and hearing services in schools
  34,128-137.
• Treiman, R., Tincoff, R., Rodriquez, K., Mouzaki,
  A., Francis, D. (1998). The foundations of
  literacy learning the sounds of letters Child
  Development 69 (6), 1524-1540.