Abstract of

Effects of Systematic and Strategic Analogy-Based Phonics on Grade 2 Students' Word Reading and Reading Comprehension

Thomas G. White, Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, Virginia, USA

Fifteen regular grade 2 teachers used a set of 150 written lessons that were designed to develop, over the course of a school year, low and normally achieving students' ability to decode by analogy (i.e., to read unknown words using known words). The lessons provided (1) a planned sequence for teaching phonic elements including common spelling patterns and initial sounds, (2) teacher modeling of an analogy decoding strategy, and (3) analogy decoding practice with opportunities for students to transfer decoding skills to unfamiliar words. The lessons were delivered in the context of a comprehension-oriented reading program, and teachers prompted students to use an analogy decoding strategy during reading activities apart from the lessons. Results of Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses showed significant positive relationships between the number of lessons that teachers completed and students' gains on standardized tests of word reading and reading comprehension, controlling for previous reading achievement. On additional posttests, students read 89% of the base words taught in the program and, when prompted to decode by analogy, 83% of a set of novel one-syllable words. The results show the feasibility of improving word reading and comprehension outcomes through systematic and strategic analogy-based phonics.

Abstract from White, T.G. (2005, April/May/June). Effects of Systematic and Strategic Analogy-Based Phonics on Grade 2 Students' Word Reading and Reading Comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 40(2), 234–255. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.40.2.5