From K-12 Dive
By Lauren Barack
Feb. 9, 2022
Dive Brief:
By examining the keys to the success of Wordle, the wildly popular game that gives players six chances to find the right five-letter word of the day, educators can gain takeaways for designing effective phonics, spelling and literacy lessons for students, writes Nell Duke, a professor of literacy, language and culture at University of Michigan, writes for ASCD.
First testing letters used more frequently, as well as common letter patterns, can help people quickly solve Wordle puzzles. Those letters and patterns are also ones educators may want to spend more time on with students, who can gain further familiarity with additional reading time.
Knowing letters make different sounds depending on their placement is another Wordle strategy that can be applied in literacy lessons. And while having a larger vocabulary is always an asset with any word game, it’s also a toolset educators can help students develop through activities and classroom games to better engage them in learning.
Dive Insight:
Identifying patterns in language, such as the relationship between sound and spelling, can help students develop the confidence to tackle new words they encounter in the classroom. When learners know how to decode the words they read, they feel more equipped to try harder material and may even approach literacy lessons with more self-assurance.
Literacy lessons can be peppered into any subject or class topic, and phonics has become a particularly popular tool many districts and states are adopting again. New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks recently proposed training early childhood teachers in the use of phonics, for example.
Educators can also turn to other methods and techniques to help students gain mastery of literacy competencies, including spoken word projects, poetry slams or poetry units in classrooms, tasking students with working together to uncover patterns in words, letters and sounds.
It is crucial educators and administrators consider the best literacy education methods for individual students. Phonics, for example, has met with some pushback from researchers who say it may not be as effective for English language learners because of the emphasis on pronunciation over comprehension.
But phonics and other decoding tools are being examined for their effectiveness with older students, those in grades 4-8 who are struggling with reading, students of color and those who are living in poverty.
Photo: Scarey Mommy
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