Teaching
Phonemic Segmentation
1. The Rubber
Band Stretch
Teacher models with a large rubber band
how to stretch out a word as the word is said:
/mmmmmmmm-/aaaaaaaaa-
/nnnnannnn/
Teacher models with stretched
out band how to bring rubber band back to original length
and says the word fast: /man/.
Children pretend to stretch
rubber bands as they say the sounds in different words.
Children and teacher clap and
say a verse for each child in class:
CHRISTOPHER, CHRISTOPHER,
HOW DO YOU DO?
WHO'S THAT FRIEND RIGHT NEXT TO YOU?
Children and teacher say the next
child's name very slowly, stretching palms far apart as the
word is stretched:
krrrr-/iiiiiii-/ssssss-/tuuuu-
/ffffff-/errrrrr/
Clap once quickly and say name
fast: Christopher
Assessment designed by Dr. Hallie Kay
Yopp, Professor at CSU Fullerton. The author acknowledges
the contribution of the late Harry Singer to the development
of this test.
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Yopp-Singer Test
of Phonemic Segmentation:
Directions for Administering
- Have one test
sheet for each child in the class.
- Assess children individually in a
quiet place.
- Keep the assessment playful and game-like.
- Explain the game to the child exactly
as the directions specify.
-
Model for the child
what he or she needs to do with each of the
practice words. Have them break apart each
word with you.
Children are given the following directions
upon administration of the test:
Today we're going to play
a word game. I'm going to say a word and I want you to
break the word apart. You are going to say the word slowly,
and then tell me each sound in the word in order. For
example, if I say "old," you should say "oooo-llll-d"
(The teacher says the sound, not the letters.) Let's
try a few words together.
The practice items are ride,
go, and man. The teacher should help the child
with each sample item - segmenting the item for the child
if necessary and encouraging the child to repeat the segmented
words. Then the child is given the 22 item test. If the child
responds correctly, the teacher says, "That's right." If the
child gives an incorrect response, he or she is corrected.
The teacher provides the appropriate response. The teacher
circles the numbers of all correct answers.
If the child breaks a word apart incorrectly,
the teacher gives the correct answer:
| |
Child
Says |
You say |
Uses onset and rime
Repeats word
Stretches word out
Spells letters in word
Says first and last sounds
Says another word
Says a sentence |
/d/ - /og/
dog
d - o - g
"d" - "o" - "g"
/d/ - /g/
bark
I don't know |
/d-/o-/g/
/d-/o-/g/
/d-/o-/g/
/d-/o-/g/
/d-/o-/g/
/d-/o-/g/
/d-/o-/g/ |
The child's score is the number of items correctly
segmented into all constituent phonemes. No partial credit is given.
For instance, if a child says "/c/-/at/" instead of "/c/-/a/-/t/,"
the response may be noted on the blank line following the items
but is considered incorrect for purposes of scoring. Correct responses
are only those that involve articulation of each phoneme in the
target word.
A blend contains two or three phonemes
in each of these and each should be articulated separately.
Hence, item 7 on the test, grew, has three phonemes
/g/-/r/-/ew/. Digraphs such as /sh/ in item 5, she,
and the /th/ in item 15, three, are single phonemes.
Item 5, therefore has two phonemes and item 15 has three phonemes.
If a child responds with letter names instead of sounds, the
response is coded as incorrect, and the type of error is noted
on the test.
Students who obtain high scores
(segmenting all or nearly all of the items correctly) may
be considered phonemically aware. Students who correctly segment
some items are displaying emerging phonemic awareness. Students
who are able to segment only a few items or none at all lack
appropriate levels of phonemic awareness. Without intervention,
those students scoring very low on the test are likely to
experience difficulty with reading and spelling.
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