7.2 Assessing Letter Sound Knowledge

Letter Sound Assessment for Mastery

Use this quick assessment to see how many letter sounds students can say accurately in one minute.

My Fluency Graphs for Reading Sounds and Naming Letters

Use this bar graph to record the number of letter sounds a student reads correctly per minute so you can track and celebrate progress together.

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Alison Ellis: This time, instead of naming the letter, I want you to tell me the sound that letter makes. Okay. And I'm going to time you again. You can start when you're ready.

Jax: Ready.

Alison Ellis: Okay.

Jax: /p/ /qw/.

Narrator: Reading interventionist Alison Ellis is giving a quick one-minute assessment to first grader Jax to monitor his progress in reading letter sounds automatically and correctly. This is a skill they've been working on in their intervention block because if Jax is to become a fluent reader, he'll need to be able to look at a letter and instantly recall the sound it makes.

Jax: /K/, /m/, /z/, /q/, /m/, /d/

As Jax reads the letters, Ms. Ellis records how he's doing. When Jax is done, Ms. Ellis will give him immediate positive feedback and share his results.

Alison Ellis: There we go. I'll stop there. Good job. You got 25 sounds today. That is remarkable. That's a lot more than you got last time. The only error you made today was with your "b" and your "d." ... and a 'd' says ...

Jax: /D/

Alison Ellis: Right. Okay. And again, that's some of the confusion that we've been working on and we'll continue to work on. So, now it's time to graph your progress. And the last time we did this for a minute, you had 19.

Narrator: Just like when assessing letter-naming fluency, Ms. Ellis uses a bar graph to record how many letter sounds Jax reads correctly. This helps both of them see his growth and keep track of his progress. This time and conversation are key because Jax is included in developing his own reading skills.

Alison Ellis: Alright, buddy. Good job, good job. And then we're going to keep practicing and we'll check your fluency again next time. Have a good day.

Narrator: Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. For more information, please visit ReadingUniverse.org. Special thanks to Prather-Brown Center, Frederick Public Schools, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the American Federation of Teachers, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and three anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington, DC, the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.

Alison Ellis: I am Alison Ellis, and this is Reading Universe.

Fall	Winter	Spring
9+ letter sounds/minute	25+ letter sounds/minute	31+ letter sounds/minute

Fall	Winter	Spring
30+ letter sounds/minute	52+ letter sounds/minute	55+ letter sounds/minute

Fall	Winter	Spring
50+ letter sounds/minute	68+ letter sounds/minute	76+ letter sounds/minute

Fall	Winter	Spring
76+ letter sounds/minute	94+ letter sounds/minute	105+ letter sounds/minute