EXPLORING CONNECTIONS AMONG READING, SPELLING, AND PHONEMIC SEGMENTATION DURING 1ST-GRADE

Exploratory data analysis was used to examine changes in individual re ading and spelling patterns during first grade. Subjects were from cla ssrooms receiving, on average, 45 minutes compared to 15 minutes of da ily letter-sound instruction. Subjects spelled and read 60 words in Oc tober, February, and May, and deleted sounds from spoken words. Spelli ng and reading responses progressed from nonphonetic, to phonetic, to correct. Additionally, knowledge of a word's spelling informed its rea ding, while the converse was less apparent. Finally, those slow to imp rove in phoneme deletion were also slow to spell and read phonetically , especially among subjects receiving less instruction in letter-sound relations.