Jessi Towne

EDUG 547
October 12, 2015
Appendix P
RICA Reflection
Competency 5: Phonics and Sight Words: Terminology and Concepts
TPE Connection 1.7: Candidates provide opportunities for students to read purposefully and
listen attentively to build discipline-specific knowledge in the content areas.
A. Definition In your own words state your understanding of this competency.
This competency is about the mastery of phonics and sight words and how they play a
crucial role in the identification and instruction of words. This competency also lays out
the interdependent relationship between phonics and spelling development.
B. Personal Connection/Evidence Describe ways that you have engaged with this
competency which illustrate you know how to implement it.
a. In other words, indicate events/activities in which you have engaged which are
directly related to this RICA competency both in the Reading/Literacy course
and aside from this course. In this section, take ownership with words such as
the following: It has been my experienceThe lesson I created entitledis an
example of this RICA competencyI have observed Reflect on how your
understanding of this competency is connected to TPEs. How is it important to
your teaching and your students learning?
It has been my experience in working with my second grade class about sight words
and phonics. The majority of the students are proficient with phonics and can
recognize most sight words for their grade level. There are a select few students that
struggle because they have IEPs, 504s, or are ELs. Naturally, they are a little slower
to catch on to concepts and will take a while to be brought up to speed along with the
rest of the class. There have been quite a few times where I have pulled students to
come work with me at another table, because they are behind the other students and
need one-on-one focused instruction I can supply.
In regard to my tutees, they are both well below their grade level in reading and
writing, which is why I am tutoring them in the first place. Kendy (3rd grade) and
Julian (4th) grade both struggle with their phonics. Since the struggle with phonics,
sight words are difficult for them to read because neither of them have a strong
enough grasp of phonics to correctly identify and decode words. One thing I can do to
help them with their phonics is by showing them a list of the most common phonics
and words in which they are applied, so they can have a visual representation as to
what the breakdown of the word is. I know that knowing phonics is an essential
foundation to learning and recognizing sight words. Once I can help my tutees have

mastered their phonics, sight word recognition will become second nature; it will
become automatic. This is my goal for them by the end of the semester.

C. Differentiation
a. Describe at least three examples of when and why to use particular strategies
with a student need.
i. If a student struggles with automaticity in reading, then I will make sure to
provide books with an easier reading level, and I will be patient and not
rush the student, because I know he or she is a slow reader.
ii. If a student struggles with words that are r-controlled, then I will
differentiate my teaching methods to show the student a list of words that
are not r-controlled and words that are r-controlled and compare and
contrast the two lists.
iii. If a student struggles with spelling words, then I will help the student to
understand the definition first, repetitively write the word, and then they
should be able to spell the word correctly.
D. Text-To-Text
a. Reference a minimum of one reference mentioned in the reflection.
TPE 1.7 states, Candidates provide opportunities for students to read
purposefully and listen attentively to build discipline-specific knowledge in the
content areas. I try my best to always have a purpose for everything we do in the
classroom. That way, the students can have an emotional connection to the
information presented and be able to comprehend the purpose behind it all,
instead of just learning information for the sake of memorization.