Word Analysis:
Dividing Words

Introduction:

The TTS is recommended for DAR Word Recognition Mastery Level 2. Two strategies are
provided for teaching and assessing ability to divide and read words. The first strategy
teaches the student to look for shorter words in compound words, and the second teaches the
student how to divide words with two consonants in the middle.
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Materials Needed:

Give the student the worksheet and point to List 1, beginning with downtown.

Say:    Sometimes long words are made of short words that you already know. To read   
          them, you just need to divide them into the parts you already know. Listen as I   
          read these words: downtown, campground, airport.

 Each of these words has two parts, and each part is a real word. What are the two
words in downtown? (down and town)

Draw a line between down and town on the worksheet.

Say:    Down is a word that you know, and town is a word that you know. Downtown is a   
          long word made from two shorter words.

 Campground is also a long word made from two shorter words. What are the
words that go together to make campground? (camp and ground)

 Draw a line between camp and ground. Read the word.

 Now look at the third word. Do you see any words that you know in this long
word? What are they? (air and port) Read the word.

Point to List 2, beginning with raincoat.

Say:    Here are some more long words. See if you can read them by finding the short   
          words that you know in them. Draw a line between the two short words in each   
          long word. Then read the word to me.

When finished, have the student read the words a second time more quickly.

On the Student Record Form, note whether the student divided each word correctly and
read the word with ease.
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Materials Needed:

Give the student the worksheet and point to List 3, beginning with problem. Point to the word
problem.

Say:    Here is a word that has parts. But this time, the parts aren’t words. Listen as I   
           read the word, and tell me how many parts you hear. (two)

Say:    When we divide words into two parts, they are easier to read. In this word, there   
           are two consonants together. If I divide the word between the two consonants, I   
           will have two shorter word parts that I may be able to read.

Cover up the second syllable (-lem), and point to the first syllable (prob-).

Say:    Can you read this part?

Then cover up the first syllable and point to the second syllable.

Say:    Can you read this part?

Uncover the whole word.

Say:    Now put the two parts of the word together and read the whole word.

Then point to goblin.

Say:    Now look at this word. Where would you divide this word to read it? Draw a line   
           between the parts of the word, and read the parts to me. (gob- and -lin) Now read   
           the word.

Tell me again the rule we’ve been using for dividing longer words into parts.
(Allow the student to respond.)

Now look at the last word. Where would you divide this word? (muf- and -fin)
Why? (Allow the student to respond.) Draw a line between the two consonants. Now
can you read this word?

Point to List 4, beginning with hobby.

Say:    Here are some more words for you to divide and read. Look for the two   
           consonants in each word. Draw a line between them, and read each part of the   
           word. Then put the parts together and read the whole word to me. I’ll help you if   
           you get stuck on any of them.

On the Student Record Form, note whether the student divided each word correctly and read
the word with ease.

Correct the student’s errors.
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Interpreting and Using TTS Results:

For those students who have difficulty decoding two-syllable words, use cards with one
syllable on them for practice with both pronouncing single syllables and with putting them
together to make real words. Board games and other activities can be constructed for practice
dividing two-syllable and compound words. Instruction with basic syllabication patterns and
rules can help make the decoding process for such words more transparent for most students
and provide solid strategies for decoding longer words. Level 2 students should be given plenty
of time to work with one syllabication pattern before moving on to another pattern.