Phraseology Is a Game Changer!!! Part 1
Here’s How I Teach It
It is such an exciting time for me as a teacher when I know that one of my students is ready to begin learning phraseology! Understanding how phrases work in our spoken and written communication kicks their reading into a higher gear.
Phraseology has many definitions. In general, it means the way in which language is used: especially in how words and expressions are chosen and put together to convey meaning. Simply put, phraseology is the study of word groups that have meaning and how we read them to gain greater comprehension of the text.
When we teach phraseology, we are teaching our students to read as though they are telling a story—to read the passages as though they are sharing them in conversation.
As we teach phraseology, we teach our children that their brain is always trying to connect words into phrases in its search for meaning and greater understanding.
I usually begin teaching phraseology to students sometime after they have successfully learned short vowel sounds (Part 3), “h” consonant digraphs (Part 4), beginning and ending consonant blends (Part 5), and are about midway through instruction in Part 6 of Silent Elephant “e”.
Their first lesson in phraseology might sound something like this:
“Since you are such a strong reader, I’m going to teach you (and Mom and Dad if they are at tutoring) something new. It’s called phraseology. Phraseology is a BIG word that just means you are going to learn how to read in phrases today.
“Phrases are two or more words that begin to form meaning in your brain.
“If I say to you, ‘The’, and that is all I say, can you begin to make a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about? Could you draw a picture of ‘the’?”
My confused students always answer, “No,” while wondering why I asked such a ridiculous question.
I continue, “If I say, ‘The soft’, can you begin to make a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about? Could you draw a picture of ‘The soft’?”
They most likely answer something like, “No, but I’m thinking of something soft like my pillow.”
“Wonderful!
“What happens when I say, ‘The soft, yellow’? Can you begin making a picture in your mind about what I’m talking about?”
This is when their eyes begin to light up as they are getting a hint of what I’m teaching. “Yes!” they say with more certainty.
“What new picture(s) do you have in your brain? Could you draw something soft and yellow?”
We share lots of possibilities—real and nonsense. “Could a car be soft and yellow? Why or why not? Could an elephant be soft and yellow? Why or why not? Could pudding be soft and yellow? Why or why not?”
We take plenty of time playing with the possibilities of soft and yellow before I continue the lesson.
“Your brain is always trying to find meaning from what you’re listening to and from what you’re reading.
“As your brain searches for meaning, it will begin asking YOU questions such as, ‘What is one thing that is soft and yellow?’
“If I say, ‘The soft, yellow duck’, your brain just received more information and will immediately form a picture or pictures in your mind about the meaning. Can you make a more detailed picture in your mind about what I’m talking about?”
Now my kiddos are really catching on and enthusiastically answer, “Yes!”
“Draw a picture(s) to show me exactly what’s in your mind.”
As they draw, we talk about the picture(s) coming to their mind about ‘The soft, yellow duck’.
“Your picture is awesome—such a beautiful, soft, yellow duck! Your brain really found meaning when we added that one word.
“What are you thinking right now?” I ask them. “Does your brain want to know more about the soft, yellow duck?”
“Yes!” exclaim my excited children. They are into finding meaning.
“What questions is your brain asking about the soft, yellow duck?”
Brainstorm with them things they might want to know about the duck: Is the duck somewhere? Is the duck doing something? What’s around the duck?
Continuing to build a solid foundation in the understanding of why we learn about and use phraseology I explain further, “I just told you a phrase that was 4 words long: ‘The soft, yellow duck’. Some phrases are as short as 2 words, like ‘The cat’; some phrases are longer, like ‘on the old wooden door’.
“A phrase is made of words that create a picture in your mind because the words make sense.
“Let me add more words to help you answer the questions in your mind about our duck: ‘The soft, yellow duck will…’
“Did the addition of the word ‘will’ help you with your picture? Did adding ‘will’ help you understand where our duck is, where it’s going, or what it’s doing?”
They may take a minute to think, but will answer, “No, not really.”
“No, not really. You need more information—more words to finish the phrase.
“If I say, ‘The soft, yellow duck will swim’, what instantly happens in your brain? What picture instantly begins to come into your mind that shows you know more than you did before? Are you making a more detailed picture in your mind? How will your drawing change?”
They will be very eager to share how just adding the word “swim” to the phrase creates many pictures in their mind.
“Draw a picture to show me exactly what you are seeing in your mind and tell me about your drawing.
“Your picture is amazing! It’s showing me that your brain is finding meaning from phrases.
“Does your brain want to know more?
“What questions is your brain asking now? Does it want to know even more about our soft, yellow duck? Perhaps it’s asking questions like: When is the duck swimming? Where might the duck swim? Does it have any friends?”
After taking ample time for my kiddos to absorb how longer phrases create more meaning, I continue explaining phraseology,
“I’ve just told you two phrases. The first phrase was 4 words long: ‘The soft, yellow duck’. The second phrase was 2 words long: ‘will swim’.
Do you want to know more?”
They will always answer, “Yes!”
“Why do you want to know more?”
We continue this lesson adding more words one at a time to make the complete sentence: ‘The soft, yellow duck will swim to me to get my bread.’ With each new word we add, we spend time talking about how the new word added meaning or not.
When we have completed the whole sentence and have drawn a picture sharing its meaning, I have them listen to me read the sentence as they point to the parts of their drawing that indicate the phrase I’m reading.
I have them listen carefully to how I am saying the sentence in phrases, “The soft, yellow duck…will swim . . .to me…to get my bread.” I have them say the sentence with me while paying attention to the phrasing. We talk about how natural it sounds for us to say the sentence in phrases because it sounds just like we are talking since we naturally talk in phrases.
In the next post in this series, I will share how Silent Elephant “e” moves the study of phraseology from the spoken word into printed text with a simple tool to help develop both comprehension and fluency in reading.
If you have further questions about teaching phraseology, feel free to contact us.