RICA Competency 7, Syllabic Analysis, Structural Analysis, and Orthographic

Knowledge. These three categories help students in gaining word identification skills. Syllabic
analysis is the process of decoding a multisyllabic word with an affix (prefix, suffix) added to a
base word Structural analysis is the process of decoding a multisyllabic word by examining the
words syllables Orthographic knowledge is what the person knows about how to spell words
(Zarrillo, 2011, pg. 57).
Three experiences I have had with this competency include encounters with my tutees,
observations in the classroom, and witnessing it being modeled. For one of my lessons in
tutoring we focused on CCSS: RF. 2.3 Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis
skills in decoding words both in isolation and in text. C) Decode regularly spelled two-syllable
words with long vowels. The tutees looked for words in the environment, text, as well as thought
of words that had -ay, -oa, -ea, and ai in them. I have also observed this be modeled in my
second grade classroom. When the teacher taught adverbs she modeled to the students how they
can make an adjective into an adverb by adding an ly.
This relates to TPE 1.10, Candidates make language (vocabulary, conventions, and
knowledge of language) comprehensible to students (California Teaching Performance
Expectations, 2013). By modeling the different ways to create adverbs the teacher made the
material comprehensible to her students. In Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, and Word Analyses
for Teachers, it shows you different generalizations of syllabication and structural analysis, such
as the amount of vowels are in the words read, feed, coat, and rain, being one, one, two, vowel,
and silent. This relates to what I did in my tutoring session in focusing on words with -ay, -oa,
-ea, and ai.
I can apply RICA Competency 7, Syllabic Analysis, Structural Analysis, and
Orthographic Knowledge by displaying several sentences each with different targets (suffix,
prefix, or root words) on a designated word wall, I can refer back to the sentences posted around
the classroom, identifying and having students identify the target, I can have the students work to
identify the meaning of the target word, and I can provide more words with similar elements to
help students build their word identification skills, in order to reach the goal of automaticity, the
effortless and rapid identification of words- and it cannot be stressed enough how important this
is (Zarrillo, 2011, pg. 58). By doing this, it helps the struggling readers to identify words and
quit avoiding reading due to the lack of understanding.

Works Cited
Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). California teaching performance
Expectations. Retrieved from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educatorprep/TPA-files/TPEs-Full Version.pdf
Wilson, R. M., Hall, M., Leu, D. J., & Kinzer, C. K. (2006). Phonics, Phonemic
Awareness, and Word
Analysis for Teachers: An Interactive Tutorial, (9th ed.).
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Zarrillo, J. J. (2011). Ready for Revised RICA: A Test Preparation Guide For Californias
Reading
Instruction Competence Assessment. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.