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Segmenting: A Critical Skill for Spelling

segmenting featured graphic

If your student is a beginning or struggling speller, one of the most important things you can do is teach him how to segment words. Knowing how to segment opens up a whole world of literacy. In fact, it’s surprising that this important spelling skill isn’t taught more widely, especially given how easy it is to teach.

This blog post explains what segmenting is, how to teach it, and how to apply it to your spelling lessons.

And be sure to grab the free printable so you can start teaching segmenting right away!

What Is Segmenting?

Segmenting is the ability to hear the individual sounds in words. It improves phonological awareness and long-term spelling ability.

Think of segmenting as the opposite of blending. When we speak, we blend sounds together to make a word. In segmenting, we take the individual sounds apart. For example, say the word ham aloud and listen for the three separate sounds:

Segmenting the word "ham"

In the word shrimp, there are five separate speech sounds. Even though there are six letters, the SH phonogram represents the single sound of /sh/.

Segmenting the word "shrimp"

How Do You Teach Segmenting?

A great way to start is with this “Breaking Words Apart” activity.

download graphic for a segmenting activity

In this segmenting activity, your child will learn how to hear the sounds in short words. He’ll break apart two-sound words and three-sound words so that later he will be able to represent each sound with a written phonogram.

Segmenting can also be taught using tokens, coins, or squares of paper. You can see a demonstration in the video below.

Moving from Segmenting to Spelling

After your child is able to segment words into speech sounds using tokens, move on to segmenting words using letter tiles or the letter tiles app. It is a simple transition: the student still segments the word aloud, but instead of pulling down a token, he pulls down a letter tile for each sound.

There are three basic steps.

  1. Dictate the word, and then point to the tiles to indicate to the student that it is his turn to use the tiles.
  2. Segmenting - dictate the word "had"
  3. The student segments the word aloud, pulling down a tile for each sound.
  4. Segmenting - student spells with letter tiles
  5. The student reads the word he just spelled. Reading the word enables the student to self-correct if he has made a mistake.
Segmenting - student reads the word he just spelled

After segmenting words with the letter tiles, the student is ready to move on to spelling with paper and pencil. The student can eventually go straight from hearing a dictated word to writing on paper, segmenting the word in his head if necessary.

For More Help with Teaching Spelling

Segmenting - 20 Best Tips for teaching Reading and Spelling

Find more great tips for teaching spelling in my free report, “20 Best Tips for Teaching Reading and Spelling.”

This report gives you a glimpse into the proven strategies we’ve used to help over 150,000 amazing children (and adults) learn to read and spell.

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Ssebuggwaawo Robinah Catherine

says:

Simple, interesting and applicable.
Thank you.

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re so welcome! Thank you.

Janet otieno

says:

This one is useful to me, and is it possible to segment words with 8-10 letters

Robin

says: Customer Service

Janet,
Yes, it is! However, words with so many letters are words that have multiple syllables. Words are segmented syllable by syllable. So, first, the word is divided into syllables, and then each syllable is segmented.

So, for example, the word fantastic. First, it is divided into its three syllables, fan – tas- tic. Then each syllable is segmented, fan – /f/-/a/-/n/, tas – /t/-/a/-/s/, tic – /t/-/i/-/k/.

I hope this helps, but let me know if you have more questions.

Janet otieno

says:

Thanks and I need to learn more for the preschoolers

Robin

says: Customer Service

Janet,
Segmenting is more of an advanced skill for older students. We don’t teach it until a child is already decoding beginning words well when spelling is first introduced. There are more foundational phonological awareness skills children need to master before they are ready to tackle segmenting. Check out our Fun Ways to Develop Phonological Awareness blog post.

Linda

says:

Thank you so much

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Linda!

Believer

says:

Hi. Thanks for this. What’s the difference between segmentation and isolation???

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great question!

Generally, in the context of learning reading and spelling, isolation has to do with students learning to pick out a single sound (phoneme) of a word. For example, a student will be asked to say what the last sound of “man” is. They would answer “/n/.” While working with isolation, students will learn to pick out the first, last, and middle sounds of a word; however, they are only asked to pick out one of the sounds at a time.

With segmentation, students are asked to pick out every sound in a syllable one after another and in proper order. Segmenting “cat” will be “/k/-/ă/-/t/.” Because of this, segmenting is a related but more difficult and complex skill. Students need to be comfortable with phoneme isolation before they are ready for segmenting.

Does this clear things up for you?

Subhash

says:

Great ideas for the kids who’re struggling with the spelling.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Subhash. Glad these are helpful.

Mallory Cook

says:

My son is a great reader but spelling, he has a hard time. I love that he can picture how to decode words thanks for the tiles and strategies we’ve learned so far from AAR and AAS!

Helen Klein.

says:

Great ideas to help learners spell and read and write. Please send me more tips.
Thank you.
Helen.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Helen,
Please sign up for our weekly email newsletter to receive tips and information!

Pamela

says:

So much great information in your articles! Thank you so much!
Pam :)

Dawn Lewis

says:

Segmenting was such a help for my dyslexic son, he was finally able to pick out individual sounds that he could then match to graphemes when trying to spell a word. He still struggles with spelling and I wish our local schools would use this spelling and reading program, but the help working through levels at home has given him is brilliant. And segmenting was something even his 4 yr old sister could join in with and enjoy!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I am very happy to hear that working through All About Spelling at home is helping your son, Dawn. Yes, it would be nice if all schools would implement programs that were incremental, explicit, and research-based so all children could benefit. There has been a lot of news about such things in recent years, so hopefully education is trending that way.

Justina

says:

This article is very helpful! I can’t wait to incorporate this activity with my kids!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I’m glad this is helpful, Justina!

Tracey

says:

Segmenting words in AAS has helped my struggling reader so much with sounding out words. I never dreamed how much AAS would help her reading!

Robin

says: Customer Service

Tracey,
Yes! One of my sons kept telling me how he was what he was learning in spelling in his reading. He was applying the syllable division rules he learned to aid in sounding out unfamiliar multisyllable words. Having solid skills for approaching unknown words is a huge confidence builder!

Eunah

says:

Very helpful tips! Is ‘Breaking Words Apart’ activity incorporated in AAS level 1?

Robin

says: Customer Service

Eunah,
Level 1 of All About Spelling teaches the concept and skill of segmenting words, but it does not include this specific activity.

Cindy

says:

Should a child be doing this in level 1?

Robin

says: Customer Service

Good question, Cindy. Yes. A child should be segmenting words into their individual sounds from the beginning of Level 1 of All About Spelling. In fact, segmenting words into sounds is the focus of the second lesson of that level.

Cindy

says:

Thank you. I want to make sure I’m doing this right ☺️

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome! I’m happy to help.

RS

says:

This article on segmenting is very helpful! Thank you!!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You are very welcome, RS!

Brooke Honeycutt

says:

This is a great way to help kids who struggle with sounds! My son does and I have not been able to figure out how to get thru to him! Thanks for this!

Robin

says: Customer Service

I hope this helps your son, Brooke. But if he continues to have difficulties, let me know. I’m happy to help!

Stephanie

says:

I’m looking forward to doing more oral segmenting with my struggling kiddos! I’ve done it with the letter tiles, but I think I need to go back to just the oral stuff with some of them. Thanks for the video and tips!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Stephanie! One of the great things about working on oral segmenting is that you can do it anywhere. I often practiced such skills while driving to the store or other errands.

Kayla Ayers

says:

Thank you! Working on this with my 10 year old and it’s helping him so much

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great to hear, Kayla! You’re welcome.

Chrystal H

says:

Thanks so much for the tip! I am really looking forward to starting the curriculum with my kiddos!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Chrystal!

If you have questions, need help with placement, or anything, just ask. I’m happy to help!

Nova S

says:

thank you for this guide!!

Robin

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Nova!

Wendy Browne

says:

Segmenting is a really interesting and helpful tool.

Robin

says: Customer Service

So true, Wendy! Thank you.

Mel

says:

Thanks for the great tips!

Kelli Ross

says:

Thank you for sharing

bn100

says:

helpful info

Bethany

says:

Thanks for all the great info!!

Justin

says:

Thanks for all the great blog posts!

Crystal

says:

This totally works! We have our kids segment words, helps me to :)

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great to know segmenting is helping you and your kids, Crystal!

Cristina

says:

Thanks for the tips!

Lauren Thornton

says:

All about reading is the best! We have not started all about spelling but my daughter already can spell with her AAR experience.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Great to hear that All About Reading is working so well for your daughter, Lauren!

Donna Kozar

says:

Great tip