Children using Discover Intensive Phonics for Yourself at the chalkboard.

Discover Intensive Phonics and DIBELS Correlation

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. DIBELS are used to monitor the development of pre-reading and early reading skills. Below is a list of DIBELS components and the Discover Intensive Phonics solution that can help you meet these requirements.

DIBELS

  • Initial Sound Fluency (ISF)
  • Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF)
  • Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF)
  • Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)
  • Oral Reading Fluency (DORF) and Retell Fluency (RTF)
  • Word Use Fluency (WUF)

Discover Intensive Phonics

Initial Sound Fluency (ISF)

  • Students are assessed in initial sound identification in the Progress Assessment and Phonemic Awareness segments then practice initial sound identification in Phonemic Awareness Activities. The software teaches the name of the picture and the initial phoneme sound, and the student uses the mouse to identify the picture that begins with that sound. Initial Sound Fluency is reinforced throughout the computer lessons with introduction of each letter-sound.
  • Ending and middle sounds are also identified in the Progress Assessment/Phonemic Awareness segment and Phonemic Awareness Activities.
  • Results are recorded in a progress report.

Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF)

  • In Phonemic Awareness Activities, the computer says a word (picture), focusing on the phonemes in the word. The student is asked to identify how many phonemes are in the word by “pulling down” graphics to correspond with the number of individual phonemes in the word (picture).
  • In the Progress Assessment/ Phonemic Awareness segment, the computer pronounces a word and asks the student to identify how many phonemes are in the word. The administrator acknowledges the response on the computer by pressing Y (yes) or N (no). Results are recorded in a progress report.
  • Assessed in Interim Test 1. The computer narrator says a word, and the student must type the letters of the sounds heard.

Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF)

  • Nonsense words are assessed in Progress Assessment/Word Recognition-Nonsense Word segment. A teacher or aide administers the test to students. The computer displays a word, and the student is given one attempt to say the correct pronunciation. The administrator records the response on the computer. If a sound is incorrect, the computer will “ask” for the sound to be identified, and the results are recorded in a report.
  • Nonsense words are also assessed in Interim tests and recorded to a report. The concept is taught throughout the entire program in computer lessons and teacher direct instruction (manuals).

Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)

  • Individual consonants and vowels are taught. The concept of sliding sounds together (initial consonant to vowel) is also taught in Lesson Summary 1 and in Lessons 2-30.
  • Identifying the letter name is assessed in Interim Test 1.
  • Computer says the name of the letter (referring to upper- and lowercase), and the student identifies the letter with the mouse.
  • The student is “rewarded” for a correct response.

Oral Reading Fluency (DORF)

  • Stories with controlled vocabulary (Little Books) are incorporated. These stories correlate with the phonic skills that are systematically taught in each section.

Retell Fluency (RTF)

  • Comprehension and recall (literal and inferential) questions are asked at the end of each of the Little Books.
  • High frequency words are listed with each story.

Word Use Fluency (WUF)

  • Alluded to: When introducing a new word, a definition is given, and the word is used in oral context on the computer program.

Discover Intensive Phonics provides additional assessments in Word Recognition to determine the grade level for readability in students.