SSSLIDE into Reading Big Words! A Strategy for Decoding Multisyllabic Words

Abstract

The ability to decode multisyllabic words significantly impacts fluency, automaticity, vocabulary, and comprehension ability. As students advance to the intermediate grades, this skill becomes increasingly critical as they are exposed to a greater volume of informational text containing a higher frequency of multisyllabic and unfamiliar words. Given the rising number of older children reading below grade level, it is essential for intermediate-grade teachers to employ effective and efficient strategies to teach multisyllabic word decoding. This article introduces SSSLIDE, a straightforward strategy that can be taught in just twelve 30-minute lessons, empowering students to decode most multisyllabic words and ultimately to make sense of what they read.