A student reads the word "ship" as "sip." Which of the following is the best instructional strategy for helping the student?

The best instructional strategy for helping the student who reads "ship" as "sip" is to introduce the student to blends and digraphs, focusing on the /sh/ sound. This approach is effective because the confusion arises from the misrecognition of the /sh/ phoneme, which is a digraph made up of two letters that create a single sound. By explicitly teaching the sound associated with the "sh" combination through direct instruction and practice, the student can learn to differentiate it from similar sounds like /s/.

By focusing on blends and digraphs, the student will develop a clearer understanding of how specific letter combinations create unique sounds, ultimately improving their decoding skills. This foundational knowledge is essential for reading more complex words accurately in the future.

In contrast, the other strategies may not directly address the specific issue of phoneme recognition that is evident in the student’s misreading. Teaching about short and long vowels does not target the specific consonant blend issue, while practicing sight words or using picture cards helps with recognition and vocabulary, but may not support decoding unfamiliar words that contain digraphs.