Lower decoding skills may indicate a need for instruction in...

Lower decoding skills often indicate that a student may struggle to blend phonemes effectively. Decoding is the ability to sound out words by recognizing the relationship between letters and sounds, which is foundational for reading. Phoneme blending involves taking individual sounds (or phonemes) and merging them to form words. When students have difficulties with decoding, it suggests they might not be proficient in identifying and blending these sounds together, which is crucial for reading fluency and comprehension.

In contrast, the other options focus on skills that, while important, do not directly address the fundamental skill of blending sounds necessary for decoding. Grammar rules pertain to sentence structure and language use rather than the basic mechanics of reading. Literary analysis involves examination and interpretation of texts, which typically assumes a certain level of reading proficiency already. Creative writing emphasizes generating original content and might not address underlying decoding issues that need to be resolved first. Therefore, instruction in phoneme blending is essential for improving decoding skills and developing a strong reading foundation.