What should a teacher do when orthographic mapping the word "that"?

The process of orthographic mapping involves connecting the sounds (phonemes) in a word to its written form (graphemes). When working with the word "that," breaking it down into its individual phonemes is essential for helping students understand the relationship between sounds and letters. This step allows learners to identify and map each sound to its corresponding letter or letters, facilitating their ability to read and spell the word correctly.

By focusing on the phonemes in "that"—/th/, /a/, and /t/—students can visualize how these sounds correspond to the letters. This practice is foundational in literacy development, as it strengthens students' ability to decode and encode words, ultimately improving their reading and writing skills.

The other options do not effectively support the goal of orthographic mapping. Creating rhymes does not teach the association between phonemes and graphemes. Spelling the word backward does not aid in understanding the structure or sounds of the word. Dictating the word for students to write, while useful in other contexts, doesn't specifically address the mapping of phonemes to graphemes in a way that reinforces the understanding of the word "that."