Teaching Reading Effectively
Various Approaches to Reading Instruction
"To Become Fluent Readers and Writers Students NEED to Read and Write Every Day"
What is the "Whole Language" Approach to Teaching Reading?
According to Dr. Monica Bomengen; In the simplest terms, the “whole language approach” is a method of teaching children to read by recognizing words as whole pieces of language. Proponents of the whole language philosophy believe that language should not be broken down into letters and combinations of letters and “decoded.” Instead, they believe that language is a complete system of making meaning, with words functioning in relation to each other in context.
What is the "Phonics-Based" Approach to Teaching Reading?
According to Dr. Monica Bomengen; Phonics-based reading instruction is a methodology for teaching young children to read and spell words. The teacher introduces a series of spelling rules and teaches the child to apply phonetics (how the letter combinations sound out loud) to decode words based on their spellings. Phonics attempts to break written language down into small and simple components.
What is the "Best Approach"?
How do Children Develop As Readers?
Emergent Readers
Emergent readers notice environmental print, show interest in books, pretend to read, use picture cues and predictable patterns in books to retell the story. Emergent readers also reread familiar books with predictable patterns, identify some letter names and recognize 5-20 familiar or high-frequency words. A few instructional recommendations for readers at the emergent stage include introducing the title and author of books before reading, read aloud to children, read big books and poems on charts using shared reading, and to encourage children to make predictions and text-to-self connections.
Beginning Readers
Beginning readers identify letter names and sounds, match spoken words to written words, use beginning, middle, and ending sounds to decode words, and self-correct while reading. Beginning readers also read orally, read slowly, word by word, point to words when reading, make reasonable predictions, and recognize 20-100 high-frequency words. A few instructional recommendations for readers at the beginning stage include provide daily opportunities to read and reread books independently, teach phonics concepts and rules, read leveled books during guided reading lessons, have children write in reading logs and participate in grand conversations, and teach the elements of story structure, particularly beginning, middle, and end.
Fluent Readers
Fluent readers identify most words automatically, read with expression, prefer to read silently and most often independently, read at a rate of 100 words per minute or more and make inferences. Fluent readers recognize 100-300 high-frequency words, use a variety of strategies effectively, and use knowledge of text structure and genre to support comprehension. A few instructional recommendations for readers at the fluent stage include having children participate in literature circles and reading workshop, teach about genres and other text features, involve children in author and genre students, and have children respond to books through talk and writing.
What is Phonemic Awareness?
Phonemic Awareness is children's basic understanding that speech is composed of a series of individual sounds, and it provides the foundation for phonics and spelling (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001).
What strategies are effective for teaching phonemic awareness?
To become phonemically aware students must manipulate spoken language in the following way:
- Identifying Sounds-children identify a word that begins or ends with a particular sound. For example: when shown a bag, a heart, and a ball, they identify bag as the word that ends with /g/.
- Categorizing Sounds in Words-children recognize the "odd" word in a set of three words; for example, when the teacher says bag, bat, and pan, they recognize that pan does not belong.
- Substituting Sounds- children remove a sound from a word and substitute a different sound. The substitution can be at the beginning, changing hug to rug, for example. They can change the middle sound, making pan from pin, or substitute the ending sound changing rug to run.
- Blending Sounds-children blend two, three, or four individual sounds to form a word; the teacher says /s/ /u/ /n/, for example, and the children repeat the sounds, blending them to form the word sun.
- Segmenting Sounds-children break a word into its beginning, middle, and ending sounds. For example, children segment the word duck into /d/ /u/ /k/.
What is Phonics?
Phonics is the set of relationships between phonology (the sounds in speech), and orthography (the spelling system). Emphasis is placed on spelling patterns, not individual letters, because there is not a one-to-one correspondence between phonemes and graphemes in English.
What Strategies are effective for teaching phonics?
Phonics is best taught through a combination of explicit instruction and authentic application activities.
- Program should be systematic
- Begin with consonants and then introduce short vowels; this allows students to be able to read and spell CVC-pattern words, such as pin and sun
- Continue on with consonant blends and digraphs and long vowels; this allows students to be able to read CVCe-pattern words and CVVC-pattern words
- Finally; children will learn the less common vowel digraphs and diphthongs
- Children also learn strategies to utilize when identifying unfamiliar words-the three most useful strategies are: sounding out words, decoding by analogy, and applying phonics rules
What is the difference between phonemic awareness and phonics?
Difference between Phonemic Awareness and Phonics
Why Spelling Instruction?
Chapter 5 of the text stated; "Two of the most important ways that children learn to spell are through daily reading and writing activities. If children are to become good spellers, they need to learn about the English orthographic system and move through the stages of spelling development.
A complete spelling program must include these components:
- Teaching spelling strategies
- Matching instruction to children's level of spelling development
- Providing daily reading and writing opportunities
- Teaching children to spell high-frequency words
What Strategies are effective for teaching spelling?
- Minilessons
- Word Walls
- Word-Study Activities (hands-on activities)
- Making Words
- Word Ladders
- Word Sorts
- Interactive Writing
- Proofreading
- Dictionary Use
What strategies are effective for teaching English Language Learners?
Teachers scaffold English Language Learners oral language acquisition and literacy development in the following ways:
- Explicit Instruction
- Small-Group Work
- Reading Aloud to Children
- Build Background Knowledge
- Provide Authentic Literacy Activities
- Oral Language (opportunities to practice speaking English with partners and in small groups)
Chapter 6 of the text stated; "The more reading children do, the sooner they'll reach writing fluency; and the more writing children do, the sooner they'll achieve reading fluency."
Source
Tompkins, Gail (2014). Literacy in the early grades: a successful start for PK-4 readers and writers. 4th edition. Pearson Education.
Who is the Literacy Leader that prepared this resource?
Hello-My name is Amanda Lettner and as a Literacy Leader I have prepared this resource to assist and guide you in Teaching Reading Effectively in your first year of teaching. Best of Luck to you and feel free to contact me with any questions that may arise.
What is a favorite read aloud book of our Literacy Leader?
One of my favorite read aloud books for the fall season that I typically bring out in October is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. This story tells of a little old lady who was not afraid of anything until one evening when she goes out for a walk in the woods. While on her walk she encounters numerous objects with distinct sounds along the way that try to scare her. You will have to read the book to find out if she is scared or not. Happy Reading!!!
What is a favorite series of our Literacy Leader?
One of my favorite series is The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. If you haven't read this series yet I highly recommend that you head to your local library or nearby bookstore to begin the first book; The Hunger Games. May the odds be ever in your favor.
How do I get my students excited about reading?
Share this youtube video with your students or better yet make your own video to motivate and get them excited about reading. I hope you enjoy this fun video titled Read It Maybe?
Read it Maybe?