PARENT TIP SHEET
The following is based on a presentation I’m scheduled to give next week to a group of parent educators in St. Louis. Here are some of the key ideas from that presentation.
Key Take Aways From My Presentation
- About those reading wars: The past 50 years has seen a spirited debate on how to best teach beginning readers. This presentation is based on a balanced, middle of the road approach. For most children phonics needs to be taught. However, there are several ways to teach phonics (see my blog posts under the categories Decoding & Phonics and Ending The Reading Wars). I argue that since research supports the position that no one beginning reading method works with every child, that the key to successful reading instruction in early reading is to match the child up with a method that works for them. Fit the program to the child not the other way round. Starting with the First Grade Studies and through the work of Dick Allington research has consistently demonstrated that teachers make more difference than any one method. This means that in-servicing teachers in a variety of methods is critical to creating successful early reading programs. Participants are cautioned to examine the claims of some successful one size fits all “reading” programs. Too often these programs based their claims on measures of decoding skills only. The proponents seem to argue that reading achievement and comprehension automatically follow once decoding skills are established. Extensive work with comprehension is delayed, often until third grade. Teachers like myself who have worked with children who are the product of such approaches are skeptical. Too often such an approach produces “word callers”, children who decode well but don’t remember or understand what is read. These children can be mistaken for children who have learning disabilities. This presenter takes issue with any approach that fails to include meaning making as part of the reading process. I recommend an approach that teaches decoding strategies and comprehension strategies concurrently from the very beginning stages of reading instruction.
- Ages and stages When should formal instruction on letters sounds and letter names begin, how should that be done? We will review research like that presented in http://www.theorganizedmindhq.com/reading-too-soon/?fbclid=IwAR0XtYp8TuvrDHiTclb9_J4nLI0A_-MKBw79WjAV-A6zTkTTirUznYtnrhc The conclusion is that for the early years (birth through three), it is counterproductive to try to directly teacher letter sounds and names. The brain literally isn’t ready for that yet. The key is to use a discovery approach to learning. Parents need to create a print rich environment in which children learn all the various Concepts About Print (print carries the message, in English writing goes from left to right, et. al). At this stage it is vital that children have things read to them, talk about things that are read, hear the various sounds that make up our English language. This work in ages birth through three lays the foundation (creates the schema) for the formal instruction about how words work, letter sounds and letter names et. al. That instruction can (and should) begin starting no sooner than age 4. Many children will leave the early stage (birth through 3) already knowing letter sounds and names. For those who don’t, instruction in those things can be provided using method(s) that best fit each particular child.
THE NEXT FEW SECTIONS REFERENCE THE PARENT HELPSHEET I WILL DISTRUBUTE TO THE PARTCIPANTS OF THE PRESENTATION
- Supporting the emergent reader- Helping them Work for Words
While your child is reading to you, if they are stuck on a word don’t just give them the word. Instead try to help them work it out using the tips above. If they still don’t get it, then give it to them. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many words they’ll get on their own if you just give them that first sound to start with.
Also, everyone can make mistakes on their first cold read of a passage. If the child is in the habit of noticing their mistakes and correcting them THAT IS HUGE. Encourage it whenever it happens.
- Supporting the emergent reader- Reading to Remember/Talking About Books
You can ask about any one of these three things (not all three at once!). Use any of these three as a starting point to talk about the book. You can also ask them about favorite characters or favorite parts or new things they learned. THIS IS NOT AN EXAM. The idea is to get them to talk about their story. Knowing that you want to talk about their book encourages them to READ TO REMEMBER!
- Supporting the emergent reader- Learning to Book Shop/Visiting the Library
Shop for books by interests not by level. Help them find that series or author that they want and they may “binge read”. Binge reading beats binge watching Netflix all to pieces! If the book they want is to hard for them to decode, still check it out and read it to them. Read it more than once. Share the reading with them. Make it a goal to visit the library periodically and check out books for them, books about things they are interested in!!!
OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS
- Reading Like a Story Teller
Rasinski & Smith Have a wonderful book called The Megabook of Fluency. Use the EARS rubric from that book to guide you into better fluency. Read with Expression, Automatic Word Recognition, Rhythm and Phrasing, Smoothness. The rubric is on page 316 of the book. Also check out their help sheet about reading with expression found on page 309. In addition to these two resources, the book has tons of other activities parents can do to help their child read with fluency (PROSODY!).
- Supporting the emergent reader- Parents Should Act Like Books are Important & Wonderful (Because they are!)
Books can be (and should be) presents. With Christmas coming up look over some of these suggestions for books for preschoolers and emergent readers.
https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/50-chapter-books-for-preschoolers-and-3-year-olds
https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/read-aloud-chapter-books-for-4-and-5-year-olds/
Most of these suggestions come from the website https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/aboutcontact/
I’ve found it to be an excellent site for getting literacy ideas to use with younger children.
Parents should think hard about making a book one of this year’s Christmas presents. It can be the start of a great family tradition.
So…, that’s the advice I’ll be giving to parent educators about what to say to parents. It’s advice that can set the child down the path of becoming a lifelong reader. It’s advice that’s grounded in a solid research base. It’s advice that can give their child a world of wonderful new experiences.
Happy Holidays- and KEEP READING READING READING!
Dr. Sam Bommarito (aka, book shopper, advice giver, lifelong learner)
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Copyright 2018 by Dr. Sam Bommarito. Views/interpretations expressed here are solely the view of this author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other person or organization.