Have we forgotten that play is the way our youngest learners learn? Have we forgotten that some readers learn best from other forms of phonics? By Doctor Sam Bommarito

I wanted to say more about two of the issues raised in the joint statement post that Michelle Ruhe and I wrote a few weeks ago. As you may remember, Michelle is a teacher who is concerned about the way literacy is being taught in some places. LINK.

First, in their zeal to get children off to an early start in reading, the social media advocates of SoR are ignoring important research in the field of early childhood. Here is a post I did about play. This interview with Jorden Page was done in preparation for my presentation at an early childhood conference.

A key takeaway from that interview is this: Early Readers use play to learn the foundational skills they need for reading. Using play in this manner fits their developmental stage. The practices being forced into early childhood programs by the SoR social media folks do not. Links to books that demonstrate the important role of play in early childhood, can be found in the blog post about the interview. The books offer both useful classroom ideas and insights into how play affects the brain. LINK

Second, while many children benefit from a synthetic phonics program, some don’t. SoR’s one-size-fits-all approach to teaching phonics fails to address the needs of students who would learn best from an alternate approach.LINK, LINK. When reviewing the blog entry below, please note that some children do not learn from synthetic phonics. They need a constructivist-based learning experience, such as those found in analytic phonics programs. These programs are grounded in discovery learning and constructivist principles. In addition, there are other children who have already mastered the phonics skills being taught and are frustrated by having to learn things they already know. Failing to allow these students to continue advancing is hindering their reading progress.

Overall, I remain convinced that the best course of action to improve reading instruction would be to create local programs that draw on ideas and practices from both sides (all sides) of the so-called reading debate.

Until next time: Happy Reading and Writing.

Dr. Sam Bommarito (aka, the guy in the middle taking flak from all sides)

Copyright 2025 by Dr. Sam Bommarito. Views/interpretations expressed here are solely this author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of any other person or organization.