Another reading war..... Really?? Doesn't the pendulum shift back and forth all the time? This war may be different..... There is science involved in this one!
Let's begin our PL journey of discovering the Science of Reading with this article
Four things you need to know about the new reading wars( click on the article title to access the article)
What are your thoughts? How could this impact your instruction?
Share below.
Rebecca Minerd
What do you mean by reading wars?
ReplyDeleteI myself agree with the these pillars, and was taught that way. I also feel whatever "label" is on them at the time, I think we teach those pillars. BTW-the main reason I love Dr. Seuss, is the sensible and nonsense words that promote phonemic awareness/phonics. :)
I found the link to the article. :) I have a different definition of "balanced literacy" or "whole language"...students MUST be taught ALL the pillars shown in order to reach ALL the needs of ALL the students (to me, that defines those terms much more accurately). Sure, some will respond to one pillar better than others, etc. Differentiation is the "balance" and the pillars are "parts" of the "whole".
DeleteLastly: I still use phonics & phonemic awareness in my own reading to this day. I am still exposed to words I have never seen and/or heard of, and without phonological awareness as well as a base knowledge of Greek and Latin roots, I wouldn't learn/understand what I am reading nearly as well.
I find my position aligns most with whole language teaching. I believe in Charlotte Mason's approach to teaching with living books. It challenges the modern teaching practice and creates an environment that is more conducive to creativity in learning. When flooding literature to children who are still learning, memorization of words comes naturally and there is no need for extra sight word practice. I concur with the idea of phonics but I just don't find concentration on them necessary. With relentless exposure to different texts context clues will become a habit and second nature. There is no need for level reading because the act of reading beyond your level is what challenges you and carries your understanding further. As an adult when I read I use context clues and find them more important than phonetical deciphering. Learning with living books creates a love for reading which conceptually is the most important building block when teaching reading. If a child grows up and learns to read but does not learn to love reading they are really missing out on a lifetime of learning. Although I do believe having a diversified approach I still strongly deem living books fundamental.
ReplyDeleteI am listening to an awesome podcast, "Sold a Story". Check it out! Great information!
ReplyDeleteIt is such a wonderful podcast!
DeleteI thought this article was very interesting! Definitely an "eye opener" as a parent to a beginning reader. Phonemic Awareness (phonics) serves as a foundation to good reading habits. That in return, will help with sight words, reading comprehension, and all the domains of reading. It will also allow certain concepts to not be taught in isolation, but combined with a good phonics curriculum.
ReplyDeleteYou have the best perspective of all of us.... a teacher and a parent!
DeleteI feel as if I have been wearing rose colored glasses for most of my teaching career and they have now been removed. After listening to the podcast "Sold a Story" and reading various articles such as this, I believe I am becoming more informed.
ReplyDeleteI agree Elizabeth that the podcast brought so much into focus. One thing that I keep thinking about is when Lacy Robinson talked about learning phonics when she learned to read and that she in turn taught her grandmother to read by decoding words! That was such a huge moment.
DeleteI really liked the article that was emebedded in the original article titled, "Three Lessons on Data from Children's Reading Habits." It's no surprise that the act of reading increases comprehension. However, the numbers and statistics are amazing.
ReplyDeleteLots of thoughts... but I especially loved the Science and Social Studies shout out! The text states, “Over the long term, kids’ reading achievement is driven substantially by whether they’re getting access to the content, the science and social studies and things about the world because what you understand from what you read depends on whether you can hook it to concepts and topics that you have some knowledge about.” These two subjects are extremely important in not only providing an understanding of a wide variety of concepts and topics, but the engaging content and higher-level vocabulary/terminology also provide for the natural application and practice of reading skills, especially fluency and comprehension. We often hear that students struggle in these subjects due to poor reading abilities; however, I believe it is because of the reading exposure these two subjects that students become stronger readers.
ReplyDeleteThere a lot if growing evidence out there and a beginning debate about skills vs. background knowledge and what is more beneficial for reading comprehension.
ReplyDelete