Nationally
Only 32% of 4th graders are reading on Grade Level….. It gets worse…. Only 29% of 8th graders are considered proficient in reading…..
Check out the NAEP report if you want to fact check… ( click on the report for the link)
What does current research and science say about reading and how we should be teaching it?
There are LOTS of research out there but here are the basics…
What is the Science of Reading ( click on the article title for the link)
Learning to read is not a natural process…
The NRP gave us five key concepts that should be included in reading instruction..
We have to teach these concepts explicitly, systematically, and cumulatively
Big Difference between this and Balanced Literacy with the 3 cueing methods….. Do we even try to blend the two…..?
But what now…. Do we believe this? If so, what are our next steps?
No, wait…… What is our FIRST step?
Can’t wait to read your thoughts!
I am happy to see Coweta County leading us in the direction of structured literacy. My hope is that we can take this piece and add it in to our existing strategies that we know work well. Often, when something new comes along there is that pendelum shift, and some throw everything else out the window. I am hoping we can merge this new knowlege in a way that that creates the best learning experiences for our students.
ReplyDeleteI agree, we have to take this information and apply to what our students need.
DeleteAfter reading this article, I am more baffled than ever! The NAEP has been reporting this data about fourth graders for the past 10-15 years, and nothing has changed. As teachers, you believe that you are teaching the five pillars of early literacy, you believe that you are doing the right thing; so I'm wondering what is the problem? Where are the holes? Are we beginning literacy in the correct grade levels with the correct resources. Apparently, this article explains that their is a "right way" and our kids are missing it. I always look for new ways to teach, otherwise; I will teach how I was taught and that was through memorization or context clues OR in my years "you better just learn it" by any means necessary. As a teacher, I focus a lot on comprehension and vocabulary, but with the upper grades, sometimes I lack teaching phonics or phonemic awareness - I just correct them and give my students the correct word or answer vs. letting them us what's in their schema to figure it out. I still have so many thoughts, but I'll stop here!
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot here ( in the blog) to digest. Your questions are valid regarding past reading instruction not matching the Science.
DeleteThe exponential effect of knowing 10 sight words vs. 10 letter sounds was dramatic and telling. I am that person who doesn't embrace huge pendulum shifts, but when it comes to all that I am hearing and reading about cueing and balance literacy, I am embracing this major shift. The next step for me is taking this knowledge and paying close attention to students as they read in order to help change their reading habits if cueing strategies appear to be what they are using. I am also now starting our reading lesson by stating, "as we read we need to look at the entire word so that we are reading the word that the author wrote, not what we think she wrote." I have been also commenting when students decode an unfamiliar word by taking time to sound it out, I want them to hear from me that they are reading when they do this versus rushing through unfamiliar words to get to the safe familiar word. Hopefully this will empower students to recognize that decoding while reading is indeed learning and reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree, shifting always occurs and we need to ensure that it is the best for our students....... Based on all the research, I think this is.
DeleteThis blog post contains ALOT of helpful information, and I am glad Coweta County is looking at this research. The stats speak for themselves: We've missed something along the way, and we can't teach the same and expect different results. The Science of Reading needs to be discussed in all schools at all levels so we can make corrections and better prepare our students.
ReplyDeleteI found these articles very interesting. As a kindergarten teacher, I did not spend as much time on morphology. I always felt is was more over their heads but now in second grade i am seeing how important this piece of the pillar is with vocabulary. I think that all five pillars are a lot to do with kindergarten but I see each pillar weighted differently as the child progresses in their phonemic acquisition. I think as teachers we need to learn to balance how much time/effort is given to teach each area of the pillars and as the students progress we can shift our focus. I think comprehension and vocabulary are important at every level but phonemic awareness and phonics are the priority in the beginning of learning to read. I also love the idea of ten sounds versus ten words! I saw that every year with students not thinking they can read and I was able to show them that they can because of knowing phonics!
ReplyDeleteThis is Angela!
DeleteWhen I read this, the numbers from the NAEP were absolutely shocking! Then finding out that the state of Georgia's percentages for both 4th grade and 8th grade are not significantly different from the national percentages...wow! Before listening to the "Sold a Story" podcast, I did not understand the three cueing methods or balanced literacy, since that is not how I was taught when growing up; however, now that I have a deeper understanding of them, I can appreciate that Coweta County is moving us in the direction of the five pillars of early literacy that emphasize the importance of phonics. I found this quote from "What is the Science of Reading '' especially powerful - "learning phonics empowers students". As I am working with students and we are reading various texts, I am reminding them to look at each letter in an unknown word and to sound them out to help them decode the word. With younger students, I model how to sound out words and we sound out words together, as a way to further develop their decoding skills. Understanding the relationships between letters & sounds and being able to decode are important pieces to becoming a successful reader.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anna for applying this when you instruct students. You work often with Tier 2 students so you can especially see the importance of this research
DeleteI read something on both "What is the Science of Reading" and The Coweta County Reading Instruction presentation that stuck out to me. We were given the statistic, "If a child memorizes ten words, then the child can read ten words. But, if the child can learn the sounds of ten letters, the child can read.. 350 three-sound words, 4,320 four-sound words, 21,650 five-sound words" which brings the focus for me away from sight word recognition and brings it to phonemic awareness. The 10 words vs 10 letter sounds really stuck out to me. While phonemic awareness improves the word recognition comes along with it. Many students have sight word goals but when focusing on phonemic awareness and phonics they will not have to use sight words as a list
ReplyDeleteof memorization.
That is a powerful quote!
DeleteThe statistics about memorizing words and learning letter sounds really shows the impact that phonemic awareness and phonics has on the student's ability to become a truly successful reader. I am happy to see that Coweta County is moving towards Science of Reading, but from my recent meetings with other Kindergarten teachers in the county not everyone believes that moving away from sight word memorization and into decodable and high frequency words is the way to help students become successful readers..
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer in decodable print for grades K-1 at least
DeleteI find the articles about the Science of Reading along with the NAEP Report to be truly insightful. Since the research is indicating that the students' reading levels are not improving as they are getting older, something needs to be done to help these students. I believe that the educators who supported other reading strategies besides phonic instruction had good intentions. However, if those other reading strategies are not working then it is time to use and apply what the research suggests really works. I am happy to see that Coweta County Schools is taking the time to really consider what the research says about the best ways to teach students to successfully read. Reading is such an important skill for all students to have. Providing students with the knowledge of how to use phonics to decode and accurately read words will enable students to learn important content knowledge of other important subjects as they continue learning through Middle School, High School, and throughout the rest of their lives.
ReplyDelete