Kourtney Goodman

                                                            Learning to Read

            Learning how to read is a developmental process just like learning how to walk.  Children go through many different phases and not every child goes through that phase at the same time.  Although there isn’t a strict guideline for when children complete each developmental stage, a lot of children follow a pattern.  Teachers and parents should be aware of these stages so that they can guide children through them and do whatever they can to help. 

            According to a publication by the National Institute for Professional Practice; children go through some basic developmental processes that can be tracked:

·         Awareness and Exploration of Reading Stage (typically pre-K)

·         Emergent Reading Stage (typically pre-K to early Kindergarten)

·         Early Reading Stage (typically Kindergarten to early Grade 1)

·         Transitional Reading Stage (typically late Grade 1 to Grade 2)

·         Fluent Reading Stage (typically Grade 3 and higher)

These stages can give teachers a starting point to base their instruction off of.  Then, as they discover where their students fall on the spectrum they can tailor instruction to reach all students.  A great way to do this is with small group activities.  By grouping students with peers that are at the same level, they can develop and learn from one another on a more one-on-one basis with the teacher.  Students can work through reading activities that will enrich their vocabulary and their comprehension abilities. 

            Starting at birth, it is important to expose children to various types of literature.  Considering that comprehension develops immensely in the first year, this is the time that children can really benefit from this exposure.  Although children (usually) can’t speak until their first birthday, they are learning the meaning of words.  They respond to music, commands, and try to communicate in their own way in their first year, by reading to them you are only enriching that knowledge that they are trying to develop. 

            By kindergarten, some students are able to read, and some are not.  A lot of this has to do with how much they have been exposed to at home.  Although teachers do as much as they can, it is extremely beneficial to have the support of the parents/caregivers.  According to the National Reading Panel during one of their conventions, parent involvement was a key concept.  Children need to be enriched at home to reinforce what is being taught at school.  While at school, teachers will integrate the five components of effective reading instruction into their lesson plans. 

Phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, reading comprehension, and vocabulary will all be discussed and explored in the classroom.  Students will learn how to sound things out, how to recognize word sounds and how to make them, how to read at a reasonable pace, how to understand what they are reading, and what the words mean.  As they get more proficient with the basics of each component, they will be able to build on this knowledge. 

During observations, I have been able to witness these lessons and see how effective continued direction with these topics can be.  The teacher will begin by introducing a new word.  The students will have to sound the word out and use it in example phrases.  Then, the teacher may move on to another activity such as reading a book and having the students point out the word within the book.  This continues to reinforce this new information and give students various examples of how they can sound it out, identify it, and use it.

As these lessons continue, students will learn to sound out the words on their own.  They will begin to read introductory books independently and will become more fluent.  As this happens, teachers will require students to do more of the reading on their own and then ensure that they have understood what they have read by asking comprehension questions.  It is still helpful to utilize small group instruction during this time.  This way, if students have not understood something within the story, the teacher can work with a smaller group to find out where/why the misunderstanding occurred. 

As the students learn how to use these components as tools, they will learn how to direct themselves as they read independently.  They will learn how to work through all of these aspects of reading on their own so that they can comprehend the reading.  These processes will become more natural and eventually, they will become fluent readers.  Some students will require more help during this process, but as long as teachers and parents work together, they can achieve this goal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                            Work Cited

"National Institute for Professional Practicewilkes University." Developmental Stages of               

            Learning to Read. 2014 National Institute for Professional Practice, n.d. Web. 13 Sept.    

            2014.  

"Teaching Children to Read: An Evience Based Assessment of the Scientific Literature on

            Reading and Its' Implications for Reading Instruction." National Reading Panel, n.d.

            Web. 13 Sept. 2014.