LEARNING TO READ IS ALL ABOUT SKILL BUILDING
- Developers Devzmelbourne
- Sep 5, 2022
- 3 min read
We have to think about the ability to read in terms of skill-building through a content-rich curriculum. Reading and enjoying a beautiful novel is the end goal… Every time we embark on learning a new skill it takes time, effort, patience, repetition and energy. Learning to read is no different. Enjoying a book and getting lost in the spellbinding nature of print is the end goal–nobody ever starts with Dickens!
Remember, learning to ride your bike, baking a muffin for the first time, or playing an instrument. It is hard to do until we achieve mastery. Learning to read is no different-early reading resources have to engage, build skill and take learners on a journey of tiny steps towards mastery. The balance bike or training wheels when learning to ride your bike is the same as decodable resources when learning to read. Early literacy and how we teach our young to read is fraught with contention! And I am so tired of the debate.
There is a heap of research that points everybody in the right direction
It would be lovely to think we could bathe children in literature and they come out the other end – literate fluent beings. For many, this is just not the case, for some, it is, I have one of those – my eldest. He just got it. He was one of those children that just got the code and knew what to do with it. I have two other children that definitely needed explicit instruction.
Head to the bottom of this post to delve into some of my favourite research-based articles and podcasts.
The correct instruction turns an uphill battle into tiny sequential steps that lead to mastery over time
Daily reading sessions with our children right from the earliest moments will fill their heads with words, and this increases vocabulary and often helps little ones to develop the ability to rhyme. When we read with our kids and they read with us, talk about the sounds, letters and words. Meanings of words can be tricky and there are quite a few that have the same spelling or different spelling, same sound. Take bow (hair) and bow (boat) and flower and flour. Without discussion, meanings can get lost. Explicit instruction helps everybody to discover the joys of reading. Explicit instruction isn’t just for decoding. All children need to understand what they are reading, so explicit instruction when it comes to talking about the text is crucial too. As Snow and Juel stated in 2005
“Explicit teaching is helpful for all children, harmful for none, and crucial for some”
Discussion and games around words develop meaning, and in time this leads to impressive comprehension skills. Bring this together with effective decoding, and it is a great recipe for fluent reading.
Learning to read needs the correct resources that build tiny sequential steps all the way to mastery.
One of our favourite resources to use is this set of decodable readers by Phonics Books. Check out this post that highlights our favourite reads.
A while ago I made bookmarks to give to each of my students as we work through the Phonic Books series. I use Phonic Books as the main reader because they are just the right length and have warm, lovable characters all children can engage with. I use others for variety and you can find out more here. The original bookmarks are part of my Reading and Spelling Toolkit and help to explain the alphabet charts and movable alphabet. Check it out here.
To see a post all about word building and why I use it all the time. Go here.
I have had so many people ask about the bookmarks and if they could buy them separately? I give it some thought and decided they could be useful for all, so rearranged them to fit in a pdf of their own. To get your own copy of my hand painted vowel bookmarks that pair so well with decodable readers, go to the link here.
Below are my favourite articles, podcasts and videos that are very readable and easy on the ear about effective literacy instruction.
Three favourite articles about learning to read that are very readable for all:
The first three also have a podcast available!
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