Code Focused Instruction Research Paper

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

Learning provision for literacy development is important for pupils for several reasons. When pupils are developing their language skills they are learning to communicate with others in a variety of ways through speaking reading and writing. The three areas of language interact with each other to promote the child’s self expression and imagination. Children need to be given opportunity’s to use and extend their language in all subject areas so they can develop higher level thinking. [ Louise burnham, Brenda Baker,2010,pg206]

Learning to read is beginning to develop earlier in elementary grades. Students are expected to be emergent readers by the time he or she leaves kindergarten and enters first grade. If a child is not, he or she is labeled as being behind. According to Hughes (2007) emergent readers are using early reading strategies in consistently, read easy patterned text, retell text with simple storyline, and respond to text at a literal level. Hughes (2007) also says literacy develops in young children through play, daily conversation and interactions with text of all kinds. Many children come with emergent literacy skills; can recognize signs and labels, scribble letters, retell stories by pointing at pictures and talking about them, and some have varying degrees of phonemic and phonological awareness. This essay will define and explain implication for each theory in learning to read.

However, the second method being discussed in this paper, the whole language approach, focuses much of its attention on making sure the student understands and enjoys what he or she is reading. Whole language instruction occurs when a student acquires language rather than learning it through direct instruction (Brooks 35-36). This method is more child centered than teacher dominated, because the objective is for the student to learn how to read through talking and doing rather than through passive listening. Unlike phonics, whole language uses a variety of ways to give students the opportunity to interact with the text they are reading. Questioning, discussing, problem-solving, listening, writing, drawing, and dramatizing are among the ways students interact with text. Students are also encouraged to implement simple strategies while reading such as: reading the sentence and guessing what word will come next, looking at the picture on the page to help figure out the sentence, and also rereading the sentence for clarification. This method also does a good job in allowing the students to engage in text at their own speed and often in their own ways (36).

In primary schools, literacy is taught through things such as Phonics. In 2012, The Department for Education (DfE) introduced a phonics screening check for pupils at the end of year 1. The check asks pupils to read 40 words, of which 20 are pseudo-words. This allows teachers to identify which pupils have a genuine grasp of decoding and which pupils are in need of further support. “Since 2012, the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard has increased from 58% to 74% in 2014”. Literacy enables children at a young age to understand how the alphabet works and concentrates on speaking and listening skills, phonological awareness and oral blending and segmenting. Additional activities that can be done to help with literacy are drama, guided reading, peer work and talking in groups. Children with good literacy skills are abler to take advantage of the opportunities that they may come across as they would be literate in a subject area. A child should have good word recognition and language comprehension in order to be successfully literate. Furthermore, Literacy skills can be developed outside of the school environment. DfE found that “research has shown that children’s motivation and achievement improve when their parents or carers are involved in their education”.

Reading is a skill often taken for granted but it is essential in order to progress in life. For a child being able to read well helps them learn new things, give ideas and enables use of imagination. National literacy trust (2015) suggests that children’s early language skills can have a major impact on a child’s development of literacy skills. Five-year olds with poor language and literacy have a higher risk of underachieving at age seven and beyond. Reading skills encourage more opportunities in life and it can affect a child’s wellbeing if they do not achieve this effectively (Finnegan,2015).

Learning to read and write as a child is an experience that all can relate to. The average child learns to read and write at the early ages of three and four. Developing literacy at an early age is crucial to academic development as well as to performance in life. Early development can be just what a child needs to stimulate their minds, which in turn is assisting in the evolution of their future. The early and latter stages of development in a child’s literacy journey are the makings for their reading and writing skills. It also plays part in their analysis of obstacles as well as their developed or problematic literacy future. A child

In “Language Development and Learning to Read” Diane Guiness explores the scientifically proven link between literacy and children being exposed to literature at a young age. Language and grammar development are improved upon when children are exposed to books. Before they are reading to themselves, children can hear and learn new words and phrases that they may not normally be exposed to. As well as lessons in language, listening to these stories can teach fundamentals such as listening and paying attention, which will also aid them in their

Literacy is important for young children. It’s so much a child has to know before entering kindergarten. The Essentials of Early Literacy Instruction stressed the importance of teaching literacy. Early literacy is an emerging g set of relationships between reading and writing. Today a lot of terms have been referred to for literacy development for preschoolers the term that’s mostly used is early literacy. The term was chosen because the earliest forms of literacy development are forming reading and writing concepts. Linking early literacy to play is the most effective way to for young children to learn. There are many ways educators can teach literacy activities such as rich teacher talk, storybook reading, phonologic awareness activities, alphabet activities, support for emergent writing, shared book experience, integrated, and content-focused activities, Young children understand print by oral and written language. Asking students to help read a book and turn the page help them understand the basics of a book. There are at least three critical content categories in early literacy: oral language comprehension, phonological awareness, and print knowledge. Children need to learn phonological awareness, alphabet letter knowledge, the function of written language, a sense of meaning making texts, and vocabulary. Alphabetic writing is quite difficult once children understand the language of their community they learn which words stand for which concepts in that language.

As the standards of education change a consistent factor remains the focus on reading. Early childhood educators must provide an atmosphere that is both developmentally stimulating to the student while also meeting the standards of education. The methods used to help recognize phonics and begin the transition into emergent readers vary from student to student. Without the foundation of phonics research shows that a child will not learn to read. All children must know the alphabet in order to communicate effectively. Phonics cannot be drilled into the child. This will only produce memorization. Instead, educators must understand a child’s individual needs as well as balance. There is no true need to teach phonics as a separate subject. Most children will develop a sense of curiosity from their own knowledge, ideas, and interest. There will of course be a select few that may benefit from a more formal instruction. When children

Oral language is also an important component in reading. When a child enters school, they enter with an amount of oral language and background knowledge that would come from their experiences so far. This knowledge helps them to understand their peers and others around them. The amount of oral language development within is student, directly reflects upon their reading level. The easier it is for a child to speak, the easier it is for them to pick up reading. Reading is not an easy task, but oral language does help with the process. Additionally, oral language would also help with the recognizing and association of words to text that is being read. There may be a situation in which the student is reading about for which they can relate too. This could be due to their prior oral language development. Associating words that are recognized in their vocabulary with words that are in the text creates a link that the student can expand on. This

Literacy can be defined as the ability to read and write. It can also be defined as the capacity to identify, understand, create, interpret, communicate and compute, using written and printed materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy includes the capability to read, comprehend, and critically appreciate various forms of communication, including spoken language, written text, broadcast media, and digital media. The contemporary meaning has been expanded to include the knowledge to use language, numbers, images, computers, and other essential means to understand and communicate useful knowledge and use the dominant symbol systems of culture. Additionally, literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their objectives, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate sufficiently in their communities and wider society. The growth of literacy skills is a vital part of a child’s overall development. It is the foundation for doing well at school, socialising with others, developing independence, managing money and working. However, before a child learns to read and write, he or she needs to develop the building blocks for literacy, which are the ability to speak, listen, understand, watch and draw. With time and his or her teachers’ support, the child understands the connection between letters on a sheet and spoken sounds. Eventually, he or she will need lots of experience with objects, words, and sounds. The child learns how

“There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” Frank Serafini. Literacy is a very important skill in this modern world. No matter where we go, if we cannot read or write the language it can make things very difficult. Since the very day that we were all born, it was instilled upon us to learn to read and write our native tongue. If we do not have the skills necessary to do this, how will we ever learn and grow? Learning to read and write is a life-long pursuit in which the goal can never completely be achieved.

My philosophy of literacy is centered on providing a learning environment rich in authentic literature, instruction that is engaging, fun, and balanced, collaborative, and also involving families in the child’s education. My ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to help children become lifelong readers and writers by providing the skills necessary to comprehend, construct, and make meaning of text, speak, and write. (Torgesen, 2002). According to the National Reading Panel, there are five essential components that must be taught in effective reading programs: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. (Reading Horizons). According to Konza (2014), reading instruction should be changed to six foundational reading elements, adding oral language and early literacy. I also believe that early literacy should be

When data from students who had average accuracy and fluency scores, but lower comprehension scores were compared to data from those with similar accuracy and fluency but average comprehension, the consistent differences were found to be lower oral language and vocabulary skills in the poor comprehenders upon entry into formal schooling. (Nation, Cocksey, Taylor & Bishop) Thousands of dollars each year are spent on intervention, trying to improve the reading of children that show delays. When one reads, the clear goal is comprehension of what is read. Without communication of ideas between the author and reader, decoding texts is pointless. Most intervention programs are focused on phonics and word decoding. Oral language interventions concurrent with vocabulary and comprehension tasks at age eight have been shown to lead to significant improvements in reading comprehension. (Nation, et al., 2010). Reading comprehension is not merely a product of being able to decode words and sentences. How we teach children to process and integrate the ideas found in text can have a large impact on their ability to function in a world of ever expanding knowledge and information.