Effective Reading Instruction Provides Children With The Key Skills And Strategies

Print is what you read and write (Cunningham, 2013, p 4). Children are starting to know that print carries a message. Through daily experiences with print materials, children delight in beginning to understand the connection between spoken and written words. They begin to follow print as it is read aloud and discover that reading and writing are ways to communicate information

There are many important components involved in learning to read, however, five main aspects stand out. These being early experiences with language and print, phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary and fluency. All of these elements are important and depend on each other to generate the ultimate goal for reading which is comprehension. Teachers need to have a comprehensive understanding of the process of learning to read, intensive knowledge of effective strategies to help children thrive when learning to read

Early reading success is the foundation of a student’s knowledge and self-esteem. The foundation also provides future opportunities for growth. Students must learn to read proficiently so that they are able to learn more in future grades, post-secondary schools, and the workforce. Beverly Tyner’s Small-Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers states “In the United States, which offers few career opportunities for the illiterate, teaching children to read proficiently is the most important single task in education.” (Tyner, 2009). Beverly Tyner created the Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model which incorporates research-based strategies for teaching beginning reading skills and skills

he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society:

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

The role of the reading specialist is to be able to teach all children to read, which requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction and that children who are struggling with reading receive additional instruction from professionals specifically prepared to teach them. Teaching all children to read also requires reading specialists in every school because the range of student achievement in classrooms, with the inclusion of children who have various physical, emotional, and educational needs, requires different educational models from those of the past. In order to provide these services, schools must have reading specialists who can provide expert instruction, assessment, and leadership for the reading program. Reading specialists are professionals with advanced preparation and experience in reading who have responsibility for the literacy performance of readers in general and struggling readers in particular. This includes early childhood, elementary, middle, secondary, and adult learners. Learners can be in public, private, and commercial schools, or in reading resource centers or clinics (Roles). This paper will explore what it means to be able to encourage and enhance instruction within content area learning and literacy competence, as well as identifying research initiatives, which have a profound impact upon teaching, and learning of reading and the language arts.

The purpose of this paper is to review the research and theories that support how students learn to read while reflecting on the best practices in reading instruction and how these theories have influenced my teaching as an elementary educator. The focus of this paper will be on the theories, theorists and models from the book, Lenses on Reading: An Introduction to Theories and Models, before formulating my own opinion on best practices in reading instruction. Theories and models within this paper will be connected to one or more of the thirteen core understandings about reading and learning to read. Finally, the influences these theories and theorists have in had in my own thinking and my personal beliefs about reading will be summarized at the conclusion of this paper.

Effective reading instruction involves much more than phonics instruction. Systematic phonics instruction should also be integrated with other reading instruction in phonemic awareness, the alphabetic principle, word reading accuracy and fluency, reading vocabulary and active reading comprehension strategies are all necessary, but not sufficient in themselves to produce healthy reading skills. Schools must give thoughtful consideration to the elements of a balanced literacy curriculum, reading instruction, assessment, and professional development. Schools can also help children become independent readers and writers through a balanced literacy program ( ).Liebling (1998) emphasized that an effective, balanced reading approach needs to support

Awareness and knowledge of print concepts is one of the best predictors for early reading achievement. Students are usually taught the foundational skills for print awareness in kindergarten and first grade. However, the majority of students diagnosed with language or reading disorders continue to struggle with acquiring meaning from written text. Having poor comprehension skills can prevent students from accessing content in the general curriculum.

One of the things that I have learn and that are interested to me is to know how teaching children to read can be complex and challenging but, if you have the right tools and the skills you can prevent most reading problems and help children who has difficulties reading. Moats on the first chapter, mentions that reading problems can be improved through appropriate instruction; and according to findings, a classroom instruction that builds phoneme awareness, phonic decoding skills, text reading fluency, vocabulary, and various aspects of comprehension is the best antidote for reading difficulty. She also mentions a concern about how many teachers can be licensed with one course or a little background on reading methods and reading psychology, or language structure leaving the without the understanding and tools that enable instruction.

One of the most important goals in elementary school is for all students to be proficient readers. The foundation on which proficient readers are developed begins well before children enter school. Parents and other care providers begin supporting the reading development of children through the use of conversations, storybook interactions, and other literacy related activities that encourage active engagement (Tompkins, 2011).

From the moment a child is born, they are surrounded by countless sources of influence that help construct and develop a child’s oral language skills, print concept, phonics skills, and more. There are many different influences in a child’s life that could influence them such as, their culture, their family, their parents, and their environments. However, one of the most important influences that help construct and develop the child’s literacy skills is what the child learns at

For a child who is just starting to learn to read, they need sufficient practice in reading a variety of different books to achieve fluency. Reading can be complex and has many different aspects (Burns,1999). It is suggested that children who have problems reading and writing at a young age will find it hard to catch up as they get older and will not reach their full potential as adults, many will withdraw from school or society and some becoming involved with crime (MacBlain,2014). 40 percent of children find learning to read a challenge but with early help, most reading problems can be prevented (Reading Rockets, n.d.).

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

Children start to learn about and experience reading and writing in infancy, particularly when they start familiarising themselves with print media. From an early age children are able to read and recognise signs such as fast food logos, ect. (Alleyne, n.d. p.2) In addition, when young