Perspective On Reading

Summary of “Whole Language Lives On: The Illusion of Balanced Reading Instruction” by Louisa Cook Moats

My early reading experiences reflect the history that Vogt and Shearer (2011) describe in the first chapter of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World. The basal reading programs of the 1970s and 1980s included “leveled readers, phonics activities, and a great deal of comprehension skill practice, usually found on the pages of the accompanying workbooks. The programs also included highly structured, detailed teacher’s guides, with different lesson plans for each of the three instructional groups” (Vogt & Shearer, 2011, p.13).

Phonics is imperative to learning to read because it allows for the reader to distinguish these associations in letters and words that they read to captivate comprehension (Walbank & Bisby, 2016). At the preschool-grade, knowledge of the alphabetic principles should be extensive and in-depth, however, too much focus can lead to over application of this skills having words read but not comprehended. The directional approach for teaching phonics should be precise, articulated well with graphemes organised in a logical and systematic way allowing plenty of time to recite the new skills received inherited obtained attained gained acquired (Learning Point Associates, 2004). Likewise, with phonological awareness the expertise of listening to the sounds in phonemes and words, phonics helps complete the process of sounding out to decode what has been read to eventually move onto the primary goal of learning to read being comprehension (Fellows & Oakley, 2014). Another approach is to teach phonics is the analytical technique in which the teacher guides students to observe phonemes and graphemes by scrutinising full words to bring forth another critical thinking skill required to understand what the text means (Ewing & Maher, 2014). This essential component combined with

In every school across America, effective practices of reading instruction are being discussed. Calkins (2012) suggests that over 85% of students being tested on grade level literacy standards are non-proficient. Research suggests that students, who are unable to read proficiently by third grade, are not predicted to ever learn to read or have successful lives when they reach adulthood (Martinez, 2008). For these reasons, it is important that districts implement literacy models and instructional reforms that have been well researched and shown to be successful. The instructional reform method of Balanced Literacy is being used throughout the country to meet the challenging standards of the Common Core. Teachers will need

If you couldn’t read or write, how would you tackle your daily life? Being literate is a crucial part of everyone’s life; reading and writing are essential for a person’s success. Every single day, it’s used, whether it’s for an Advanced Placement Language class or reading a billboard as you’re driving past. As a child, I grew up reading on a daily basis and I believe that I am as successful as I am on behalf of it. Countless memories have been created, thanks to the multiple books that have been read and the umpteen amount of papers that I’ve written. Throughout the numerous years of my education, my teachers and parents left a long lasting impact on my reading and writing skills.

Phonics advocates have been arguing that in order for children to learn to read, they need to have an explicit instruction in the rules of printed text in order to read properly. The phonics approach has been described as “bottom up” as it teaches the children to decode text and then the meaning and understanding will follow while the whole word approach is described as “top down,” as the children depend on the pictures within the book, form hypothesis and make predictions of the words with the text of the book being read (Wren, 2003).

Just as the needs of students vary teachers methods of instruction should vary. Meeting the literacy needs of students should be done through a wide variety of instructional strategies that meet the needs of students and meet the requirements of a balanced literacy program. The following information shares 12 instructional procedures to be used in a third grade classroom. The procedures are from the Tompkins’ Compendium shared in the text Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach (6th ed.).

According to the article, the balanced literacy allows children to choose their own books to study and work in groups, where the combination of approaches to reading and writing will be provided by a teacher. The idea is that students are “ natural readers and writers; teachers needed only to create the conditions to unleash their talents.” On another side, we have Common Core Standards call for to read books on and above the grade level with more challenging texts, where students will focus on what the text says, while balanced literacy will focus on personal response to the book.

Based on the campus’ successes in grades 1 & 2 after implementing the direct instruction approach with the use of SRA Reading Mastery program, much debate within the district and campus centered on whether the district’s new literacy initiative would be a “good fit” for a campus saturated with struggling readers. This action research study two classrooms on the campus. One classroom implemented the SRA Reading Mastery direct instruction model only, while the second classroom implemented the balanced literacy approach using the Fountas & Pinell approach, while using the SRA Reading Mastery program for an intervention program. The results of this research are detailed in this report.

Balanced literacy instruction is a comprehensive program of language arts achievement. It is comprehending all of the components that is necessary for students to become a master in writing and oral communication. Balance literacy begins with creating a genuine gratitude for good literature. And it balanced by knowing students individually, direct and indirect instruction and activates that emphasize meaning for students. The strongest elements of each are combined into a literacy program that aims to guide students toward proficient and lifelong reading. There are numerous components of balanced literacy, but the most important components of balanced of literacy are: The read aloud, guided reading, shared reading, independent reading, word study, interactive writing, shared writing, guided writing workshop, independent writing also include phonic and grammar skills. literacy plan is most effective for children when the teacher is given direct instructional to support, and a variety of everyday reading and writing experiences. That are needed in the multifaceted process of becoming independent good reader and writers. This experience is providing to students to become more proficient toward their learning journey and apply as they move upper level in education.

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

Balanced literacy is seen as the truce in the reading wars that have developed in the educational community. Balanced literacy is the teacher’s ability to mix whole learning and phonics to create a reading atmosphere that will foster success in both comprehension and reading. Reading wars have always existed because reading is a critical skill needed in every aspect of a person’s life. Society often makes comments about the things learned in school that do not apply to real world from math to social studies to foreign languages but reading is needed in every aspect of life. A person cannot function in society if they are unable to read.

There have been many debates over which literacy instruction produces the most favorable outcomes in terms of test scores. During the 1960’s, teachers favored the phonics approach in helping students become literate because they believed that it made the most

In my opinion, the reason for this assignment is for the teacher to see where we are in our reading, and writing. Reading to me must happen when I am interested in something for example, a movie because I enjoy reading about the plots but everyone is different. Another example is a graphic novel, because you can understand the concept or plot a lot easier than you would do in a regular novel. In regular books, you have so many things going on and you aren’t able to understand what is happening then you end up getting the wrong idea. Writing is just about the same for example, I can’t write about something that I know nothing about or interested in. Therefore, I am writing this paper to show you my weaknesses and not my strengths because I

Literacy is the cornerstone to all learning; it is imperative to future academic success. (Tracey and Morrow, 2012). Due to the significance of literacy instruction, there are a myriad of ways to teach literacy. Literacy is a complex subject, honing in on balancing reading, writing, speaking, and listening. As a result of the complexity of literacy instruction, we arrive at the age-old debate of what is the best literacy instruction. My philosophy of literacy instruction centralizes around the Whole Language Theory and Balanced Literacy; however, I also blend in additional theories/approaches to teach effective literacy.