Teaching Children to Read By Giving Them Something Worth Reading

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

Learning to read is a complex task which involves active problem solving through the implementation of several intertwined skills. When providing reading instruction, it is not feasible to expect that children will pick up these skills implicitly. Effective reading instruction requires an explicit and systematic approach which aims to develop the specific skills and understanding required for successful reading. As children move through the stages of reading, learning is supported through methodical and integrated instruction in concepts of print, phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. However children are active learners rather

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” This is how Dr. Seuss thought of reading, and I think of it in much the same way. Literacy is everywhere and influences us every day, therefore, it plays a major part in each of our lives. I believe that reading is an interactive activity in which learning happens, or as Clay (2001) defines it, “…a message-getting, problem-solving activity” (p. 1). Reading is the process through which one reads information and from doing so, constructs meaning about the material. The more exposure and practice one has with reading, the more knowledge one gains. In this paper, I will begin by discussing my own personal educational philosophy, then continue by stating and explaining four of my beliefs about the reading process and the research that is found to support each of them before sharing the remaining questions I have about literacy. I am an existentialist, and a strong supporter of a balanced literacy approach. My beliefs about literacy come from these foundations and perspectives that I embrace. For students to be successful in their literacy development, I believe that identity acceptance in the classroom is crucial, instruction for all students must be differentiated, direct and explicit instruction is at times necessary, and vocabulary is a significant component in the ‘Big Five’ of children’s literacy development.

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.

Teach the child to read and empower them to become a fast and fluent Reader: Teach the child to read a unique combination of synthetic phonics and phonemic knowingness skills development. It is a fact - helping children develop phonemic knowingness skills is the most essential step in getting reading skills. The spoken English language is made up of words and sentences, and these words are made up of individual sounds or phonemes. Children learn to say and recognize these individual sounds through a process called developing phonemic

Reading provides young children to not only build a bond with their caregivers, but also increase their aptitude for learning and their ability socialize into the world of academia. Children’s books are a great tool to instill societal values and beliefs, in

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” –Dr. Seuss. Dr.Seuss could not be any more right. It is often said that once you find the right book, you could go anywhere. Literacy is one of the most important things that a child could ever learn. In order to succeed in society today, one must be able to read, write, speak and even listen. There has been great debate over the different approaches when it comes to teaching children how to read. This essay will go more in depth on both approaches, how the writer learned how to read, how the writer will teach their students how to read.

Recently the term “reading readiness” has given way “emergent literacy” by which we mean the many skills children need for reading and writing. From the time they were born and continuing through the preschool years, each child picks up in his or her own way. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are all part of emergent literacy. Literacy really begins when an infant coos or babbles, then hears those sound repeated by a responsive and loving adults. These early conversation, which can make adults feel a little silly, and a gentle introduction to spoken language

As mentioned before, The National Reading Panel in 2000 and the No Child Left Behind Act signed in 2001 defined there five components as the most important to teach in reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and fluency. Phonemic awareness is defined as the knowledge that spoken words can be broken apart into smaller segments of sound known as phonemes. Phonics is defined as the knowledge that letters of the alphabet represent phonemes, and that these sounds are blended together to form written words. The component three, fluency, which is the ability to recognize words easily, read with greater speed, accuracy, and expression, and to better understand what is read. The fourth component, vocabulary, is defined as teaching new words, either as they appear in the text, or by introducing new words separately. The fifth component is comprehension, comprehension is defined as understanding what

Children’s learning and development is influenced by their interaction with adults and other children, the physical environment and the philosophy and resources in the service, (McLachlan, Nicholson, Fielding-Barnsley, Mercer, & Ohi, 2013). Literacy-rich environments, need to create optimal conditions for children’s personal expressions of meaning: “What do I know? What am I thinking? What am I curious about?”. Children should walk into their learning environment and be enticed to explore the elements of reading, writing, listening and speaking, (McLachlan, Nicholson, Fielding-Barnsley, Mercer, & Ohi, 2013). Children need access to interesting books and materials – both in print and online. When students are provided with well-designed classroom libraries, they interact more with books, spend more time reading (or trying to read), exhibit more positive attitudes toward reading, and exhibit higher levels of reading achievement, (McLachlan, Nicholson, Fielding-Barnsley, Mercer, & Ohi, 2013). If children are not provided with access to interesting books that they want to read and can read with success, they will never reach their full literacy potential (Gambrell, Malloy, & Mazzoni,

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Reading to children assists children in this process before they can read, but soon their own ability to read will allow for self-guidance. In addition to connecting with the fictional characters in their favorite books, spending time reading encourages an emotional connection between child and parent. When parents engage their child in the learning opportunity of reading, they will learn to value their relationship with books and their parents. "Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light."

Reading is a process that involves word recognition, comprehension, and fluency. All three areas must function together in order for the reader to make sense of what he is reading. This is a skill that we continue to learn and work on for life. Learning how to read does not stop with the end of

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

Reading is believed to be an easy task, something we all learning and develop through the years as we grow, however, is it really that simple? To reading and understanding are both essential when a student begins to read. It is a complex action that requires a multitude of different actions/components, all working at the same time, to become a successful reader. The components that are pertinent to reading are: comprehension, oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency and vocabulary. Without these components, reading may very well be irrelevant because it does not make sense to read and not understand what is being transmitted/relayed. According to the National Reading Panel (NRP), “a combination of techniques is effective for