Subliminal Phonics

Here's another post about helping kids learn to read.

Years ago when I was teaching preschool I only spent a few minutes each day on academic things. We'd have a letter and number of the day, and check the calendar for the date and day of the week. The rest of circle time was spent sharing, and reading stories.

In the afternoon as the children were settling down for their naps I'd play a record or tape (you can tell this was a long time ago) with a story, then I'd play one of several phonics records or tapes that went through the alphabet, pronouncing each letter and the basic sound it makes.

Some of those weren't even accurate. For example, I remember one claiming "M says muh."

After that I'd play some soothing music. Altogether all those records and tapes took about fifteen minutes, and most of the children would fall asleep well before they were finished.

Although I didn't do anything else to try to teach the children academic things, quite a few of the four-year-olds just spontaneously began to read. I think hearing the letter sounds as they fell asleep let them seep into their brains.

I call that method of helping kids learn to read Subliminal Phonics.

And it didn't put any pressure on the kids or push them to try things they weren't ready for.

Learning to Read

In many parts of the USA school starts about now, so I thought this would be a good time to blog about learning to read.

I understand kids' brains must reach a certain level of development before they're ready to learn that skill. For most kids it happens between the ages of four and six, though I've heard some rare geniuses learned to read when they were two years old and I've seen kids in Special Ed classes finally develop that ability when they were teenagers.

Unfortunately some parents and preschools try to force children to learn reading skills when some of the kids may not be ready, and that often convinces the kids that reading is impossible, so they give up and don't try to learn it when they are ready to do so.

I've mentioned before that years ago I read about a study of the highest functioning students at the best universities in the country. The researchers intended to find out what method of teaching reading had been used when the subjects were little kids since it would probably prove to be the best method. To their surprise, the results of the study showed the only thing the students all had in common was that when they were little kids their parents had read to them often, usually at least every day.

If you have kids or know kids one of the best things you can do for them is read to them a lot. And snuggling together while looking at a picture book and sharing the story is a pleasure to both the kids and grown-ups.

Reading and READING

I love to read.

When I was a kid parents were told not to try to teach their children to read because they'd do it "wrong" and the kids would gave to unlearn before they could really learn. I didn't go to Kindergarten, and reading wasn't taught then anyway. But at the end of First Grade I was reading at Fifth Grade level and I've been a bookaholic ever since.

As a teacher I noticed that there's a big difference between being able to sound out words on a page and really reading.

Children (and adults) just learning to read are focused on the individual words and need to step back a bit mentally to get the sense of each sentence. They're constantly aware of the fact that they are reading.

But skilled readers don't even think about the specific words and sentences except at a semi-conscious level. Instead, they're immersed in the story or concepts they're reading about.

People with developmental delays or learning disabilities may be unable to become skilled readers, but, for most people, the best way to reach that level of reading is to read a lot.

When parents read to kids and the children can see the words on each page, that helps show them that reading can carry them away into imaginary worlds. And teachers can do the same thing to young kids with big (not thick) books that allow the words to be seen from a distance.

Reading to kids all the time helps motivate them to learn to read by themselves.

Once a child reaches the basic level of being able to sound out words and recognize familiar ones, the best way for them to become proficient readers is to read as much as possible.

And even adults who can read adequately, but don't especially enjoy doing it, can move from reading to real READING simply by reading a lot.

Learning to Read

When I was a kid parents were told they shouldn't try to teach their kids to read because they'd probably do it wrong and the kids would have to unlearn what they'd been taught before they could "really" learn to read. My parents did teach me to write my name and the alphabet when I was a little kid, but they "knew better" than to try to teach me more than that.

Because because most mothers stayed home only some rich kids went to "nursery school," which was just about playing together and not academic anyway.

Kindergartens didn't teach reading and writing either. Instead those students learned things like how to get along with others, take turns, stand in line, raise their hands and wait to be called on, and play games, etc.

So, like most people my age, I learned to read in First Grade. When I started second grade I was one of several kids in my class reading at Fifth Grade level.

How did that happen?

Our first grade teacher was newly graduated from teacher college and there were 42 kids in our class, half of whom hadn't gone to Kindergarten. Since half the class wasn't learning from the sight reading method used at that time, she had them chant the letter sounds over and over again while the rest of us worked at our desks on other subjects. Somehow hearing the letter sounds in the background made them sink into our minds.

As a teacher I once tried playing phonics records and tapes while my preschool students fell asleep at nap time, and some of them spontaneously started to read even though the only academic teaching I did was to point to the words as I read them big books and tell them the sound of one alphabet letter each day. (Kids become ready to learn at different ages and I don't believe in trying to push academics on little ones who may not be ready.)

Of course another thing that had helped me and the others in our First Grade class learn to read well was that our parents had read to us every night from the time we were toddlers.

Years ago I read about a scientific study seeking to discover which method of teaching reading worked best. They questioned the highest functioning students at the most respected universities in America and discovered the only thing they had in common was that their parents had read to them every night when they were little kids. Of course maybe more intelligent parents were more likely to do that and the students had inherited the ability to learn easily.

However I'm sure the fact that I read picture books to my preschool students every day did help the ones who were ready to learn.

If you're a good reader as an adult do you think either background phonics or being read to as a young child was a factor in helping you learn to read?

More About Learning to Read

One of my books, Signs of Trouble, can be helpful in teaching kids to read. Although the text is at second grade reading level and the book is intended to be read aloud to younger kids, it contains some helpful activities at the end that can be used with very young children.

The story is about kids who get separated from their group on a field trip to a shopping mall where the class was supposed to recognize signs they had studied in school. My preschool classes went on field trips around the neighborhood to find familiar signs, and a special education class I worked with did the same thing so I know that method helps.

Besides being an exciting story and helping children understand others who have special needs, the activities in Signs of Trouble can help kids learn to read. And, since reading to children often is the most important thing they can do to help them become fluent readers, I hope lots of parents will read this book to their kids.

Reading to Kids

I've kept many of the books I had as a child and recently looked through some of the old picture books. Among my favorites were Cheeky Chipmunk and Chatterduck by Helen and Alf Evers, The Pokey Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, and Ferdinand by Munro Leaf. How I loved hearing those books read over and over by my parents at bedtime.

It's a good thing I kept them because later I shared them with my preschool and Kindergarten classes as a teacher and read them aloud again as a grandmother.

Years ago I read about a scientific study intended to discover which method of reading instruction worked best. It showed the only thing the highest achieving college students had in common was that they had all been read to frequently as kids. Of course it might also be that those students had been read to a lot because their parents were smart and they had inherited that intelligence, but it certainly can't hurt to read to children.

When I was a child parents were discouraged from trying to teach kids to read because they might do it "wrong" and their children would have to unlearn what the parents had taught them when they reached first grade. My parents followed that recommendation, but I was among a group of kids that entered second grade reading at fifth grade level. All of us had been read to a lot by our parents.

When my daughter was young I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom so I operated a preschool family daycare home. I only spent a few minutes a day doing things like singing The Alphabet Song and showing them how to write their names, and didn't try to teach reading. However I read to the kids a lot and several of them spontaneously began reading on their own.

Reading to young children is a wonderful way for parents and kids to share time together and it can make a big difference in the rest of their lives.

Learning to Read

When I started first grade thousands of kids hadn't gone to Kindergarten because no census had been taken during WWII and school districts didn't know they were coming. I'd gone to Kindergarten, but only for a few weeks. But first grade was legally required, so there were 42 kids in my first grade class. Our teacher was new to the job and I won't go into how terrible she was except to say 21 kids were held back and had to repeat the grade because they hadn't learned to read.

But seven of us started second grade reading at fifth grade level.

Of course we all had parents who read to us at home, but so did most kids. And all parents "knew" it was harmful to try to teach kids to read themselves, so none of ours had tried. So what was the secret?

The public schools in California at that time were using sight reading (See, Hear, Say) curriculum but, because so many of the first graders weren't learning by that method, the teacher had tried using phonics and required them to chant the letter sounds every day while the rest of us worked at other things.

Remembering that experience, I played a phonics record or tape (you can tell that was a long time ago) every day as the children in my home preschool settled in for their naps. The familiarity would help them doze off.

I think doing that was one of the main reasons so many of the children began reading

on their own.

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm firmly opposed to trying to push

reading skills on kids who aren't ready for them, but this is an entirely

pressure-free way to prepare them to learn.

And it might also be a help to older kids who have learning disabilities

to play phonics CDs as they fall asleep at night.

Helping Kids Read Well

One of the first posts I ever made on this blog was about helping kids become excellent readers. It's about time to bring up that important topic again.

When my daughter was little I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but couldn't afford not to work, so I ran a home preschool.

I didn't believe in trying to push academic learning on little kids because reading readiness develops at different ages and if children aren't ready to learn to read, instead they learn that reading is impossible. Working with special education kids I saw quite a few who were so sure they would fail because they'd done so in the past that they wouldn't try to read.

On the other hand, some young kids are ready and eager to learn and it's frustrating for them to be in environments that don't allow reading instruction.

I wanted to meet the needs of all the kids so I set up a program to do that.

Every morning at circle time we'd spend about five minutes on a letter and number of the day. We'd count objects according to the day's number. Then I'd tell the kids one sound the letter of the day made and go around the circle saying, "If your name started with... it would be..." or, "If you had ... in the middle of your name it would sound like...." The kids loved hearing the funny changes to their names.

At the end of each day we'd put away the toys and have Independent Learning Time while waiting for parents to arrive. The kids could choose a book, puzzle, coloring page or other quiet table activity. They'd put each one away as they finished with it and choose another, so everything would be neat when the children went home. I'd provide a workbook for each child according to his or her learning level and interests and if one workbook was completed I'd give another. Those who wished could use their own workbooks at Independent Learning Time and many did so, but there was absolutely no pressure to use the workbooks at all. That part of the day worked sort of like the Montessori method.

The rest of the day we'd have lots of free time to play, both inside and out, a special activity such as a messy art project, a visit to the nearby library for Story Time, a cooking or science project, or a Special Event such as a field trip, party, visitor, or (rarely) a movie.

Of course I'd read to the kids during morning and afternoon circle times, letting them choose from the pile of books related to the theme of the week. Some of those would be Big Books designed so teachers could point to the words while reading. Often the kids would keep requesting more stories for 45 minutes or more.

Many of the four year olds and a few of the three year olds spontaneously began reading independently and all those activities probably helped them do so, but I'll tell you about one of the most important things I haven't mentioned next time I blog.

Reading and Kids

A few years ago I read a scientific study somewhere  (sorry, but I've forgotten the details) that was supposed to determine which method of teaching reading worked best. After interviewing many college students the scientists doing the study determined that it made no difference at all what method had been used in their schools. But the high achieving students did have one thing in common; when they were little kids their parents had read to them for at least 20 minutes nearly every day. 

So if you have any kids, please, please, please, read to them until they're old enough to enjoy reading comfortably on their own. And set a good example by letting them see you read to yourself.