More On Teaching Reading

I once read about a study (wish I'd kept the reference) where scientists tried to determine what method of reading instruction worked best. They interviewed top-performing students from the most respected universities in America and, to their surprise, discovered the methods of teaching reading made no difference at all. The students had been taught by many different methods and still did well.

However there was one thing they all had in common. When they were little kids their parents had read to them a lot.

The single most important thing parents can do to help their children become good readers is to spend at least 20 minutes every day reading to them, starting when the kids are tiny tots. It helps to point to each word as it's spoken, but that isn't nearly as important as sharing the experience of the stories and books.

Of course there's no rule saying reading time must be exactly twenty minutes long. If there's only time to squeeze in ten minutes on some days, that's better than nothing. And if children keep begging for more and story time goes on for 40 minutes without conflicting with things like bedtime, that's fine, too. But parents should read to their kids every day until the children are able to read by themselves and no longer interested in being read to.

Some kids who read fluently still enjoy hearing their parents read to them and may like reading out loud to their parents.

And reading to kids should start as early as possible. Although they can't understand the words, most infants enjoy being held and hearing their parents' voices read out loud to them for a few minutes every day.

Even kids with learning disabilities may do better than they would have otherwise if they were read to by their parents when they were young.

Of course it also helps develop reading skills if teachers, older siblings, and child-care providers read to young children, but the parent-child bond is strengthened by sharing that special time and that emotional aspect helps motivate kids to learn to read.

Teaching Reading

As I mentioned in the last post, children are ready to read at different ages and trying to teach them too early does more harm than good. But here's a method I used that allowed many young children to start reading while not pressuring the others.

Each day when the preschoolers I taught lay down for naps I'd play a story tape followed by a phonics record that repeated the letter sounds. (Since I used tapes and records you can tell that was long ago.) Then I'd play quiet music as they drifted off to sleep.

Every morning at Circle Time I'd spend a few minutes showing them the letter of the day and telling them the the short vowel or hard consonant sound it made. Then I'd tell each child how their name would be pronounced if it started with that letter or had it in the first syllable. For example, if the letter of the day was F I might tell a kid named Dan, "If your name started with F it would be Fan." If the letter of the day was E I'd tell that child his name would be "Den."

I'd congratulate those who did have names starting with the letter of the day. That's all the actual reading instruction I'd give.

And, of course, I read to the kids a lot, sometimes using big books and tracing my finger beneath the words as I read. I'd also let the children choose books they wanted me to read to them.

Quite a few of my students started reading spontaneously when they were about four years old and a few did so earlier. I hope the method also helped the ones who weren't yet ready to learn reading in Preschool to do it when they got to 'big kid school.'

Reading Readiness

It used to be the norm for kids to start learning to read in First Grade. Now reading instruction often starts in Kindergarten or Preschool.

While some children are ready to learn to read at early ages, others are not, and trying to teach them before they're ready can do more harm than good.

In order for human brains to read the myelin coating of their nerves must be complete and, just as babies get their teeth and older kids reach puberty at various times, myelinization can develop at different ages. Usually kids' brains become ready to read when they're between four and six years old, but it can happen earlier or later. And the age of reading readiness is not necessarily an indicator of intelligence.

If people try to teach children to read who aren't yet ready, those children come to believe reading is something too difficult for them ever to learn. They may think of themselves as stupid and give up trying. Pressuring them does more harm than good.

On the other hand, kids who are ready and eager to learn shouldn't be denied the opportunity.

There is a method that works for almost everyone. I'll share information about it in my next post.

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.

Teeth and Reading

Learning to read is a lot like getting teeth. While the process may be unpleasant, it's definitely worth it because so much more can be taken in.

Another similarity is that children are ready for the process at different ages.

While most babies start getting teeth when they're around six months old, once in a while a baby is born with some teeth already showing and others don't get their first teeth until after their first birthdays.

Reading readiness also happens at different ages depending on when the myelin coating on nerves in the brain finishes growing. Usually kids are ready to read when they're about six years old, but some are ready in preschool while others may not be until they're around eight years old. Becoming ready to read at an earlier or later age doesn't necessarily show intelligence levels any more than the age of getting teeth does.

However children who are expected to learn to read before they are physically ready to do so my learn to fail. If they become convinced that reading is something they are not capable of doing, they may give up. And if, when they do become ready, they're expected to use material designed for kids who are already fluent readers, they won't be able to do it.

That's why I believe children who are developmentally ready should be allowed to learn reading in Preschool and Kindergarten, but that should not be a requirement. If a child doesn't learn to read in First Grade there should be no stigma attached to repeating that grade.

And parents certainly don't need to be ashamed if their babies don't get their first teeth as early as others do.