A Secret to Your Child Achieving Reading Success
Have you ever come across a statement, saying or part of a book that sums up exactly what you want to say?
I have just finished studying a book entitled “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.”
In it I found a summary of my view of the initial stage of learning to read.
My experience working with scores of children who struggled with reading and writing backs this summary up.
The book was published in 1983 and is still available probably because parents are looking for a program that will help their child with reading.
I have been very fortunate to have had a long and varied teaching career and seen many of the changes in teaching and learning in Victorian (Australia) schools.
Changes for good I must say.
Teaching and learning research findings have filtered down to the teachers in schools particularly here in Australia. We are learning and implementing them all the time.
Modern education here in Victoria is fantastic particulary since the introduction of the integrated curriculum and technology.
Now reading is the fundamental skill we all need to participate in modern society.
Learning to read is like learning to play a piano. The sophisticated reading an adult does comes from years of practice. It can be likened to the playing of a concerto on a piano.
As the authors of ‘Teach Your Child to read……..’ point out ’the ultimate goal of reading instruction is to prepare children for the concerto of reading. It involves reading complicated material silently, at a reasonably fast rate, and understanding the details of the message the author presents.”
Now for the information from this book that says what I believe based on years of teaching experience.
“Decoding-is the central skill in initial reading. Most of the other skills are nothing more than language skills. Once a sentence has been decoded, it is like a spoken sentence that may have been presented slowly. If the child has the language skills necessary to understand the spoken sentence, the child has the skills necessary to understand the decoded sentence. The central issue is not that of teaching the child to understand, but of teaching the child how to decode the sentences that are to be understood. We should not require the child to read sentences that are beyond the child’s understanding,…”
As a former colleague of mine said, “Thirteen years of formal education before studying for a career occur because it is necessary.”
My wish is for every child to receive the benefit of what modern education has to offer by ensuring the fundamental reading and writing skills are developed in the early years of schooling.
Many researchers, teachers and scholars have contributed to the education debate and will continue to do so.
I would like to pay tribute to the authors of
“Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons”
Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox and Elaine Bruner
1983 Fireside Books, Simon and Schuster
for their contribution to my professional understanding.