Improving Reading Instruction

Good reading instruction

In 1966 Rudolf Flesch wrote the best seller “Why Johnny Can’t Read.” This was both a telling condemnation of the way that American school students were taught to read as well as exposing the failure of teachers to make our population a literate one. Since the wheels of education progress turn ever so slowly, Flesch, followed up in 1981 with “Why Johnny Still Can’t Read.” He blamed the methodology that classroom teachers used as one of the culprits in America’s students having reading difficulties.

Over the years there has been quite a bit of research about what works best to get students to read- the look and say method, ITA (Initial Teaching Alphabet), Chunking- the list goes on.

Below is another thought to ponder when teaching reading:

Research has demonstrated that the most effective read-alouds are those where children are actively involved asking and answering questions and making predictions, rather than passively listening.  Classroom teachers should, encourage students to make predictions or inferences that explain a character's motivation or bring together disparate events from different parts of the story. Teachers prompt children to engage in analytical thinking by making comments that model such thinking and then asking thoughtful questions. Students should be encouraged to retell stories or even act them out.

 Here are some strategies to aid in the development of effective reading strategies for the classroom.

·         Use prior knowledge

·         Have students read aloud

·         Teacher read aloud to class

·         Talk to class bout thinking.

·         Have students develop strategies to think about the story independently

Additionally you might want to take a look at a few web sites that I discovered.

http://www.readingrockets.org/

If you have not already visited this site- Reading Rockets, I suggest that you visit it soon. Reading Rockets is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. There are links for teachers, parents, principals, librarians and other education professionals. The site offers free downloadable reading guides that can accompany the PBS series” Launching Young Readers.” There are also family guides that are available in English, Spanish, Somali and Hmong.

“Created for preschool through second grade teachers, the Teachers' Guide lists reading achievements by grade level and suggests how teachers can foster the development of phonemic awareness, fluency, spelling, writing, and comprehension skills.”

Another site that I can suggest is Getcaughtreading.org. This site is sponsored by the Association of American Publishers. The site contents include a literacy program, newsletter, posters and information about supporting local libraries. The also sponsor a World Book Night, which this year was April 23^rd. The association maintains its own web site at www.publishers.org.