Continuing Reading Education
Mary Pecci on continuing
reading education:
I believe that it is ESSENTIAL that
formal reading instruction be continued AT LEAST through Grade 6 - and many
schools continue it throughout Grade 8 (especially for special ed students).
Remember that reading is no different than any other skill - it is
mastered in DEVELOPMENTAL stages. For example, would you expect a child who had
been taught to read the notes on a music sheet to play Tchaikovsky’s Concerto?
Of course not! It takes years of practice and exposure to develop that kind of
ability and fluency.
One of the biggest mistakes many homeschoolers make is that they
believe that they can simply teach their children some phonics skills, give
them a few practice drills, and then hand them a book and say, "Now read
this." It doesn't work that way - especially with our inconsistent English
language. Even if written English were totally consistent, it still takes
several exposures to new words before immediate recognition (fluency) is
achieved. To exaggerate to make my point - can the average person read a
medical journal fluently?
Developmental readers are designed at each grade level to include
the COMMON WORDS utilized by students at that AGE level - words that also
reflect their INTEREST level. For example, see how easily you can determine in
which grade level reader each of the following sentences would appear: Grade 1,
Grade 5, or Grade 8?
1. As we neared the campsite, we discovered that some of the
woodland creatures were hovering nearby.
2. We like to run and play at the park.
3. The anticipation of the general public concerning the outcome
of the philosophical conclusions of the committee had risen to record levels.
Developmental readers go from one-syllable words to multisyllable
words and from simple concepts to more sophisticated concepts - and, above all,
INCLUDE the common content area words that may be missed when reading is taught
with pick-and-choose books. For example, children may never be exposed to
common unphonetic words such as: patient, anxious, aisle, etc. Consequently,
this would result in hesitant reading, constantly interrupted by having to look
up words in the dictionary. Also, developmental readers repeat each word often
enough to promote fluency.
Granted, there are some children who do very well after Grade 3 on
their own - just as we have piano virtuosos. However, especially with Special
Ed students, I would never take that chance. They need the security of having
all of the new words (and concepts) introduced formally BEFORE each selection
is read.
Meanwhile, you can supplement each grade level developmental
reader with grade level library books - books that build a well-rounded
literature-based background, which cater to each child’s special interests, and
which reinforce and help build SOLID reading skills.
Mary Pecci
At Last!
A Reading Method for Every Child