One of the most
important skills a child can learn is how to read. It is a key to
successfully functioning in today’s society. Reading is necessary
for everyday tasks such as following road signs, following a recipe,
or filling out a job application. Reading builds cognitive skills and
opens up a world of information. Once a child can read, they can
learn about any subject that interests them! Learning to read may
sound like a simple task, but it actually requires performing many
different skills simultaneously. Reading involves phonemic awareness,
phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Each of these
separate skills and concepts must be taught and practiced in order
for a child to become a reader.
By
the time children enter a classroom, they have already developed many
basic literacy skills. So many things that parents do with their
child help to guide and develop emerging literacy. As parents speak
to their baby, they teach him about oral communication. As the child
recognizes different sounds, he begins to develop phonemic awareness.
When the child begins connecting meanings with words, he builds his
vocabulary. As parents read bedtime stories to their children, they
introduce the concept of written language. All of these skills build
the foundation for their child to learn how to read. (Collins &
Koralek, 2013).
My mother is an
elementary school librarian. She loves to read and has instilled that
love in me. Upon hearing that I was going to have a baby, she filled
an entire shelf with books for her future granddaughter. Long before
my daughter could sit up, I was reading books to her. At the time, I
was not thinking about the emergent literacy skills I was introducing
to her, I was simply spending quality time with my baby. As I look
back, I realize that I was introducing my daughter to the world of
written language and establishing a love for reading.
All
of the language skills that children acquire through play and day to
day life will provide the foundation for the instruction they receive
in school. Phonemic awareness is one of the first things that
children will learn during reading instruction. The purpose of
teaching children about phonemic awareness is to help them recognize
that words are made of small units of sound. While this understanding
will be natural and easy for some, it will be very challenging for
others. Assessing phonemic awareness is one way teachers can detect
possible reading difficulties such as dyslexia. Children who struggle
with reading because of disabilities such as dyslexia will greatly
benefit from an intensive focus of phonemic awareness before working
on the other skills necessary for reading (May, 2006).
Phonics
is the first thing most people think of when they want to teach
someone to read. Phonics is the understanding that letters represent
different sounds. When those sounds are put together, they make words
(Five Essential Components of Reading, 2008). According to the
National Reading Panel (2014), “Kindergarteners who receive
systematic beginning phonics instruction read better than other
children.” When my daughter was in kindergarten, she created an
alphabet notebook. Each day in school they would learn all about a
letter. For example, when they learned the letter “p”, they
played I Spy to look for things with the letter “P”. They played
with pink Play-Doh, and they painted purple polka dots on pink pigs.
When she came home, her homework was to search her house for things
that started with that letter. We stuck pony, princess, and pirate
stickers into the notebook. We glued in pieces of pasta and pictures
of pots and pans. My daughter loved learning the different letters
and their sounds. These fun activities built the foundation for her
ability to read today.
Another
key component of reading is vocabulary. A child can have a great
understanding of phonics, but if he does not know the meaning of the
words, he will never become a successful reader. Vocabulary can be
taught with instruction. By providing students with a word, its
pronunciation, and its meaning, children can learn new vocabulary.
When new words are introduced, children need many opportunities to
use the new word. Vocabulary can be practiced by using the word in
sentences and matching definitions with new words. Vocabulary is most
often built through our experiences. The more opportunities children
have to experience new things, the easier it will be for them to
build a strong vocabulary (Ruddell, 2006).
Vocabulary
is necessary for understanding. My daughter recently learned this
when she read a short story called, “A Song in the Night.” The
story was about the “woes” of the Underground Railroad. My
daughter thought that the word “woe” meant the same thing as
“Whoa!” The meaning of this one word changed the expectations
that she held for the story. As she read, she expected to find
excitement and adventure. Instead, the story focused on hardships. My
daughter's teacher recognized her confusion and was able to teach her
the new vocabulary. My daughter already understood the concept of
hardships and sorrow, therefore, her teacher simply explained the new
vocabulary term that stood for the concept.
Fluency
is another essential component of reading. Fluency refers to a
reader’s rate, accuracy, and expression. The goal of fluency is to
be able to read in the same way you would speak. This skill should be
modeled by teachers often. Before a child can develop this skill,
they must first have a good grasp of phonics and vocabulary. When a
child struggles with fluency, he will most likely struggle with
understanding as well. Teachers can help their students become more
fluent readers by allowing them to reread favorite stories, providing
books that are below their instructional reading level, or allowing
them to practice reading a passage before they read it aloud in a
reader's theater (Johns, 2012).
The
final essential component of reading is comprehension. Comprehension,
or understanding what was read, is the ultimate goal for reading.
However, without phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and
fluency, comprehension would never be possible. Comprehension
involves more than simply sounding out the words. It is more than
understanding the words on the page. Comprehension means
understanding the words and then using prior knowledge and personal
judgment to grasp the meaning and purpose of the passage.
Comprehension is a very complex skill. It requires asking questions,
making predictions and setting goals before reading the text. As a
person decodes the text using his knowledge of phonics, and word
recognition, he must simultaneously decipher meaning from the words.
Further still, reading comprehension requires “reading between the
lines,” or understanding what is inferred as well as what is
written explicitly (Texas Education Agency, 2002).
Reading
requires using a complex combination of skills. Learning to read
requires time and dedication. However, it is one of the most
important skills a child can master. The ability to read unlocks a
world of knowledge. Today my daughter is seven and reading at a
seventh grade level. She is doing great in school, and she has strong
self-esteem. Some nights I fear I have created a monster when I check
on her late at night and she is hiding still awake with a book under
her covers. But I am thrilled that she loves to read! My daughter’s
success in reading is the result of many people who have patiently
bestowed in her the skills she needed to become the reader she is
today. My mother and I may have modeled a love for reading, but
without her teachers, who have given her the skills she needed, she
would not have reached her full potential.
References
Collins,
R. & Koralek, D. (2013). How Most Children Learn to Read. Reading
Rockets.
Retrieved
on January 24, 2014, from: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/386
The
Five Essential Components of Reading. (2008). K12Reader.
Retrieved on January 24, 2014
May,
T. S. (2013). Dissecting Dyslexia. Reading
Rockets. Retrieved
on January 22, 2014 from:
Johns,
J. L. (2012). Basic
Reading Inventory.
Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Ruddell,
R. (2006). Teaching
Children To Read and Write. Boston:
Pearson.
Teaching
Children to Read. (2014). National
Reading Panel. Retrieved
on January 26, 2014
Texas
Education Agency. What Research Tells Us About Reading,
Comprehension, and
Comprehension Instruction.(2002). Reading
Rockets. Retrieved
on January 24, 2014
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