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How Children Learn to Read

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

from : http://www.k12reader.com/the-five-essential-components-of-reading/

May, T. S. (2013). Dissecting Dyslexia. Reading Rockets. Retrieved on January 22, 2014 from:

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/10779

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

from: www.nationalreadingpanel.org/default.htm

Texas Education Agency. What Research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and

Comprehension Instruction.(2002). Reading Rockets. Retrieved on January 24, 2014

from: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/29199

Logan

Logan

Logan was a struggling reader in the second grade. Luckily, he received an early intervention. A teacher worked with him on word recognition and decoding. In the middle of third grade, his teacher gave him the Basic Reading Inventory, and it showed that he had clearly made progress. According to his test results, his word recognition and comprehension were both above grade level. His only notable struggle was with fluency and rate. The Basic Reading Inventory gives suggestions for readers like Logan. By encouraging Logan to read material that will be easy and interesting for him, he can build fluency. He can reread books he enjoys, or read children's books aloud in younger grades. Allowing Logan opportunities to practice passages before reading them aloud will help him build confidence and fluency.

Article Summary

This is a summary and review of the article "Dissecting Dyslexia" by Thomas S. May.

You can also see my Prezi by clicking on this link :) Dyslexia Prezi

Summary

The article “Dissecting Dyslexia” by Thomas S. May is filled with fascinating results from scientific studies. The studies May described in this article were all performed with the goal of uncovering a genetic or anatomical cause for dyslexia. Scientists believed they would be able to find a genetic cause for dyslexia because it often runs in families. The purpose for uncovering the cause of dyslexia is to then discover how it can be treated.

The first study that Mays describes was published in 2005. In the study, a research team worked with 153 families with dyslexic children. The study uncovered that reading ability is linked to the DCDC2 gene found on chromosome 6. The children in this study who had severe reading difficulties were missing this section of DNA. Further tests revealed that this missing section of DNA resulted in altered brain structure and function. People with dyslexia do not use the same region of their brain when reading as non-dyslexic readers. They use a portion of their brain that is typically not used for reading.

Once researchers uncovered the cause of dyslexia, they began studying how to help individuals with this disability. Mays next described a study where researchers worked with dyslexic children intensively for a sixteen week period. During the first eight weeks, the training focused on phonological awareness. For the second eight weeks, the focus switched to word recognition, comprehension, and fluency. Testing revealed improvements in reading ability, but perhaps even more fascinating was the difference that was observed in the children’s brain function. The brain functions actually changed to resemble those of non-dyslexic people. Through intensive focus on reading skills, the children were able to “rewire” their brains!

Brain research shows that much growth and development occurs in the first few years of life. Therefore, the earlier dyslexia is diagnosed, and the sooner the child receives training, the better the chances are that they will be able to completely rewire their brains.

Reflection

I found this article fascinating! I was first astounded that scientists were able to locate the precise gene that caused dyslexia. I also am amazed that they could prove that the missing gene resulted in an altered brain structure and function. This means that by examining DNA or by using magnetic source imaging of the brain, doctors could diagnose babies with dyslexia. This early detection could then lead to early intervention. While intervention at any age might be effective, the effectiveness is greatly increased when the intervention is early.

As an educator, I also was fascinated with the method of intervention. The retraining of the brain involved focusing first on phonological awareness. This is the understanding that letters represent different sounds. The children in the study were 8 and 9 year olds. This means they would have already been to school and in reading programs. Yet, the method of teaching reading had not been effective for them. The problem was that their brains were not wired to recognize letters and connect those letters to sounds. Through focusing on this fundamental skill intensively for eight weeks, the children were able to build the connection that was missing.

As an educator, the ability to diagnose dyslexia can be the source of answers and solutions. If a child I am tutoring is dyslexic, I will know the reason for his struggles. This means I will know to begin with activities that will build phonological awareness. Asking a child to read when they do not know how to connect the symbols they see on the page with the sounds they represent will cause nothing but frustration. Regardless of the age or grade of the child, if he is truly dyslexic, we must begin with the fundamental skill of phonological awareness. This knowledge can give me the confidence to work on the skills that I know will help the dyslexic child make connections and become a fluent reader.

I have a child in my class who I fear may suffer from dyslexia. While she has not been diagnosed, she struggles horribly with reading. As I read about how dyslexic children do not process the symbols they see on a page in the same way non-dyslexic children do, I became more convinced that this is her struggle. This article gave me the answer of how to help this child. It also gave me hope that with the right training, she can become a fluent reader.

While dyslexia is a genetic disorder, it can be overcome with the right training. The human brain is incredible. Its plasticity is remarkable. The results of the studies in this article give hope to teachers, parents, and students. Now that a treatment for dyslexia is known to work, the diagnosis does not have to be a life sentence of illiteracy. With early intervention, dyslexia can be conquered!

References

May, T.S. (2006). Dissecting Dyslexia. Reading Rockets. Http://www.readingrockets.org/article/10779

This is my first blog :)