Reading.....a different perspective

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This topic was very hot when I was getting my teacher's license....whole language or phonics. First, I always wondered why it could not be a bit of a combination but it seemed that every article I read while earning my teacher's license seemed to say it had to be one or the other. The other thing I noticed was that students who seemed to learn using whole language had higher comprehension skills than their spelling skills and students that learned to read using phonics appeared to be good at spelling yet struggled with reading comprehension.

What I observed over the years as a tutor, parent and teacher was authority putting guidelines on what their child or student was allowed to read.  A good reader would be punished by being told that he or she needed to read a higher level book to challenge him or herself and a lower level reader would be told to put a book back because it was too hard for him or her and get one that was at a lower level.  I don't think either of these things is necessarily good for a student's self-esteem.  Now I have had students pick a book too hard and they just waste their time not reading it, that child I would tell to pick another book or if I thought he or she really was interested I would get a CD for the student to follow along with as they read.  I have had students decide on their own after listening on CD and following along that the book was too hard and ask to choose another one a bit easier. Allowing students to make this choice I feel allows them to be more careful and choose something they will be able to read.  I have also had students pick books too hard for them that they actually wanted to read it.  I have watched them struggle and keep at it, taking pain staking time to sound out words or using other decoding skills.  Perseverance is one of the skills of the 21st Century, so I don't think it is a bad thing to allow a student that is not getting frustrated by the difficult material to continue reading a high level book.

Another thing that I read when studying for my teacher's license was that kids who loose teeth late or learn to tie their shoes later become late readers.  This was true with my own children. Two of them did not lose their first tooth until 7 and both really started learning to read around the end of third grade and were both caught up and on grade level by 6th grade. My other children learned to read as young as kindergarten, oh and the child who read at 5 lost his first tooth in kindergarten. He always was really good a memorizing things quickly, so if he saw a word once he could recognize it later.

The fact that most kids learn to read between 4-8 has always made me wonder why they don't target more students starting the end of 2nd grade or beginning of 3rd grade as these would be students who would be the most at-risk. I think more support is needed in 2nd and 3rd grade with more one-on-one, although I think any schools now are making a huge effort to include title reading not only in elementary school but also in middle school.

I remember when one of the reading recovery programs first came out the cost to train one teacher to do one-to-one training for a first grader was so high my jaw dropped.  I think now that programs are a bit more mainstream that cost has come down significantly.  I thought that putting a first grader in an intense one-on-one reading program when the research I read said that some kids were not ready to read that young and from what I recall about 95% catch up by 3rd grade.  I mean the goal is for students to love reading. Young students need lots of exposure to literature, self-writing, being read to and lots of books available.  Let's face it,  I personally am a very good reader. I read quickly and have great comprehension.  I also have taken several reading tests where I missed only one question.  That said, some things are just too boring for me to read.  I can't imagine being a struggling reader and being forced to study and read things that I was not even interested in reading.  I would say more than half of teaching a student ANY subject is for the student to have self-motivation.  They have to want to learn to read...you can't shove that down their throat. The old saying you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink.

These are ideas I have actually seen in practice, done myself or suggested that a parent try. Reading is so important and when students become better readers, grades in all their subjects tend to come rise.  Even math is very difficult if a student is not a proficient reader.

1.  Home book bags.  Students in elementary school have a book bag that gets filled with a new book or two each week.  They bring the bag home, read the book, share the book with their parent or guardian and then return the bag to get refilled.  This is great for students that may not have many books at home. I think it also is a great addition to the library where students can hem and haw all day trying to find a book.

2.  Buddy readers.  You have a 4th or 5th grader who is struggling to read but doesn't want to read baby books.  Pair him with a kindergartner and they will both benefit.  He or she gets to practice basic site words and learn decoding skills as a kindergartner book will have lots of picture cues.  The younger kids gets a role model that is reading to him or her.  The pride of being able to read to a younger child seems to really get an older child's self-esteem raised. If you are worried he may stumble too much you could always have him practice with you first or ask him or her if they see any challenging words that they would like help decoding before they are scheduled to read.  They can even practice by themselves first.  They are now  motivated to read a lower level book with picture codes because they have a reason to improve, so that they can read to their little buddy.  You can also have your child read to a younger brother or sister or even a pet.

3.  Books on tape.  All my kids started listening to books on tape by age 2 and several of my kids continued until age 19 listening to stories as they fell asleep or even when they were relaxing on the couch.  When I taught 2nd grade I always had a reading center station with headphones that students took turning listening and following along with the story. The beauty of this is if your 4th or 5th graders is a grade or two behind, he or she is still practicing their reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary words by being able to listen to a 4th, 5th or even 6th grade book.  If there is a popular book at school and everyone is talking about it, they can listen to it at home and then be able to join  into the discussions at school.  You can even have them recount what is happening in the book every day when you drive them to school or are eating dinner at home. We check books on tape out at the library, order used ones from Amazon, pick them up at outlet malls or the new thing we use is Audible on a tablet.  Some of books on tape that we have listened to over the years are Wilbur, Katie Kazoo Switcharoo, The Lemonade War, Magic Tree house, Harry Potter, Gooney Bird Green, Amber Brown, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,  Junie B. Jones and Adventures in Odyssey. There are many other books on tape we just never got to like The Chronicles of Narnis I know is on CD, we just haven't listen to it.

Tablet playing a book on tape.

4.  Let them read what they want. Heck sometimes the cereal box is pretty interesting. If that is the case you could make a trip to the grocery store a couple times a month and let them pick out their favorite cereal and encourage them to read the box.  Shopping and errand running is a real world experience that helps kids learn why reading is important and how it is used on a daily basis.

5.  Reading their own writing.  If you need to, have the child dictate their story to you and you write it out. I have with many students wrote out what they said then they copy it in their writing journal.  Each week the students would have to read one journal entry to the class.  I would practice with that child until he or she could read it or at least have it memorized.  No I don't think memorizing it is cheating. Not being able to participate in a classroom activity with confidence is worse.  If they were close but still struggling a bit, I would stand next to the student and help them quietly if necessary.  If the student ad libbed a bit, no harm, after all it is his or her story.
      I have said this in a previous blog, at home have your child write the shopping list or even the list of errands.  What child doesn't want to make sure that his or her favorite items get picked up at the store.  Go shopping when you are not in a hurry and let your child read the list to you and help you find the items.  He or she can check off each items as it is put in the cart. You can take it a step further, for instance he or she can read you the ingredients on the label.  If there are any allergies or if your family avoids MSG or food coloring you can teach the child how to read a label to look for these items. If running errands they can check off each stop as you make them or read off which stops are still left. Years before I was a teacher I was always amazed at how little tiny kids could "read".  I literally could not figure it out. Years later I realized they were recognizing logos.  Part of this awareness came when I realized that my 2 year old thought that a picture of a shell meant gas, as he had never been to the beach before.

6.  If you haven't signed your child up for the summer reading program you need to do so this coming summer.  I think most library have them, if not make your own summer reading program.  Our local program gives a two sided card where one side of a the card students keep track of books they have read and the other side of the card has activities for them to do.  My kids love to read through the activities and decide which ones that want to complete. Definitely a motivation to read. When they complete their summer reading card they get a few prizes. One library gives free stuff from local merchants (free ice cream cone, free cup cake, free swim pass, etc.), another library gives a free book. Barnes and Noble has a free reading program where your child can win a book.  It is a fun and often great way to motivate all readers, even the ones that are a little bit reluctant.  Since it is suppose to be fun let you kids pick their own books. If the program is set up to read for so long, if they pick easier books they will just have to read more of them as rushing through isn't enough time to document an hour.  Let them pick a chapter book or a lot of easier short stories.

7.  Garage sales.  Yep, I don't like to do this activity but I have a few times and picked up a huge box of assorted kids books for almost nothing, a ton of sports illustrated magazines, and lots of other reading material. What a fun, inexpensive way for you to spend a Saturday morning with your child and find a few fun books to keep around the house.

8.  Really icky chores.  Choices are what motivates some kids.  My kids fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) are not lovers of chores.  Especially early in the a.m.  I started off with really kinda nasty chores.  Who wants to empty the cat's litter box or would you rather read a book while I empty it. (need I say I still can't ever get them to empty a litter box).  If one kid is reading and the other not, I would ask the kid who was not reading to please empty the litter-box as their brother/sister is reading.  It soon became very much like Pavlov's theory where ringing a bell to make the dogs think of food.  As soon as I start cleaning the house in the a.m. all I have to do is look around and all the kids would have books in their hands and be reading.  It is the unwritten rule in our home not to disturb someone who is reading.  Bedtimes can even be extended a bit if someone is reading a good book and just can't put it down.

9.  Read aloud to your child.  I even read to my middle school students or we would listen to books on tape once in a while.  Books I have used for this have been Pop, Al Capone Series and The Watson's Go to Birmingham.  The Al Capone Series is on tape, The Watson's Go to Birmingham have a video to watch after it is read but my favorite one of all time is Pop for reluctant readers.  I had a very low 7th grade student that was really struggling and we were listening on tape while everyone followed along with the book. Suddenly a light bulb came on in his head, he sat right by my desk, so he quietly leaned over and asked if they main character had Alzheimer's Disease.  He figured this out 2 days before anyone else in the class.  The book was motivating as football was something that interested him.  Quick side note here.  I was able to borrow a class set and the CD from my local library.
     If you don't get car sick and another adult is driving, read to your kids on those long car trip. If I am driving we usually get a book on tape for the trip but when I am a passenger and the kids were little I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the trip went very smooth and quickly for everyone.
     When I read with students I tutor or my own students we use to take turns reading a page.  This gives them a chance to take a break from decoding words and work on their comprehension skills and practice active listening.  I found that most students liked to first look at the book to see if they wanted to be the first reader or the second reader.  They were looking ahead of time to make sure that they would not get stuck with all long pages as they wanted to make sure the  teacher would get the long pages.  This was actually very motivating and they usually would not tell me what they were doing so many students thought they were getting one over on me.  Also such a small choice as if they would rather read first or second helped the student feel more in control and that appeared to make the student more motivated to read.

10.  Make everyday a reading day. Even if your child reads Wimpy Kid a millions times or looks at picture books of dinosaurs or fire engines, get them into the habit early.  Both at home and at work I have always kept several boxes of books that I have picked up for free or very inexpensive at library sells or garage sales.  There are some books geared for older students but have lots of fantastic pictures of the planets, cars or  other things.  I had one students, a ninth grader, who had very little motivation for school.  I found his passion was working on cars and I found out what type of cars he liked to work on.  I was able to locate through the library system several of these books and found that not only did the books motivate him but several other students found these books interesting. The short blurbs about each car was interesting and short enough to encourage reading or encouraging the student to ask me the meaning of a word or two.

These ideas are just a few that I have come up with or seen being done over the past 30 years.  I think it is important to realize the end goal is to have your child be a proficient reader who not only enjoys reading but has developed the good habit to make time to read.  Remember though that the journey is part of the fun, it should not be like pulling teeth. When all else fails I have just been plain honest with my kid or students.  I tell them, look, you need to be a good reader because you will need to read information about buying a car, house, fixing something, etc. and you don't want to be taken advantage of because you have trouble reading.  I then give them a choice, do you want to pick a book or me?  Would you rather read an hour this morning, an hour tonight or do 30 min. in the a.m. and 30 min. in the p.m.  For every hour you read you earn an hour of T.V. time.  At the library you pick out a few books and I will pick out a few books so you will have plenty to choose from.  Some of the best books I have found beside a good chapter book are how to do things books.  Duct tape art, art from trash, how to train your dog, pet care, etc.  Non-fiction reading is more difficult for most students than fiction, yet many high school and college heavy reading is going to be non-fiction. So learning to read both fiction and non-fiction is beneficial to your child.  I have also found historical fiction is great to read then research the book's information more with non-fiction books.  The historical non-fiction might just spark a child to read some non-fiction books portraying to the information they have just read.

P.S.  Don't forget to model reading yourself.  And if you are a reluctant reader, have a librarian help you find something that motivates you to be a positive reading role model!