tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/learning-to-read-10026/articlesLearning to read – The Conversation2024-01-08T17:12:29Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2203602024-01-08T17:12:29Z2024-01-08T17:12:29ZConcerned about student mental health? How wellness is related to academic achievement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568050/original/file-20240105-27-xj485x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C163%2C5464%2C3449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can and should support both student mental health and student academic achievement, because they affect each other. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/concerned-about-student-mental-health-how-wellness-is-related-to-academic-achievement" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Supporting student mental health and well-being has become a priority for schools. This was the case even prior to the increased <a href="https://theconversation.com/child-and-youth-mental-health-problems-have-doubled-during-covid-19-162750">signs of child and youth mental health adversity</a> in and after the pandemic. </p>
<p>Supporting student mental health is important because students of all ages can experience stressors that negatively affect their well-being and sometimes lead to mental health diagnoses.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.10.005">some have suggested</a> we can either <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/20/stop-stressing-out-our-kids-why-childrens-mental-health-is-as-important-as-academic-achievement-7084383/">support academic success or mental health</a> — and that mental health is <a href="https://www.connectedforlife.co.uk/blog/2017/11/22/childrens-mental-health-is-more-important-than-academic-achievement">more important than academic achievement</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878520980197">we can and should support both</a> academic success and mental health — because they affect each other. </p>
<p>As a researcher who examines school-based mental health and also as a former school psychologist, it’s clear to me that one of the best ways to support mental health is to support academic development, especially early in children’s education.</p>
<h2>Well-being in education</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264273856-en">Well-being in educational</a> settings involves all aspects of students’ lives: physical, cognitive, social and psychological functioning. </p>
<p>Education policymakers, schools and educators must attend to student well-being holistically rather than targeting one area at the expense of other areas. </p>
<p>A great deal of research shows that early academic performance predicts mental health and well-being. Most of the research showing this relationship between well-being and academic success is in the area of reading. </p>
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<img alt="Students seen working together at desks in a classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568047/original/file-20240105-29-gqgax9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A great deal of research shows that early academic performance predicts mental health and well-being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.all4ed.org/female-elementary-students-work-on-poster">(Allison Shelley/ EDUimages)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Recent reports <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/experience-students-and-families">from both Ontario</a> and Saskatchewan <a href="https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Equitable-Education-for-Students-with-Reading-Disabilities-report.pdf">human rights commissions</a> highlighted the important role of strong reading instruction for student well-being, confidence and academic engagement. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers-214129">Reading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers</a>
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<h2>Stronger reading abilities, positive outcomes</h2>
<p>In the example of reading and mental health, gaining reading skills increases positive student outcomes. Good readers report being more <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593894.pdf">satisfied with their lives</a>. </p>
<p>Later, they have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.socscimed.2020.112971">fewer symptoms</a> of anxiety and depression. Teachers rate students with strong reading skills as more prosocial and as having fewer behaviour problems. </p>
<p>These students are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v9i1.5053">more confident, have higher emotional intelligence and demonstrate more empathy</a>. These positive outcomes are related to reading skill development, an important early indicator of academic success.</p>
<h2>Poorer reading skills, worse outcomes</h2>
<p>Being a poor reader, however, increases the risk for poor outcomes. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022219408321123#">Weak readers</a> in early grades are more likely to have behavioural problems later. They also have <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26097274/">poorer self-concept and self control, difficulty with relationships</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v9i1.5053">shame, anxiety</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2018.09.002">depression</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">suicidality and delinquency</a>. </p>
<p>Students who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194060390060301">drop out of school</a> are more likely to be poor readers, and poor readers are more likely to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">involved with the criminal justice system</a>. It is particularly telling that one of the best ways to keep youth from re-offending is to <a href="https://richardfelson.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/acaddel.pdf">teach them to read</a>.</p>
<h2>Students with dyslexia</h2>
<p>The relationship between dyslexia and poor well-being and mental health further reveals the interaction between academic success and mental health. Students with dyslexia, which is characterized by difficulties gaining reading skills, have more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2018.1479975">difficulty making friends</a>, and having friends is an integral part of mental health.</p>
<p>They are also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00366.x">more likely to be bullied</a> and to have low self-esteem. More specifically, having dyslexia increases the risk for also having <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12519-009-0049-7">anxiety, depression</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194211056297">behavioural problems</a>.</p>
<h2>Equity, reading instruction and well-being</h2>
<p>Further, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01015.x">students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds</a> are at greater risk both of not gaining adequate reading skills and of worse mental-health outcomes.</p>
<p>Language and literacy researchers <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/EdCan-2006-v46-n2-Beswick.pdf">Joan F. Beswick and Elizabeth A. Sloat</a> contend that adequate access to strong reading instruction is a social justice issue. Their research, and <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/FINAL%20R2R%20REPORT%20DESIGNED%20April%2012.pdf">other findings</a>, document how students from poorer neighbourhoods are less likely to receive adequate reading instruction. This disproportionately puts them at risk for mental health problems that reduce their well-being.</p>
<p>The relationship between academic success and well-being is not limited to elementary school reading. High-school students who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.007">achieve academically</a> also have <a href="https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2020/20975/pdf/JERO_2020_2_Kleinkorres_Stang_McElvany_A_longitudinal_analysis.pdf">better mental health</a>. </p>
<h2>A two-way relationship</h2>
<p>It is important to note, nevertheless, that the relationship between academic achievement and mental health is bidirectional. </p>
<p>Some research shows that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29150840/;%20%22%22">poor mental health, including behaviour problems, affect academic outcomes</a>.</p>
<p>The relationship between academic success and mental health is complex and likely interactive with both <a href="https://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2020/20975/pdf/JERO_2020_2_Kleinkorres_Stang_McElvany_A_longitudinal_analysis.pdf">poor achievement and excessive competition for high marks contributing to poor mental health</a>. Academic performance and mental health each affect the other — either supportively or adversely.</p>
<h2>Unhealthy academic competition</h2>
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<img alt="A boy at a desk writing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568053/original/file-20240105-23-q4jp9n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A focus on academic competition negatively impacts mental health and well-being.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Strong academic performance supports mental health and well-being, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.10.005">unhealthy levels of academic competition negatively impact mental health and well-being</a>. Reining in this unhealthy focus on intense academic competition is important. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/classdojo-raises-concerns-about-childrens-rights-111033">ClassDojo raises concerns about children's rights</a>
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<p>But only focusing on stressors of classroom competition in the relationship between academic performance and mental health could have adverse effects in the short- and longer term: It could reduce the mental health of students by not supporting healthy academic growth that promotes mental health and well-being. </p>
<p>It could also fail to teach students practices or habits required to navigate challenges with resiliency.</p>
<h2>Need to support both</h2>
<p>If we want to support student well-being and mental health, we need to support mental health directly by developing healthy school climates, teaching social emotional learning, and providing psychological services in schools. </p>
<p>But we also must support student academic success. This is the case especially as our most vulnerable students are at risk of both academic difficulty and mental health problems. </p>
<p>We don’t have to choose: we can and should support students’ academic success and mental health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220360/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Wilcox is affiliated with Learning Disabilities Association of Alberta and the Learning Disabilities & ADHD Network Calgary Region. </span></em></p>A key way to support mental health and well-being is to support strong reading instruction especially early in children’s education.Gabrielle Wilcox, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141542023-11-08T19:10:35Z2023-11-08T19:10:35ZWhen do kids learn to read? How do you know if your child is falling behind?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558231/original/file-20231108-15-umy0hf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C44%2C5982%2C3943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/positive-black-boy-reading-fairytale-with-bright-pictures-6437460/">Marta Wave/Pexels </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Learning to read is one of the most important parts of early schooling. But there is ongoing and arguably increasing concern too many Australian children are falling behind in reading. </p>
<p>This year’s NAPLAN results alarmingly show almost <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results">one in three</a> Australian children don’t meet the expected standard in Year 3.</p>
<p>What are the expectations around when children learn to read and how should their progress be monitored?</p>
<h2>When do children start to learn to read?</h2>
<p>In Australia, school is where formal reading instruction begins. So most children start to learn to read at age five or six.</p>
<p>In some countries children won’t begin to learn to read until seven because they start school later, while in other countries they might start at age four.</p>
<p>There is no optimal age to start to learn to read and beginning the process before a child reaches school age <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reading-minds/201711/precocious-reading">does not necessarily give them an advantage</a>. </p>
<p>But once school begins, children should be taught about the sounds that letters typically make (for example, the letter t makes the “t” sound). After a few months of continuous instruction, they should be able to use the letter sounds they’ve been taught to read simple words that use these same letter sounds. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean your child should be reading fluently by the end of their first year, but they should be able to remember and use what they have practised at school to read some simple words and text. </p>
<h2>What should I do before they start school?</h2>
<p>Parents can help prepare their child to learn to read before they reach school age.</p>
<p>One of the most reliable predictors of learning to read well is a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10573569.2012.702040">strong spoken vocabulary</a>, so explaining what words mean and discussing a range of topics with your child is an excellent start. </p>
<p>Reading <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888438.2018.1435663">with your child</a> is another way to boost their vocabulary. Learning to read relies on a foundation of children learning the connections between letters and sounds. So when parents teach children to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01923/full">pay attention to letters and sounds in words</a>, it helps them to learn to break the code.</p>
<p>Having books available to children to explore on their own (and with your help) may also increase their interest in learning to read. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-to-get-the-most-out-of-silent-reading-in-schools-123531">10 ways to get the most out of silent reading in schools</a>
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<h2>Many kids take time to learn</h2>
<p>Even if you have lots of books at home and read together, there is natural variation in how quickly children learn to read. Some children learn the connections between letters and sounds quickly and form memories of written words after only a few attempts at reading them. </p>
<p>But many children take longer to learn and require more practise and support.</p>
<p>The reasons some children don’t learn to read as well as others are often complex. </p>
<p>For example, one child may need more practice making the connections between letters and sounds than others. Another may have limited spoken language skills and need additional support to improve their sensitivity to the sounds of language or develop their understanding of what words mean.</p>
<p>It is important for parents to know that having difficulty with learning to read does not say anything about their child’s intelligence. Reading difficulties can impact children with a <a href="https://psychology.org.au/for-members/publications/inpsych/2021/november-issue-4/specific-learning-disability">wide range</a> of intellectual abilities and intelligence is not a criterion for diagnosing a reading difficulty. </p>
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<img alt="A mother and two young children sit together reading a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557647/original/file-20231106-25-pv2on.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Reading with your child can help boost their vocabulary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/children-reading-a-book-with-their-mother-7105613/">Kinder Media/Pexels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>How do I know if my child needs more help?</h2>
<p>Schools and teachers should routinely monitor children’s reading progress. This is particularly important during the first three years of school but should continue throughout the primary school years. </p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.motif.org.au">free and reliable tests</a> to <a href="https://dibels.uoregon.edu/materials/dibels-australasian">assess</a> reading skills. </p>
<p>If a consistent gap is identified within the first year at school, a child should be offered additional help and opportunities for practise both at school and at home. It’s important to note gaps in reading achievement should be filled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4610292/">when the gap is small</a>, rather than taking a “wait and see” approach that allows the gap to widen and for the child to fall further behind.</p>
<p>If you are concerned your child is finding it difficult to learn to read even after several months of intensive additional support, an expert assessment by a reading clinician is an important step. </p>
<p>Parents can find professional help for learning difficulties in Australia by visiting <a href="https://auspeld.org.au/about/">AUSPELD</a>, which supports children and adults with learning difficulties. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/some-kids-with-reading-difficulties-can-also-have-reading-anxiety-what-can-parents-do-215438">Some kids with reading difficulties can also have reading anxiety – what can parents do?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214154/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NAPLAN results alarmingly show almost one in three Australian children don’t meet the expected standard in Year 3.Tina Daniel, Researcher and Lecturer, Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic UniversitySigny Wegener, Lecturer, Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2154382023-10-19T19:03:21Z2023-10-19T19:03:21ZSome kids with reading difficulties can also have reading anxiety – what can parents do?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553614/original/file-20231013-15-phvzcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5931%2C3924&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/assorted-books-on-book-shelves-1370295/">Element5 Digital/Pexels </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian children are facing some big challenges. NAPLAN <a href="https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/naplan-national-results">data shows</a> about one in three students in years 3 to 9 are behind in reading-related skills. It is also estimated about one in seven children have <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/health/children-mental-illness">poor mental health</a>. </p>
<p>Until recently, most people assumed these were separate problems. However, there is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404158.2022.2054834">growing evidence</a> difficulties with reading and mental health may be related in some children.</p>
<h2>What is reading anxiety?</h2>
<p>Recent studies suggest reading anxiety may be the mental health problem most closely related to reading difficulty.</p>
<p>Reading anxiety is an excessive fear of reading that interferes with everyday life. For example, a child may be so anxious about reading they refuse to go school.</p>
<p>Like <a href="https://theconversation.com/maths-anxiety-is-a-real-thing-here-are-3-ways-to-help-your-child-cope-200822">maths anxiety</a>, reading anxiety can affect both children and adults. In one of our very recent studies (not yet published), we discovered 50% of children with reading difficulties appeared to have reading anxiety. That equates to around one in ten children at primary school.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/maths-anxiety-is-a-real-thing-here-are-3-ways-to-help-your-child-cope-200822">'Maths anxiety' is a real thing. Here are 3 ways to help your child cope</a>
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<h2>How does reading anxiety happen?</h2>
<p>Why might a child who struggles with reading also develop reading anxiety? Current <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404158.2022.2054834">evidence suggests</a> the following hypothesis: </p>
<p>When a child first starts school, many children in their class will not read well. However, after a few months of reading lessons, most will start to improve. A few will not. Many of those children will get negative feedback about their reading from others (such as their teachers, parents and other students) or even from themselves. </p>
<p>They will then start to believe they are poor readers. Researchers call this a “poor reading self-concept”. </p>
<p>If a child believes they are bad at reading, they may start to feel worried or scared about reading, particularly in front of other people. </p>
<p>This anxiety can make it hard for them to concentrate in reading classes. Or they find a way to avoid going to reading classes at all, such as playing up in class so they get kicked out of the room.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young boy reads a book, using his finger as a guide." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553617/original/file-20231013-23-oqnb1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children may become fearful of reading in front of other people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/BPXSTl_HBhk">Michal Parzuchowski/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A negative cycle</h2>
<p>It is important to note these avoidance behaviours are an entirely reasonable response to reading anxiety. </p>
<p>Anxiety is a fight or flight response that evolved to keep humans alive. If you are facing a lion who wants to eat you (or you need to read in front of the class), the last thing you need to do is concentrate hard on learning how the lion’s growl sounds correspond to his paw movements (or how different letters correspond to different speech sounds). </p>
<p>What you really need to do is run away.</p>
<p>The trouble is, when it comes to reading, running away means not attending, or concentrating in, reading classes. This will make everything worse: your reading, your reading self-concept and your reading anxiety. This sets up a cycle of failure that gets stronger over time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/anxiety-can-affect-academic-performance-here-are-10-things-parents-and-teachers-can-do-to-relieve-the-pressure-168837">Anxiety can affect academic performance. Here are 10 things parents and teachers can do to relieve the pressure</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Is it possible to break this cycle?</h2>
<p>A couple of recent studies suggest we can help reading anxiety. </p>
<p>In 2021, a <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/10987/">case intervention study</a> gave eight Australian primary-school children 12 weeks of very intensive and targeted reading and anxiety intervention. All children showed significant improvements in their targeted reading and anxiety symptoms.</p>
<p>A 2020 <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/bjep.12401?casa_token=9c_QW4h2r6IAAAAA:ZbqB7NmohqK7SNuDxErgLOrUtoIVZxH9S7XQ4i7HN8ewcYeDZAddxQggjmHZgsAWNg_hYlvY67EQ2zUA">Australian study</a> delivered reading self-concept training to 40 children with reading difficulties. As a group, these children showed significant reductions in their non-productive coping strategies (such as procrastination or avoidance).</p>
<p>These results suggest it is possible to improve the mental health of children with reading difficulties with intensive and targeted training. But many more studies are needed before we can be sure. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young girl lies on a towel on the grass, reading a book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553618/original/file-20231013-25-p8rb19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Initial studies suggest it is possible to break the cycle between reading and anxiety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/IViUPh1dpLE">Skylar Zilka/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What can parents do?</h2>
<p>What can parents do if they suspect their child has problems with reading anxiety? </p>
<p>First, it is important to know both the reading and mental health problems need to be treated by experts. It is not something parents can do alone at home. </p>
<p>However, a parent can help identify if a child needs help. As a starting point, they could ask their child’s teacher, or a reading clinician, to screen their child for problems with reading and reading anxiety. A good free screen for reading is the CC2 word <a href="https://www.motif.org.au/cc2">reading test</a>. A good free screen for reading anxiety is the <a href="https://www.motif.org.au/rat">Reading Anxiety Test or RAT</a>.</p>
<p>If the results suggest a child has problems with both reading and reading anxiety, then teachers and reading clinicians can help parents find people to help. Not many people are experts in both reading and anxiety. But good clinicians will happily work together to support the diverse needs of children.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Genevieve McArthur has received funding from various funding bodies including the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. She works for the not-for-profit Dyslexia SPELD Foundation as well as the Australian Catholic University. </span></em></p>There is growing evidence suggesting difficulties with reading and mental health may be related in some children.Genevieve McArthur, Professor at the Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141292023-10-10T22:22:37Z2023-10-10T22:22:37ZReading disabilities are a human rights issue — Saskatchewan joins calls to address barriers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551855/original/file-20231003-23-co45y4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C352%2C7249%2C4219&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inquiries into how reading is taught across Canada join efforts in other countries to ensure educators are supporting students' rights to effective reading instruction. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/reading-disabilities-are-a-human-rights-issue-saskatchewan-joins-calls-to-address-barriers" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As fall school routines settle down, for many families whose children struggle with reading, it could mean another year of stress and financial burden as they navigate school systems to advocate for support.</p>
<p>Findings in the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission’s (SHRC) <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9977256/sask-human-rights-report-reading-disability-supports/">September 2023 report</a>, “<a href="https://saskatchewanhumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/EQUITABLE-EDUCATION-for-Students-Reading-Disabilities-Report-2023.pdf">Equitable Education for Students With Reading Disabilities in Saskatchewan’s K to 12 Schools: A Systemic Investigation Report</a>” capture the social and financial challenges faced by individuals and caregivers affected by dyslexia, and also the effects on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1531">mental health</a>. Families share difficulties they encounter in obtaining the necessary support and interventions in Saskatchewan school systems.</p>
<p>In 2020, the SHRC launched an investigation following a group complaint. Families of children diagnosed with <a href="https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-at-a-glance/">dyslexia</a> alleged their children were discriminated against based on disability and were not provided access to equitable education. </p>
<p>The report summarizes <a href="https://www.ldac-acta.ca/downloads/pdf/advocacy/Education%20Implications%20-%20Moore%20Decision.pdf">legal precedents</a> outlining <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/canada/employment-social-development/migration/documents/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/E0-2.pdf">government and school division</a> responsibilities relating to the education of students with disabilities, and calls for changes in teacher and student education. </p>
<h2>Multiple provinces investigating reading</h2>
<p>Saskatchewan isn’t the first province to consider children’s human rights and reading instruction. The Ontario Human Rights Commission released its “<a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report">Right to Read</a>” inquiry report in February 2022. An <a href="http://www.manitobahumanrights.ca/education/pdf/specialprojects/termsofreference.pdf">inquiry</a> in Manitoba is currently underway.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan inquiry gained input from stakeholders including students, families, teachers, school administrators and other professionals via discussions, and also gathered input through surveys. One hundred and eighty-three people provided information through a parent/student survey and 293 people responded to a survey for educational and medical professionals. The inquiry also conducted a review of current research related to reading instruction.</p>
<p>The report identifies 17 recommendations for schools and school systems, the province’s education ministry and teacher education programs to consider, including issues related to classroom instruction, provincial curriculum and teacher preparation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A school building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551858/original/file-20231003-22-mj3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Less than 70 per cent of Grade 3 students in Saskatchewan are reading at grade level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reading landscape in Saskatchewan</h2>
<p>It is estimated that <a href="http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/46482/1/13.Shane%20R.%20Jimerson.pdf#page=225">95 per cent of children</a> can develop word reading skills when provided with the right support. </p>
<p>Saskatchewan students consistently fall short. In the most <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/ministries/education#annual-reports">recent annual report from the</a> <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/121656/formats/140952/download">Ministry of Education</a>, only 68 per cent of Grade 3 students are reading at grade level.
The SHRC report notes “because of marginalization and structural inequality,
racialized students, Indigenous students, Métis students, multilingual students and students from low-income backgrounds are at increased risk for reading difficulties.” The report calls for improvements to support all equity-deserving groups and consultation with Indigenous community members in education and learning.</p>
<p>Previous attempts to increase reading scores have been addressed by <a href="https://saskschoolboards.ca/wp-content/uploads/provincial-CYCLE-2-ESSP-Level-1-Matrix-and-A3-for-Web.pdf">the province</a>, however, provincial reading data remains relatively stable. </p>
<p>Current <a href="https://publications.saskatchewan.ca/api/v1/products/120477/formats/139300/download">Saskatchewan provincial education plans</a> don’t include specific actions and goals related to early reading proficiency. </p>
<p>This is despite wide recognition that reading proficiency in the early years is strongly related to <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf">later achievement</a> and <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED518818.pdf">graduation rates,</a> and is a critical period for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">early intervention</a> to prevent and address reading difficulties.</p>
<h2>Reading instruction</h2>
<p>The SHRC report outlines two perspectives on reading instruction. “<a href="http://pamelasnow.blogspot.com/2017/05/balanced-literacy-instructional.html">Balanced literacy</a>” is the type of instruction common to Saskatchewan classrooms, guided by the provincial curricula and <a href="https://saskatchewanreads.wordpress.com/acknowledgements/">companion documents</a>. </p>
<p>This approach influences the types of books students read, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2013.857970">assessments</a> used to monitor reading development and <a href="https://nicolejosephlaw.com/evidence-based-reading-instruction/">intervention programs</a>. </p>
<p>As the Saskatchewan report notes, the approach is about balancing “the importance of comprehending the meaning of written language … <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3314">with the acquisition of a range of skills and knowledges</a>.” These could include phonics lessons (how letters represent sounds). However, in practice, students are often taught that when they come to a word they don’t know they should guess, look at the picture, skip the word or think about what makes sense based on context.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A teacher seen with book and children." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551857/original/file-20231003-25-80kph1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Debates around best approaches to teaching reading have a long history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“<a href="https://dyslexialibrary.org/wp-content/uploads/file-manager/public/1/Spring%202019%20Final%20Moats%20p9-11.pdf">Structured literacy</a>” is an alternate approach. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059917750160">differs</a> from balanced literacy in that necessary skills for reading are taught explicitly. Students are introduced to these skills through a systematic progression from easier to more complex. </p>
<h2>Learning letter patterns</h2>
<p>This approach is recognized as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2014.906010">more effective</a> than balanced literacy, particularly for students who are struggling to develop reading skills. Students learn to read from texts that contain words made up of letter patterns they have been taught. Instead of guessing or skipping unknown words, they are encouraged to sound them out using their knowledge of the letter-sound connections.</p>
<p>The report says many educators surveyed “believed the implementation of a universal, province-wide, scientific approach to reading would be better for students as well as teachers.”</p>
<p>This refers to following the most recent <a href="https://www.thereadingleague.org/what-is-the-science-of-reading/">scientific evidence</a> guiding structured literacy approaches. As one educator quoted in the report notes, this approach <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87565641.2003.9651913">limits the number of students</a> who will require additional support.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reading-struggles-dont-wait-to-advocate-for-your-child-130986">Reading struggles? Don't wait to advocate for your child</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The call for Saskatchewan to embrace a structured literacy approach was one of the most common themes to emerge from the inquiry. </p>
<h2>Updating curricula</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">Debates</a> around reading instruction have a long history. Growing interest in how reading is taught has led to <a href="https://www.shankerinstitute.org/read">legislative changes</a> in some U.S. states. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/catalyst/how-to-improve-our-schools/how-mississippi-reformed-reading-instruction">Mississippi</a> passed the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013. In the state, significant funding is used for teacher training on science-based reading instruction, literacy coaches, screening and early interventions and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/06/education/learning/mississippi-schools-literacy.html">results</a> show that reading scores in the state have improved significantly.</p>
<p>The Saskatchewan report suggests updating provincial curricula, echoing a recommendation in the OHRC Right to Read. </p>
<p>Ontario responded with a new <a href="https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/elementary-language">language curriculum</a> and a <a href="https://onlit.org/">literacy hub</a> to support educators in adopting a new approach to reading instruction. </p>
<p><a href="https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/resource-files/Six%20Pillars%20of%20Effective%20Reading%20Instruction.pdf">Nova Scotia</a>, <a href="https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en/s/laneng">Alberta</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/dominic-cardy-literacy-reading-gene-ouellette-mount-allison-new-brunsiwck-1.6732875">New Brunswick</a> and the <a href="https://www.fnsb.ca/literacy">First Nation School Board</a> in Yukon are also embracing instructional practices to include explicit and systematic instruction of foundational skills.</p>
<h2>Teacher preparation</h2>
<p>The SHRC commits to engaging with stakeholders. These include the faculties of education at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina. </p>
<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/raising-readers-writers-and-spellers/202309/elite-universities-call-for-change-in-reading#">two top universities for teacher education</a> respectively in the United States (Teachers College, Columbia University) and Australia (La Trobe University), moved away from decades of instruction based on the balanced literacy model to align programs with current research. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/en/blog/dyslexia-canada-applauds-new-shrc-report-for-championing-equity-in-education">Advocates</a> support the recommendations proposed in the report and view them as an important step for students with dyslexia. </p>
<p>The SHRC suggests this is an initial stage in continued collaboration with stakeholders to further address issues related to the educational rights of children in Saskatchewan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Fraser does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A report from the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission outlines government and school responsibilities for educating students with disabilities and calls for changes in reading instruction.Andrea Fraser, Assistant Professor Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062422023-06-06T14:41:59Z2023-06-06T14:41:59ZLearning to read is a journey: a study identifies where South African kids go off track<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528565/original/file-20230526-27-lw7lyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are several cognitive processes involved in learning to read.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Monkey Business Images/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Any parent who has watched a child learning to read knows that it is a journey. Various skills and processes must come together and build “brick by brick” before a child can read a text and answer questions about it. </p>
<p>A child needs at least two kinds of skills before they can comprehend what they’re reading. These are oral language skills (listening, speaking and knowing how spoken words sound) and decoding skills (knowledge of letter-sound relationships to turn a written word into a spoken word).</p>
<p>When decoding is a slow, laboured process this places <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1974-29172-001">demands</a> on cognitive processes like working memory. By increasing speed and accuracy in reading, cognitive resources are freed and the child can begin to comprehend what they are reading. </p>
<p>Reading fluency and expanding vocabulary act as the bridge from decoding to comprehension. Weaknesses in any of these building blocks will limit a child’s ability to read for meaning. </p>
<p>There has been a great deal of concern in South Africa about how the country’s grade 4 pupils fared in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS): <a href="https://www.iea.nl/publications/study-reports/international-reports-iea-studies/pirls-2021-international-results">81% did not</a> reach the study’s <a href="https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/pirls2016/international-results/pirls/performance-at-international-benchmarks/low-international-benchmark/index.html">low international benchmark</a>. This suggests they cannot read for meaning. The country placed last out of 57 participating countries.</p>
<p>The study’s findings are a global wake-up call to the <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/37400">effects of pandemic disruptions</a> on children’s reading comprehension. In South Africa they are also a transparent metric of the education system’s overall performance. The study is conducted every five years and previous results have been useful for <a href="https://www.econ3x3.org/article/education-improving-message-hard-convey">identifying learning improvements</a>.</p>
<p>But PIRLS cannot detect where children are falling behind in their reading. It only assesses written comprehension, which is the final stage in a reading journey. Without knowing which building blocks are not being properly established along the way, the government cannot know where to intervene so that children do not fall further behind.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.academia.edu/101855664/Foundational_skills_in_home_language_reading_in_South_Africa_Empirical_evidence_from_2015_2021">recent study</a>, we’ve shed light on where the reading wheels fall off. We found that far too many children were entering school with weak oral language skills and were acquiring alphabetic knowledge and fluency far too slowly. This limited their reading comprehension and academic progress through school.</p>
<p>Based on our findings, we advocate strongly for systematic phonics instruction in early grades and a national remediation programme to address reading gaps in later primary school years. </p>
<h2>Key findings</h2>
<p>For the study, we compiled reading assessments for over 40,000 South African learners from six studies conducted between 2015 and 2021. While these data are not nationally representative, they are drawn from over 1,000 no-fee-charging schools across six of the country’s nine provinces. They tell us about reading outcomes in typical South African classrooms. In almost all these schools, children are instructed in their home language from grade 1 to grade 3 before a switch to English instruction happens in grade 4.</p>
<p>Children are struggling to master the most basic reading skills in their home language in the foundation phase (grades 1-3). By the end of grade 1, children should know all their letters, and be able to read words and short sentences. Pre-COVID, only 39%-48% of grade 1s assessed in these samples could recognise and sound out at least 26 letters at the end of the year. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-10-year-olds-are-struggling-to-read-it-can-be-fixed-206008">South Africa's 10 year-olds are struggling to read -- it can be fixed</a>
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<p>More than 55% of these grade 1s could not read a single word correctly from a grade-level text by the end of the school year. This <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059321001334">worsened</a> during the pandemic. Across two samples assessed at the end of grade 1 in 2021, the majority (62% in one study and 78% in the other) could not read one word correctly from a passage of text.</p>
<p>With serious backlogs in basic decoding skills, large percentages of children do not reach minimum grade 3 African language fluency benchmarks. These benchmarks signal a minimum reading speed and accuracy level that must be reached before children can start making sense of what they are reading. </p>
<p>Pre-COVID, just 11%-48% of samples tested at the end of grade 3 (or start of grade 4) were meeting minimum fluency benchmarks in the <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/Nguni%20Languages%20Summary%20Report%20V06.pdf?ver=2020-10-28-141736-203">Nguni</a> or <a href="https://www.education.gov.za/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/ReadingBenchmarks22/7.%20Sesotho-Setswana%20Language%20Group%20Benchmarks%20Report.pdf?ver=2022-11-08-150510-457">Sesotho-Setswana</a> language groups. By grade 6, large percentages (35%-46%) of study samples still did not reach the minimum fluency levels set for grade 3.</p>
<h2>Reading success happens from the starting block</h2>
<p>There are some positive findings. </p>
<p>We found strong evidence that reading success is possible when learners master the basics of reading in the first year or two of school. Learners who knew all their letters at the end of grade 1 were on track with their reading by the time they reached grade 4. Learners with very limited letter-sound knowledge at the end of grade 1 were three years behind, only reaching grade 4 reading fluency levels in grade 7. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-africas-reading-crisis-5-steps-to-address-childrens-literacy-struggles-205961">South Africa's reading crisis: 5 steps to address children's literacy struggles</a>
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<p>Learners who met minimum <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059321000869">fluency benchmarks</a> in their home languages by the end of grade 3 or 4 were in a much better position to comprehend what they were reading by the end of primary school than their peers who did not meet these benchmarks.</p>
<h2>Addressing the gaps</h2>
<p>Reading comprehension is one of the skills that South Africa needs most. It will be in short supply until basic reading skills are taught correctly.</p>
<p>Beyond grade 3, the teaching of basic reading skills in the home language is not included in the school curriculum. Children with weak foundational reading skills by the end of grade 3 will struggle to catch up. </p>
<p>What should be done about this? As the adage goes, “prevention is better than cure”. We need to understand what prevents basic reading skills from being acquired in grade 1 and 2 classrooms. A systemic programme to improve what teachers are taught at university is needed. In classrooms, diagnostic assessment of early grade reading skills can also help to detect where children are falling behind.</p>
<p>Remediation programmes could also help bridge some gaps in later grades. Additional time and support is especially needed to recover lost ground for cohorts that missed out on foundational grade 1-3 teaching time during the pandemic. </p>
<p><em>Lesang Sebaeng, Assistant Director: Research, Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation with the Department of Basic Education, co-authored this article and the research it is based on. The findings and conclusions here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect positions held by the department.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206242/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle acknowledges funding for the research study from the Economic and Social Research Council (grant ES/T007583/1) and Allan and Gill Gray South Africa Philanthropy. The findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the funders. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cally Ardington acknowledges funding for the research study from the Economic and Social Research Council (grant ES/T007583/1) and Allan and Gill Gray South Africa Philanthropy. </span></em></p>Reading fluency and expanding vocabulary are the bridge from decoding to comprehension. Weaknesses in any of these building blocks will limit a child’s ability to read for meaning.Gabrielle Wills, Senior researcher at Research on Socio-Economic Policy, Stellenbosch UniversityCally Ardington, Professor at Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2057302023-06-05T13:26:32Z2023-06-05T13:26:32ZYoung children’s words predict reading ability — 5 ways parents and caregivers can help grow them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528059/original/file-20230524-19-guuave.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C82%2C6850%2C3651&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tactile experiences combined with purposeful talking with children about new real-world exploration helps children learn new words. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Becoming a proficient reader holds endless possibilities for a child. These opportunties include long-term <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.appdev.2008.12.025">academic achievement and educational opportunities, daily life</a> and eventual workplace success — and the magic of being transported to the world of fantasy and mystery, limited only by the imagination.</p>
<p>It’s a complex process that <a href="https://www.theliteracybug.com/stages">unfolds gradually in recognizable stages</a>. Young learners must see and interact with combinations of letters and words thousands of times to support early reading fluency.</p>
<p>A vast and deep vocabulary affords precision and nuance in making meaning of the world. Young children are ready and capable of learning complex vocabulary (words like “construct,” for example) required as a knowledge base for reading proficiency as they mature, especially if <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED616018.pdf">taught strategically and explicitly</a>. </p>
<h2>Early childhood instruction</h2>
<p>Early childhood instruction is critical to teach young children the crucial vocabulary they need from an early stage. This positions and better prepares them for the transition a few years ahead — from learning to read in the youngest grades, to reading to learn.</p>
<p>Yet research suggests the effectiveness of literacy <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1086296X14551474">instruction at the kindergarten level is mixed</a> and uneven. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mother seen on the floor with older baby and a board book." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528063/original/file-20230524-29-btsnpo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Families and caregivers have key roles supporting children in learning words from a young age.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/William Fortunato)</span></span>
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<p>Policymakers and school boards need to ensure educators are implementing best practices in literacy instruction. Families and caregivers also have key roles supporting children in learning words from a young age. </p>
<h2>Early stages of reading</h2>
<p>The early stages of learning to read, often described as <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/toolbox/decoding">decoding (using knowledge of the relationship of letters to sounds)</a>, can <a href="https://cwf.ca/research/publications/report-the-case-for-literacy-in-alberta/">generally be attained by the vast majority of young learners by Grade 3</a>. </p>
<p>This is achieved through instruction in <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/modules/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness-introduction#">phonemic awareness skills (noticing and working with specific sounds in spoken words)</a>, <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/teaching/reading101-course/modules/phonics/phonics-practice">phonics (sound-letter relationships)</a> and sight word recognition — perhaps 400 literate words. These <a href="https://sightwords.com/sight-words/dolch/">include high-frequency words</a> and some 200 additional content words relevant to children’s cognitive and socio-developmental contexts such as “friend” or “neighbour.” </p>
<p>Such words serve as the building blocks for automatizing these foundational skills. </p>
<h2>Grade 4: Pivotal time</h2>
<p>Grade 4 represents an enormous leap in literacy development because there’s a shift from early literacy learning associated with narrative texts to academic literacy learning associated with expository (informational) genres. This shift is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/RRQ.011">accompanied by a high demand for “academic vocabulary.”</a> These words are more abstract, discipline-specific, technical, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idiom">idiomatic and</a> often have Latin and Greek roots: the language of school and books. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students in about grade 4 seen standing around a poster they are making." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528066/original/file-20230524-29-gch40s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In Grade 4, children shift from learning to read to reading to learn.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Allison Shelley/EDUimages)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>These words cannot be learned from mere exposure and incidental acquisition. They <a href="https://doi.org/10.14288/bctj.v1i1.235">must be taught</a>. </p>
<p>In Grade 4, academic vocabulary knowledge becomes the key predictor of whether young readers will be able to extract meaning from print on the page. Literacy researchers Jeanne S. Chall and Vicki A. Jacobs coined the <a href="http://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/spring-2003/classic-study-poor-childrens-fourth-grade-slump">term “the Grade 4 slump” to describe the phenomenon of reading failure</a> among so many young learners at this pivotal point.</p>
<h2>Importance of early learning</h2>
<p>Various other scholars similarly identify vocabulary knowledge in Grade 1 as the single factor that accounts for the large variance in reading outcomes: Vocabulary in Grade 1 is predictive of more than 30 per cent of <a href="https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/spring-2001/teaching-vocabulary">reading comprehension in Grade 11</a>.</p>
<p>Far too many young children do not make the transition successfully from apparent success with limited vocabulary requirements associated with early literacy benchmarks and later, more complex reading comprehension and capabilities.</p>
<p>Research from the United States <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/nation/achievement/?grade=4">finds some 33 per cent of Grade 4 students are unable to read at the basic level</a>.</p>
<p>In Canada, Julia O’Sullivan — a professor of health policy, management and evaluation — notes that <a href="https://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/sask-reading-levels-among-school-children-continue-to-struggle-post-2020">depending on the province</a> or territory, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-there-is-a-reading-crisis-in-canada-the-pandemic-will-make-it-worse/">at least 20 per cent and up to 40 per cent of Grade 3 and 4</a> students don’t meet reading expectations.</p>
<h2>Mobilizing words</h2>
<p>Children who have the requisite vocabulary knowledge in their oral repertoire, estimated at some 9,000-word families by Grade 4 (run, runs, running, ran belong to one word family), must now marshal and mobilize these words — <a href="https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/spring-2003/oral-comprehension-sets-ceiling-reading">mostly acquired from early experiences before kindergarten</a>.</p>
<p>Here are some ways parents and caregivers can help children grow their words.</p>
<p><strong>1) Have “serve and return conversations” with children.</strong> Here, adults <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/talking-with-mdash-not-just-to-mdash-kids-powers-how-they-learn-language">consciously talk <em>with</em> children, not <em>to</em> them with the aim of amplifying</a> and teaching language. This means adults take the time to help children find the words they may be seeking, introduce and talk about new words and echo back and affirm children’s expanding vocabulary. How adults take turns speaking and the quality of vocabulary matters. </p>
<p><strong>2) Tactile experiences combined with talk.</strong> Provide opportunities for children to have tactile experiences, manipulating objects through hands-on play and helping around the house, providing the words for these objects. This matters due to the “<a href="https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-018-1171-z">body object interaction</a>” value of these words, meaning that children are sensory and social beings who learn and reconstruct <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1223064">the external world into internal mental representations</a> mediated through language. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy seen with a sponge washing dishes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528062/original/file-20230524-33669-grz0ww.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Supporting children by talking through tactile experiences and new words helps their vocabulary grow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Through playing and working with their hands, supported through talk, children develop neurocircuity known as embodied cognition. Such adult talk <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723714535768">supports vocabulary learning</a>. This could take the form of diverse activities like playing with blocks, learning to use cooking utensils or tools or helping sort items in a shed.</p>
<p>Digitally mediated simulations on a computer screen are no substitute for real world experiences and children’s hands-on engagement with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2011.00015">print materials</a></p>
<p><strong>4) Provide meaningful contexts and words linked by their meanings.</strong> Choose a familiar topic of interest to your child. For example, you might talk about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bJ5qJljiHM">recycling to help youngsters learn words</a> such as dispose, separate, prevent and produce. A child could be enlisted to help sort recycling items for the benefit of embodied cognition. Draw attention to new words, teach the meanings and provide playful opportunities to learn and practise using them. </p>
<p><strong>3) Reading aloud.</strong> Reading to young children needs to be sustained into the upper elementary school years, and include expository texts, since children are not <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723713503144">yet able to independently expand</a> their vocabulary development.</p>
<p><strong>5) Model and foster a love of reading and words.</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-matters-that-teens-are-reading-less-99281">A love of reading, books and curiosity and consciousness about words and their meanings</a> matters. Subscribe to your local newspaper or magazines, take trips to the library and limit screen time. </p>
<p>Early interventions for enhancing young children’s vocabulary knowledge have the best chance of resetting the vocabulary trajectory and closing the vocabulary gap. These can shift yet be sustained over time to account for children’s developmental learning needs. Waiting until Grade 4 is waiting too long.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205730/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hetty Roessingh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Having a vast and deep vocabulary affords precision and nuance in making meaning of the world, and this is key to children becoming proficient readers.Hetty Roessingh, Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1715612021-11-22T12:34:37Z2021-11-22T12:34:37ZLearning to read starts earlier than you might think: five tips from an expert<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432642/original/file-20211118-19-f5wdu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C20%2C6689%2C4446&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Learning to read. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/baby-book-read-aloud-579664624">aijiro/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Learning to read does not begin when a child puzzles over the words in a book for the first time. </p>
<p>In the early weeks of their lives and even before birth, babies are skilfully processing important information about the sounds they hear. They are attuning to tones, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19896378/#">patterns of language</a> and distinguishing their own <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674008359">familiar adults’ voices</a>. Making sense of sounds, patterns, words and sentences are important skills that will help a child as they progress towards reading. </p>
<p><a href="https://tactyc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Occ-Paper-12-Karen_Boardman.pdf">Early reading</a> for under-threes is rooted in their daily lives. It involves lots of listening, communication, speech and language activities – not just <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669760.2019.1605886">sharing books</a>. </p>
<p>As their language and communication skills develop and they build vocabulary, under-threes learn to use pictures, words and sounds, tell and retell familiar stories, and sing songs and rhymes. In turn, these activities help children navigate pictures, words and sentences they encounter on the page.</p>
<p>Here are five tips to support early reading for children aged under three. </p>
<h2>1: Create a “chatty” environment</h2>
<p>Encourage and support lots of communication. Research shows that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797613488145">talking to babies and toddlers</a> helps them build vocabulary, while conversation a child simply overhears does not always contribute to their vocabulary development. </p>
<p>Take turns in conversations and comment on their activities and the routines of the day. This could be when getting dressed, during play, nappy changing or taking a walk through the park. This will enable under-threes to begin to develop <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-0-387-79061-9_2357">receptive language</a> – the ability to understand others. They will make connections, notice, respond and engage with sounds and images in the environment, all important early reading skills.</p>
<h2>2. Have fun with rhythm and music making</h2>
<p>Play lots of rhyming games, sing nursery rhymes, comment on rhyming patterns in songs and make lots of music. <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1000986/Reading_framework_Teaching_the_foundations_of_literacy_-_July-2021.pdf">Repetition and predictable rhyme</a> helps children remember new words.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Parents holding baby, father talking to paby" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/432693/original/file-20211118-13-1s8xgz0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teach children nursery rhymes to help them remember words through repetition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-family-loving-parents-talking-laughing-512079589">pixelheadphoto digitalskillet/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Alliteration and assonance in poetry and nursery rhymes draws attention to the individual sounds and patterns in words.</p>
<h2>3. Share meaningful images</h2>
<p>Use images, such as pictures and photographs of familiar places, objects, families and communities, to create meaningful shared experiences for children under three. Make books with photographs or apps to encourage talk and interaction about children’s home cultures and families. Encourage children to point out the details they encounter in pictures. </p>
<p><a href="https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-edinburgh-companion-to-children-s-literature.html">Reading pictures</a> and following images helps children learn to read as they begin to make connections, understand sequences of stories and further develop their comprehension skills. Very young children are adept at <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Children-Reading-Picturebooks-Interpreting-visual-texts/Arizpe-Styles/p/book/9781138014084">interpreting visual texts</a> and noticing details.</p>
<h2>4. Draw attention to print in daily life</h2>
<p>Use your environment and local community to point out words at home, at nursery or out and about. This could be print on cereal boxes, signs or logos. Encountering <a href="http://www.real-online.group.shef.ac.uk/docs/envprint-opps/environmental-print-in-early-literacy-development.pdf">print in their environment</a> helps under-threes recognise letters, sounds and images that have meaning. </p>
<h2>5. Engage with books frequently</h2>
<p>Shared book reading, story time and retelling stories together are valuable points of connection and social interaction for under-threes. When supportive adults encourage the exploration of pictures, draw attention to the text and the conventions of print, and talk about the characters or the sequence of the story, the story comes alive to create awe and wonder for children. </p>
<p>Choose a range of books – cloth, sensory, picture books and story books or online story apps. Ensure that under-threes also have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09575146.2019.1605336">independent access</a> to these, so they are able to choose books or apps themselves, turn pages or handle interactive technology.</p>
<p>Puppets, props and role-play help to make books or stories and rhymes interactive and help children recreate stories through imaginative play. Under-threes need to relate images, sounds and words to their own experiences, so ensure that the props you use link to the child’s culture and daily life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171561/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Boardman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Take turns in conversation and make rhymes.Karen Boardman, Head of Department, Early Years Education, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1590582021-04-29T20:06:55Z2021-04-29T20:06:55ZStarting behind: more than half of young Australian kids living in adversity don’t have the skills they need to learn to read<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397742/original/file-20210429-24-1s94rpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teacher-helping-female-pupil-practising-writing-284502038">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/47/4/1307/5033474">Around one in three (36%) Australian children</a> grow up in families experiencing adversity. These include families where parents are unemployed, in financial stress, have relationship difficulties or experience poor mental or physical health. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1460-6984.12611">Our recent study</a> found one in four Australian children experiencing adversity had language difficulties and around one in two had pre-reading difficulties. </p>
<p>Language difficulties can include having a limited vocabulary, struggling to make sentences and finding it hard to understand what is being said. Pre-reading difficulties can include struggling to recognise alphabet letters and difficulties identifying sounds that make up words.</p>
<p>Learning to read is one of the most important skills for children. How easily a child learns to read largely depends on both their early <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.1.225">oral language</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2005/029)">pre-reading skills</a>. Difficulties in these areas make learning to read more challenging and can affect general academic performance.</p>
<h2>What are language and pre-reading difficulties?</h2>
<p>International <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00036.x">studies show</a> children experiencing adversity are more likely to have language and pre-reading difficulties when they start school.</p>
<p>Language difficulties are usually identified using a standardised language assessment which compares an individual child’s language abilities to a general population of children of the same age. </p>
<p>Pre-reading difficulties are difficulties in the building blocks for learning to read. For example, <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/play-learning/literacy-reading-stories/literacy-difficulties">by the age of five</a>, most children can name at least ten letters and identify the first sound in simple words (e.g. “b” for “ball”). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Boy pointing out letters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397737/original/file-20210429-19-6ifih4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Most five year old children can name at least ten letters and identify the first sound in simple words.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/56-years-old-boy-class-room-5569378">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Children who have not developed these skills by the time they start school are likely to require extra support in learning to read. </p>
<h2>1 in 4 children in adversity had language difficulties</h2>
<p>We examined the language, pre-reading and non-verbal skills (such as attention and flexible thinking) of 201 five-year-old children experiencing adversity in Victoria and Tasmania. </p>
<p>We defined language difficulties as children having language skills in the lowest 10% compared to a representative population of Australian 5-year-olds. By this definition, we would expect one in ten children to have language difficulties. </p>
<p>But our rates were more than double this — one in four (24.9%) of the children in our sample had language difficulties. </p>
<h2>More than half couldn’t name alphabet letters</h2>
<p>Pre-reading difficulties were even more common: 58.6% of children could not name the expected number of alphabet letters and 43.8% could not identify first sounds in words. </p>
<p>By comparison, an Australian population study of four year olds (children one year younger than in our study) found <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jpc.12126">21% could not name any alphabet letters</a>. </p>
<p>Again, our rates were more than double this. </p>
<p>Interestingly, we didn’t find these differences for children’s non-verbal skills. This suggests language and pre-literacy skills are particularly vulnerable to adversity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-in-5-kids-start-school-with-health-or-emotional-difficulties-that-challenge-their-learning-131134">1 in 5 kids start school with health or emotional difficulties that challenge their learning</a>
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<p>There are several reasons that could explain this. Early speech and language skills develop through <a href="https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.06.030163">interactions children have with their parents</a>. These interactions can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/1602387">different in families experiencing adversity</a>, due to challenges such as family stress and having fewer social supports. </p>
<p>Families experiencing adversity may also have fewer resources (including time and books) to invest in their children’s early language and learning.</p>
<h2>Why is this important?</h2>
<p>It is really challenging for children starting school with language and pre-reading difficulties to catch up to their peers. They need to accelerate their learning to close the gap. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teacher reading a book to young kids." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397739/original/file-20210429-15-1up5uqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">It is challenging for children entering school behind their peers to catch up.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-elementary-school-pupils-sitting-on-1448152262">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Put into context, if a child starts school six months behind their peers, they will need to make 18 months gain within a year to begin the next school year on par with their peers. This is not achievable for many children, even with extra support, and a tall order for many schools. </p>
<p>Early reading difficulties often continue throughout the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.1.225">primary school years and beyond</a>. Sadly, we also know that the long-term impacts of language and pre-reading difficulties don’t just include poor reading skills, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0142)">problems which can carry into adulthood</a>. </p>
<p>These can include struggling academically, difficulties gaining employment, antisocial behaviour and poor well-being.</p>
<h2>What can we do?</h2>
<p>These results should be concerning for us all. There are <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10453/123261">clear and extensive social costs</a> that come with early language and pre-reading difficulties, including a higher burden on health and welfare costs and productivity losses.</p>
<p>These impacts are particularly worrying given the significant school disruptions experienced <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-close-schools-every-time-theres-a-covid-outbreak-our-traffic-light-system-shows-what-to-do-instead-158214">due to the COVID-19 lockdowns</a>. School closures will have substantially reduced children’s access to additional support and learning opportunities, particularly for those experiencing adversity, further inhibiting opportunities to catch up.</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victoria-and-nsw-are-funding-extra-tutors-to-help-struggling-students-heres-what-parents-need-to-know-about-the-schemes-153450">Victoria and NSW are funding extra tutors to help struggling students. Here's what parents need to know about the schemes</a>
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<p>Our best bet is to ensure as many children as possible start school with the language and pre-reading skills required to become competent early readers. </p>
<p>For example, ensuring all children have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.263">access to books at home</a> has shown promise in supporting early language skills for children experiencing adversity. </p>
<p>We know which children are at greatest risk of struggling with their early language and pre-reading skills. We now need to embed this evidence into existing health and education services, and invest in supports for young children and families to address these unequal outcomes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159058/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Goldfeld receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council and Philanthropy</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Bryson and Jodie Smith do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By the age of five, most children can name at least ten letters. In our study, 58.6% of children living with disadvantage could not name the expected number of alphabet letters.Sharon Goldfeld, Director, Center for Community Child Health Royal Children's Hospital; Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne; Theme Director Population Health, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteHannah Bryson, Postdoctoral Researcher, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteJodie Smith, Research Fellow, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1543432021-03-23T17:49:17Z2021-03-23T17:49:17Z7 ‘read-aloud’ tips for parents to help prevent children’s COVID-19 pandemic learning loss<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390734/original/file-20210321-21-1x2u8m9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C129%2C6805%2C3898&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A holistic approach to growing children's vocabulary could mean reading children stories about bears from fairy tales, science books and the news. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has been with us for a year, and the negative consequences of disrupted learning are becoming clear especially for our youngest learners. Researchers who studied children in Alberta report that in grades 2 and 3, children <a href="https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/elise-stolte-alberta-must-keep-elementary-schools-open-online-learning-was-a-disaster-for-struggling-kids">are six to eight months behind where they would usually be in reading</a>. International researchers have <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-student-learning-in-the-united-states-the-hurt-could-last-a-lifetime">projected the possibility of serious long-term consequences</a> if learning losses are not addressed.</p>
<p>Because reading underlies all academic work and long-term educational success, building reading skills in children particularly between grades 1 and 4 should concern parents. </p>
<p>Many parents may know that reading to children is <a href="https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/why-reading-aloud-to-kids-helps-them-thrive">an activity that helps children thrive</a>. What may be lesser known: while it’s important for children to have opportunities to choose favourite stories for parents to read aloud, it’s also helpful for parents to take the lead with sharing more complex reading materials. </p>
<p>Read alouds are about creating a shared reading activity where adults help children build their vocabularies through discussion, hands-on activities and imaginitive ways to extend new word knowledge. </p>
<h2>Academic vocabulary</h2>
<p>As children get older, and particularly after Grade 4, understanding the meaning of more complex words and being able to use them <a href="http://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/spring-2003/classic-study-poor-childrens-fourth-grade-slump">is critical to children’s emerging abilities to tackle</a> the more complex forms of analysis and writing expected from this age onwards. </p>
<p>More advanced words are <a href="https://www.aft.org/periodical/american-educator/spring-2003/oral-comprehension-sets-ceiling-reading">ideally part of children’s oral vocabulary</a> before they can independently spell or read them. This is because learning to read new words is not only about sounding them out but also learning what they mean. Having <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X06063534">quality conversations with children</a> about complex ideas is how parents can build children’s words and confidence to grow their knowledge.</p>
<p>Children’s knowledge of words associated with the language of school — <a href="https://doi.org/10.14288/bctj.v1i1.235">an “academic vocabulary</a>” — is associated with reading success and longitudinal outcomes even beyond high school. In the English language, such words tend to have Greek and Latin roots (like galaxy or transport). These words are often procedural (words like construct, provide, obtain, design) or used in expository writing that seeks to describe or explain.</p>
<p>To support the development of a rich academic vocabulary, parents <a href="http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-intro.html">can look for</a> ways to have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.445">read alouds with children</a>: Parents can select <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.445">materials and engage in positive interactions</a> that support children in making and understanding the connection between spoken language and letters on the page. Here are some tips for creating successful read alouds with kids.</p>
<h2>1. What to read</h2>
<p>Choose books with vocabulary that is a little higher than your child’s level, or news stories from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.35.2.1">newspapers</a>, magazines or printed online news sources. Education scholar Maryanne Wolfe explains how reading <a href="https://betwyll.com/reading/maryanne-wolf-deep-reading-can-be-learned">on paper allows especially the young reader to focus on and interact with the print and pictures</a>. </p>
<p>News sources are rich in information and vocabulary with endless reports, articles and stories of interest to children of all ages: you can choose stories from wildlife, sports, unusual happenings, health and wellness — including stories about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here, you can be mindful of your child’s particular concerns and level of emotional maturity. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hands cutting a newspaper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390878/original/file-20210322-23-tdcxeg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Parents can choose stories of interest to children from the newspaper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Children have lived their own COVID-19 year, and being hands-on with paper can help them make sense of their experiences while challenging them to develop language and literacy skills.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/writing-and-reading-starts-with-childrens-hands-on-play-125182">Writing and reading starts with children's hands-on play</a>
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<p>When children can scribble, highlight or cut out paper and physically manipulate different words, or post them on the wall for incidental revisiting, this helps reinforce learning. So does helping children make connections between new words, and words and stories already familiar to them. </p>
<h2>2. Build bridges between stories</h2>
<p>Keep an eye open for news stories that help children build bridges between more enriched and challenging vocabulary and stories children know and love. For example, in 2017 there was a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bear-cubs-banff-washroom-park-return-spring-1.4751627">news story about the rescue, rehabilitation and release of three tiny abandoned black bear cubs</a> from a restroom in Banff, Alta. The story introduces many useful academic words. Parents might look for complementary stories about bears in other genres, like the classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGxvzjhPKtM">children’s story <em>The Three Bears</em></a>, which contains mostly high-frequency words used for basic interpersonal communication like hungry, breakfast, small, bowl, tired, asleep, awoke. </p>
<h2>3. The quality of adult attention matters</h2>
<p>When parents and children are reading together, it’s important to have a shared gaze on the page — meaning parents are following what children are interested in and looking at. Children will perceive a sense of adult presence and shared experience, and enjoy pointing out letters, pictures or illustrations. </p>
<h2>4. The quality of adult talk matters</h2>
<p>Parents can elaborate meaning by helping with explanations, definitions, paraphrasing or synonyms. They can also model “think-alouds” to expose and model how people think about things: this means leading conjecture or inference through “I wonder”-type questions. Engaging children in shared conversation back and forth <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/talking-with-mdash-not-just-to-mdash-kids-powers-how-they-learn-language">helps young learners make sense of new information</a>. </p>
<h2>5. Integrate technology</h2>
<p>Digital literacy is key to children’s growth, too. With digital devices they can <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3388366/we-may-never-know-how-bear-cubs-became-stranded-in-banff-bathroom-parks-canada">explore and learn much more about those three Banff bears</a>. Video clips, newscasts and opportunities to hear, see and say new words all help children deepen their understanding of academic vocabulary and how it’s used in different contexts. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy with a tablet studying stars and space." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390733/original/file-20210321-15-2i84mj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Accessing interactive digital forms of knowledge can help children deepen their understanding of academic vocabulary.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels)</span></span>
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<h2>6. Reinforce new words</h2>
<p>Flashcards that record new words with definitions on the back can be kept at the ready or posted on the fridge for extended play and review. </p>
<p>Parents can also use flashcard words to <a href="https://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/">create crossword puzzles using online tools</a>. When children print the new words into a crossword puzzle, this <a href="http://doi.org/10.17239/jowr-2011.03.01.3">helps create the neurocircuity and muscle memory</a> that supports remembering and retrieving new words. Play flashcard word games that ask children to identify a word after given a definition by the parent. Intentionally use new words in daily conversations. </p>
<p>Kids need many exposures to words by hearing, saying, seeing and writing them before they “own” these words and can use them spontaneously. When they do, parents will notice and understand the magic of language and literacy learning among children.</p>
<h2>7. Older children also benefit</h2>
<p>Children up to Grade 4 and beyond benefit from read alouds too! In a study of Grade 4 students, education professor Sebastian P. Suggate and colleagues found that children learned more words <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723713503144">from orally sharing stories than from reading independently</a>. </p>
<p>Reading together encourages parents and kids to set aside time and focused attention on language and literacy learning. With a little adjustment, the same story can be adapted for a multi—age group of children. </p>
<p>Subscribing to your local newspaper, picking up local free community newspapers and making a habit of sharing interesting stories and information beyond the usual reading range of young learners could go a long way to closing the literacy gap we’ve noticed in the COVID-19 year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154343/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hetty Roessingh receives funding from SSHRC and the Alberta Teachers' Association. </span></em></p>One way to help children learn the words they need to thrive academically is by reading aloud from books and news sources that use both narrative and expository writing.Hetty Roessingh, Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1531712021-03-21T13:06:19Z2021-03-21T13:06:19ZTo help children learn how to read in the pandemic, encourage writing messages as part of play<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389138/original/file-20210311-23-x8my0p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=606%2C37%2C3967%2C3255&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Family members’ involvement in encouraging children's reading and writing in everyday play and family life can make a difference to children’s literacy achievement.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canadian media have <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2020/11/30/online-classrooms-are-causing-young-readers-to-fall-behind.html">reported</a> on concerns that due to <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-kids-are-falling-behind-in-school-due-to-the-pandemic-and-its-a/">pandemic school closures</a> students <a href="https://www.nwea.org/blog/2020/covid-19-school-closures-could-have-devastating-impact-student-achievement/">are falling behind in learning</a>, and specifically <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-school-shutdowns-have-put-children-up-to-eight-months-behind-in">in reading</a>. Research from Alberta
examined reading test scores from this past September against earlier years <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-reading-lag-pandemic-1.5814752">and found grades 2 and 3 students scored consistently lower</a>.</p>
<p>Teachers have fewer opportunities to work individually with children who are struggling in online settings. In many classrooms, health guidance recommends <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/guidance-schools-childcare-programs.html">avoiding sharing classroom supplies</a>. This means teachers have removed books that children would normally browse and borrow, so children have limited reading material when they attend classes in person.</p>
<p>Family members who want to prevent children from falling behind in reading do not have to use expensive resources or ask children to do tedious exercises. Parents’ and other family members’ involvement in encouraging children’s reading and writing in everyday play and family life can make a difference to their <a href="https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/family-school-partnerships-position-statement.pdf?sfvrsn=904ea18e_6">children’s later literacy achievement</a>: this is the case regardless of a family’s socio-economic status and prior education. </p>
<h2>Creating messages</h2>
<p>Research from the <a href="https://now-play.org/">Northern Oral language and Writing through Play</a> (NOW Play) project offers motivational alternatives to using phonics exercise sheets that parents often seek out to get their children started with writing and reading. </p>
<p>Researchers widely agree that reading with children at home supports children’s vocabulary development and listening comprehension — two factors that correlate highly with reading comprehension. However, the <a href="https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315110592-5">important contributions of writing to children’s reading</a> are not often recognized beyond research circles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teacher with children in classroom." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389099/original/file-20210311-13-1sefj4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teachers and parents help children with their writing by showing interest in the writing that their children initiate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the NOW Play project, children aged four to six years old create messages to people they know through drawing, scribbling and writing letters and words. <a href="https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs.v43i2.18578">Teachers and parents can help children</a> with their writing by showing interest in the writing that their children initiate, demonstrating how to form letters and slowly voicing individual sounds in words that children want to write. </p>
<p>This helps children recognize the sounds in words. It also models a writing practice they can use when writing independently. Participating teachers have noted children’s excitement about reading and writing, and have been very pleased with children’s progress as a result of this dual focus.</p>
<h2>The purpose of print and play</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Letters a, t, p" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389072/original/file-20210311-13-15tx2eo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Letters a, t, p stand for grocery items: apple, tomato, pizza.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shelley Stagg Peterson)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Settings where children can see how <a href="https://mtrj.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/mtrj/article/view/31935/25759">print is useful for carrying out activities that are important to them</a> are ideal for supporting reading and writing. </p>
<p>Imaginary play about going grocery shopping, for example, offers many opportunities for children to read and write, and learn new vocabulary. </p>
<p>Piper, a five-year-old girl in a northern Alberta kindergarten that is part of the NOW Play research project, wrote her grocery list while playing grocery store. Before going to the pretend store, she sounded out the words <em>apple</em>, <em>tomato</em> and <em>pizza</em>, writing sounds she heard (in this case, sounds for each word’s first letter) in each word. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Girl playing groceries." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389090/original/file-20210311-14-ga0k3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grocery story pretend play offers opportunities for reading and writing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Piper then picked up her grocery list and announced, “Let’s go shopping!” When asked what was on her list, she read the letters as if she were reading the full words for each item. </p>
<p>Grocery store play offers many other opportunities for reading and writing. While stocking pretend grocery store shelves with boxes and cans of food items, young children and their teachers or early childhood educators can read the labels together. They might make up a name for the grocery store and write a sign for the store. </p>
<h2>With family, at home</h2>
<p>Families can apply these research insights in the home. Parents and other family members might take up roles that introduce new vocabulary about grocery store shopping, food items or people who work in grocery stores. As they learn new words in the grocery store context, children develop a broader vocabulary to help them with their reading.</p>
<p>Young children learn how to sound out words and write letters when they write messages back and forth with others. Children can also learn new vocabulary from family members’ messages, and can try out the new words in their own writing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Five year old's way of writing: Do you want to go on a treasure hunt?" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389068/original/file-20210311-18-1oxsrlw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Do you want to go on a treasure hunt?’ note by five-year-old Emme.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shelley Stagg Peterson)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When older family members join the play, they can become spontaneous reading and writing teachers, where young children read notes and write different kinds of messages that fit with the pretend situation. </p>
<p>I tried this with five-year-old Emme. She, her nine-year-old sister, Leah, and I played a treasure hunt game together. With the two girls taking turns, one child and I wrote clues to lead the other to a treasure. Emme later wrote a self-initiated note with little help, except that I slowly stretched out the sound of <em>treasure</em>. Emme then read the note aloud to be sure that Leah and I understood what it said.</p>
<h2>Value of writing in daily life</h2>
<p>Parents and supportive adult family members in children’s lives are in an excellent position to follow what kindergarten teachers in the NOW Play project did to teach phonics and letter writing while teaching the value of writing and reading in daily life. </p>
<p>At a time when many families are together for extended periods of time, play-based writing activities are a meaningful and effective way for parents to provide important foundations <a href="https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.60.4.4">for their children’s literacy</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153171/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shelley Stagg Peterson receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).</span></em></p>When children write out treasure hunt clues and shopping lists to play grocery store, they’re learning to read and write.Shelley Stagg Peterson, Professor of Elementary Literacy, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1406212020-09-03T21:01:21Z2020-09-03T21:01:21Z8 tips to support Grade 1 readers at home<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356358/original/file-20200903-22-1cgp0ta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C176%2C5609%2C3485&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teaching children how to read is primarily a teacher’s job, but parents play a valuable role.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Learning to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612466268">read is one of the most important skills and strongest predictors of success</a>. Studies show that <a href="https://www.oecd.org/pisa/PISA%202018%20Insights%20and%20Interpretations%20FINAL%20PDF.pdf">children who develop strong reading skills are more successful in school</a>, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/81-004-x/2011004/article/11595-eng.pdf?st">more likely go to university</a> and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/89-552-M2008019">more likely to achieve a high</a> <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017144">quality of life</a>. Teaching children how to read is primarily a teacher’s job, but <a href="http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/redefining-family-engagement-for-student-success.">parents play a valuable role</a>. </p>
<p>Reading for pleasure is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3601_2">a stronger determinant of academic success</a> <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Backgrounds-of-Canadian-Youth-and-Access-to-New-Finnie-Mueller/820ff0764457baecd84b5f63bbe1cb06c577c494">than social and economic background</a>. It’s critical that children think of reading as a pleasant activity, so they develop the habit of reading for pleasure. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/parents-play-a-key-role-in-fostering-childrens-love-of-reading-121089">Parents play a key role in fostering children's love of reading</a>
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<p>To achieve this, parents can help provide pleasurable early encounters with reading. Unlike teachers, who receive extensive training, parents are typically unprepared to support their children’s reading development. Not surprisingly, some parents find the task daunting and stressful. This is particularly true in the beginning stages when children are just learning <a href="https://crackthecodeliteracy.com/">to “crack the code”</a> of how written language relates to speaking, and reading is laborious.</p>
<p>Nurturing a child’s shared enjoyment of language is important for laying a groundwork for reading — this starts from birth onwards, with activities that include <a href="https://theconversation.com/7-favourite-books-for-connecting-with-your-preschooler-119987">talking with children and sharing word play or songs and reading to them</a>. </p>
<p>In kindergarten, children continue to expand their vocabulary. They develop an appreciation of rhymes, syllables and individual sounds in words, which lays the foundations for reading. Direct reading instruction and home reading programs typically begin in Grade 1.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A father and son read in a blanket fort." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356359/original/file-20200903-20-1jod8tw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents can help provide pleasurable early encounters with reading.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Common mistakes to avoid</h2>
<p>Common mistakes that create frustration and make reading unpleasant for children include:</p>
<p>• Over-relying on the sound-it-out strategy. When a child stumbles with a word, almost instinctively, adults often say: “Just sound it out!” Indeed, many words can be read this way, however you cannot always match each letter to a sound, for example: the words “where” and “two.” Such words are among the <a href="https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/first-grade-dolch-sight-words/">commonly used words that students must learn to recognize by sight through visual memory</a>.</p>
<p>• Covering the pictures. Parents may think that using the pictures is cheating, so may want to cover them. This takes away important information that helps reading.</p>
<p>• Correcting every mistake. When children misread, skip a word, guess or take too long, many parents jump in too quickly and too often to correct them. Over-correcting erodes readers’ confidence and makes the experience painful.</p>
<p>• Always expecting the child to be the one doing the reading. Usually, parents expect the child to read to them. This can be tiring and frustrating for both parties. It is fine to read to the child first. It builds their confidence and makes the experience of reading more pleasurable.</p>
<h2>Build a positive experience</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A mother reading to her daughter." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355238/original/file-20200828-20-z5oq5k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1006&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Milagros Paz and daughter Dania Calisaya-Paz at a ‘Come Read with Me’ workshop run by Literacy in Kamloops, a group of community partners dedicated to increasing literacy levels of children, youth and adults.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Gloria Ramirez)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Here are some tips on how parents can help their child develop strong reading skills and keep home reading a fun and positive experience.</p>
<p>• Use the book’s pictures and illustrations. It’s not cheating to look at the pictures first and talk about what you see before trying to read the words. The pictures give clues to the words. </p>
<p>• Read to your child often. Read to your children for as much time as they are interested. To expand their knowledge of the world and their vocabulary, read books that are at a higher level than they can read. When they see you reading, they will want to read too. </p>
<p>• To read independently and with understanding <a href="https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/smallbook">children must know about 95 per cent of the words</a>. Help your child choose “just right” books. Easy books are good! If the book is too hard, your child may get frustrated and begin to dislike reading. If your child chooses a book that is too hard, read it to them or with them, so they can still enjoy the story. </p>
<p>• Warm up the book. This means before reading a book with your child, consider the book together: read aloud the title, talk about the topic, look at the pictures and talk about what you see, predict what might happen or explain the meaning of difficult words. </p>
<p>• Include <a href="https://cdn-files.nsba.org/s3fs-public/Beyond-Fiction-Full-Report-PDF.pdf">non-fiction</a> or science/fact books. Warm up these books using <a href="http://ftp.arizonaea.org/tools/k-w-l-know-want-to-know-learned.html#:%7E:text=K%2DW%2DL%20(Ogle%2C%201986)%20is,they%20Know%20about%20a%20topic.">the K-W-L strategy (know, wonder and learn)</a>. For example, if your child chooses a book about owls, ask them what they already know about owls, and share what you know too. Then ask what they wonder or want to know about owls, and share something you wonder about too. After you have read, talk about some of the new things you have learned about owls. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An owl perches atop a book stack." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/356369/original/file-20200903-14-pt57sa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If your child chooses a book about owls, part of ‘warming up’ the book before you read means talking about what your child already knows about owls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>• Handle reading mistakes in a positive way. Not every mistake needs to be corrected. If the mistake does not change the meaning of the text, let it go. If your child says “house” for home, even “bunny” for rabbit, let it go, for the sake of fluency, comprehension and enjoyment. If what they are reading does not make sense, or the meaning has changed, you need to intervene, but first pause and wait a few seconds to give them time to self correct. If they do, praise them. If they carry on reading, prompt them. </p>
<p>• Use effective prompts. For example, these are good questions to ask: Does that make sense? Does that sound right? Does that word look right? Or, if the sentence reads: “The boy rode the horse,” but your child reads, “The boy rode the house,” pause to see if your child self-corrects. If they don’t, ask: “Does that make sense? He rode the house? Look at each letter in the word.”
Or, supposing your child reads, “The boy roped the horse.” Pause first, then point at “rode” say: “Let’s look at this word carefully. Does this word look like roped?”</p>
<p>• Bring attention to words within words. Long words are challenging for novice readers. Suggest they look for small words within the big words. Break down the word into smaller chunks (words) they might know: for instance, “play” and “ground” in playground. Go back to those words later and talk about the meaning of the two chunks and how they together make another word. This builds vocabulary knowledge <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219413509970">and will serve them well in later grades when encountering complex academic words</a> that typically have several chunks of meaning (for example, biodiversity, electromagnetic, internationalization).</p>
<p>Most kindergarteners and Grade 1 children are excited about learning to read, but <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/23317411">by Grade 3 many have become reluctant readers and begin to fall behind</a>. Our hope is that these tips help to reverse these trends and all children become lifelong readers, because reading is a path to success and wisdom.</p>
<p><em>Fiona Clare, Literacy in Kamloops Outreach Coordinator, co-authored this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140621/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gloria Ramirez receives funding from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada, Thompson Rivers University, The United Way. </span></em></p>To “warm up” a book, use the K-W-L strategy: Talk with your child about what you both KNOW about the subject, what you WONDER and afterwards, what you’ve LEARNED.Gloria Ramirez, Associate Professor of Education, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1309862020-02-23T13:13:51Z2020-02-23T13:13:51ZReading struggles? Don’t wait to advocate for your child<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315750/original/file-20200217-10980-olyteg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C877%2C3902%2C2390&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Lack of access to quality reading instruction and early diagnoses and intervention of reading disorders can have significant, long-lasting effects.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reading is an important predictor of future academic performance in all subjects and through all levels of school. The World Literacy Organization notes that weak reading skills <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv:63953">predict lower income levels as an adult, increased health care costs, decreased productivity and increased involvement with the criminal justice system</a>. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/11.9.573">42 per cent of Canadians have literacy skills below those “typically required for high school completion,” or what literacy researchers call level three literacy</a>. At this level, someone’s reading and comprehension skills are advanced enough to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-555-x/2013001/t/tbl1.1-eng.htm">follow multi-step directions and interpret and evaluate texts</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers estimate that <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-58418-005">three to five per cent of Canadians have a learning disability that could negatively affect reading</a>, and 80 per cent of those <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000631">with a learning disability have a reading disability</a>.</p>
<p>Lack of access to quality reading instruction and early diagnoses and intervention of reading disorders can have significant, long-lasting effects, as Colleen Smereka, a Canadian invisible disability and literacy advocate, describes in the documentary <em>Searching for Words: A Woman’s Fight to Learn</em>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HOo1JQEZwU0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Searching for Words: A Woman’s Fight to Learn.’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is much more difficult to remediate reading difficulties in older students than in young ones, a fact that highlights <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2011.00347.x">the importance of early intervention</a>.</p>
<h2>Reading and mental health</h2>
<p>In my practice as a school psychologist, I have seen evidence of the research finding that academic performance and mental health can have a two-way relationship. Students who do not develop strong reading skills are at greater risk for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219409359939">developing symptoms of anxiety</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">depression</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000242241.77302.f4">behaviour problems</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194060390060301">thoughts of suicide</a>. </p>
<p>Longitudinal research has provided evidence that there is not just a relationship between reading difficulty and depression in boys but that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022534527021">poor reading skills actually predict later symptoms of depression</a>. Students who report <a href="https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/mental-wellbeing-reading-and-writing/">low levels of well-being also say that they are below-average readers</a>.</p>
<p>Even when poor reading does not lead to mental health diagnoses, it can <a href="https://thinkingreadingwritings.wordpress.com/2019/04/22/can-reading-problems-affect-mental-health/">increase students’ feelings of shame, failure and exclude them from access to knowledge through print</a>. </p>
<p>Most of us avoid tasks that we are not good at, especially if we cannot find support to improve. But children are regularly required to read for all academic areas, and to gain knowledge in other areas of life. We cannot expect children to read if we don’t help them learn to read.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316001/original/file-20200218-10991-ziczpu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Systemic, direct instruction for teaching reading is most effective.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reading instruction and early intervention</h2>
<p>Twenty years ago, a group of U.S. researchers <a href="https://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=b0WdAAAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=national+reading+panel&ots=RbeDktS16q&sig=8Zoa11oCqwG6J6CaTX5d-f5qrcE#v=onepage&q=national%20reading%20panel&f=false">tasked with reviewing over 100,000 studies on reading by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development</a> summarized decades of research about how to best teach children how to read. </p>
<p>Recent research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618772271">continues to support their findings</a> that the best results in teaching children to read are found through systemic, direct instruction and intervention <a href="http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/">focusing on five areas</a>: </p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>phonemic awareness</strong> (knowing that words are made up of sounds: cat = /c/ /a/ /t/);</p></li>
<li><p><strong>decoding</strong> (connecting letters with sounds to sound out words);</p></li>
<li><p><strong>fluency</strong> (reading quickly, accurately and with expression);</p></li>
<li><p><strong>vocabulary</strong> (knowing what lots of words mean);</p></li>
<li><p>and <strong>comprehension</strong> (understanding both simple direct information and less direct inferences of text). </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Unfortunately, students do not always receive such systemic instruction. For example, the Ontario Human Rights Commission is currently investigating whether students who have reading difficulties <a href="http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/right-read-public-inquiry-on-reading-disabilities">experience human rights violations as a result of schools not screening and providing early interventions</a>. </p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/201/key-factors-literacy-school-aged.pdf">no province has specific requirements for training or necessary competencies necessary for teachers to be prepared to teach reading</a>, and many elementary school teachers report feeling inadequately prepared to teach reading and even less prepared to support children who struggle. </p>
<p>A 2019 survey by the International Literacy Association of 1,443 literacy experts (including teachers) from 65 countries showed that <a href="https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/resource-documents/whatshotreport_2020_final.pdf">60 per cent don’t think teacher training programs are “equipping educators with the skills they need for effective reading instruction.</a>”</p>
<h2>If your child is struggling with reading</h2>
<p><a href="http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/">Here are some supports</a> you can provide: </p>
<p><strong>Play with words:</strong> Teaching children to rhyme and to pull apart the sounds of words and add new sounds develops phonemic awareness, which is foundational to developing decoding skills.</p>
<p><strong>Read to your children and with your children:</strong> This helps children associate reading with positive feelings of spending time with caring adults.</p>
<p><strong>Spend time reading yourself:</strong> Set an example that reading is valuable and enjoyable.</p>
<p><strong>Talk with your children:</strong> Talking with your children about the world around them, science and literature helps them to develop strong vocabulary skills.</p>
<p><strong>Play word games with your children:</strong> There are free <a href="https://pbskids.org/">online word games</a> that can support reading development, but it is much better to engage in these with your children rather than have your children use them alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315758/original/file-20200217-10980-rl1rbd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Teaching children to rhyme and to pull apart the sounds of words helps build reading skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>If your child still struggles</h2>
<p>Sometimes children <a href="https://www.dyslexiacanada.org/">struggle to learn to read</a> <a href="https://www.ldac-acta.ca/">even when they have good supports in place</a>. For example, children in dual language programs or children whose schooling is not in their first language often have a normal delay in reading.</p>
<p>If your child appears to struggle to progress through their age-appropriate school curriculum, first <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-signs-reading-difficulty">consider if you notice common areas that suggest reading difficulty</a>:</p>
<p><strong>Early language difficulty:</strong> A large number of children with language delays also have difficulty learning to read.</p>
<p><strong>Difficulty with phonological awareness:</strong> Difficulty with rhyming, hearing the syllables in words, pulling apart the sounds in letters and putting sounds together to make a word suggest that your child may have difficulty learning to read. </p>
<p><strong>Difficulty with decoding:</strong> If your children have difficulty sounding out words or learning the connection between letters and their sounds in grade one, then they may be at risk for learning to read.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-suggests-three-profiles-of-communication-delays-in-early-childhood-115769">New research suggests three profiles of communication delays in early childhood</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If you think your child has difficulty with several of theses areas, discuss your concerns with your child’s teacher. If you have continued concerns, consider:</p>
<p><strong>Assessment:</strong> You can seek out an assessment through your school board or a private provider. Many university training clinics and some non-profit organizations offer lower-cost assessments.</p>
<p><strong>Intervention:</strong> Look for reading interventions provided by your school or seek out private tutoring. </p>
<p><strong>Advocate:</strong> Do not wait until your child is failing and falling behind to advocate for intervention and/or assessment. Early intervention has very high success rates for supporting reading development, but it is much more difficult to improve reading skills in older students.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130986/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Wilcox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Early intervention with reading challenges has very high success rates for supporting reading development, but it is much more difficult to improve reading skills in older students.Gabrielle Wilcox, Associate Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1251192019-11-11T23:21:32Z2019-11-11T23:21:32ZFun with rhymes and word play helps children learn to read<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300985/original/file-20191110-194628-t6kdmi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C356%2C4671%2C2685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Isn't it weird that some words don't rhyme that look like they should, like wood and food? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents are often their children’s first literacy teachers. They oversee children signing their names on artwork and read storybooks with their kids. Yet not much research has focused on what exactly parents do when helping their children read. </p>
<p>Our research examines reading-related knowledge, which is not the same thing as being a good reader. </p>
<p>Parents with higher reading-related knowledge are more likely to point out interesting patterns in oral and written language to their children. They also tend to be more encouraging by providing supportive comments and useful tips while helping their children read. We have reason to believe that over time, <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1174685">these behaviours enhance children’s reading and spelling development</a>. </p>
<h2>Assessing parents’ skills</h2>
<p>Reading-related knowledge comprises at least three important skills. These are phonological awareness (a capacity to isolate and manipulate units of sound, such as by coming up with rhymes or being able to say how many different sounds are in a word), knowledge of written syllable patterns and the ability to identify regular and irregular word spellings. </p>
<p>We measured reading-related knowledge in a study that recruited a sample of 70 parents from local Québec schools. A criterion for participation was that English was primarily spoken in the home. Survey respondents were well-educated and had middle-upper class incomes. </p>
<p>We asked parents to do the following: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Count the number of units of speech sounds (the word church has three sounds: ch/ur/ch); </p></li>
<li><p>Determine which syllable patterns were represented in four words (for example, a consonant-vowel-consonant word like <em>bed</em> represents a closed syllable and a consonant-vowel word like <em>be</em> represents an open syllable); </p></li>
<li><p>Distinguish between regular and irregular word spellings. For example, according to what is called the “magic letter E pattern,” the final E marks the vowel that comes before it as long. So, a word like <em>hive</em> is regular because the letter I says its own name. The word <em>give</em> is irregular because the letter I is a short vowel sound. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>We found that parents who had better skills in these three areas praised their children more.</p>
<p>They might say things to their child like: “Really good reading!” </p>
<p>These parents also explained more letter-to-sound connections <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12272">when helping their children read</a>. That means if the child was reading a word like exit, the parent might say “This E sounds like the E in egg.” </p>
<h2>Word play is not just play</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300982/original/file-20191110-194656-p418n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=689&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traditional English language nursery rhymes such as ‘Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet’ emphasize rhyming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When parents play rhyming games, this builds children’s awareness of speech sounds and phonological awareness, the ability to isolate and manipulate sound. </p>
<p>Parents might also use alliteration, drawing attention to first sounds that are repeated in fun language play heard in sentences like: “Maggie-May minds messes.” </p>
<p>Phonological awareness deals only with sounds. So, an example of alliteration is also: “The King’s calico cat ….” </p>
<p>Isolating speech sounds helps children later map sounds onto letters. </p>
<p>Considering words such as cat and king, children must be able to first associate the letters C and K with the /k/ sound, and then blend the /k/ sound with the other sounds to read the words. </p>
<p>Whereas, to spell these words, children must isolate each of the three speech sounds (/k/a/t/ and /k/i/ng/) while associating them with corresponding letters and letter patterns.</p>
<h2>Learning to spell</h2>
<p>When children are made aware of syllable types in English, it helps them understand why pronunciations of vowels may differ across words. Familiarizing children with the most common syllable types is important because knowing them makes reading and spelling less erratic. </p>
<p>For example, children often start reading words with closed syllables like <em>cat</em> or <em>hat</em>, where the vowel is short and followed by at least one consonant. </p>
<p>New readers also encounter words with open syllables, such as in the words <em>me</em> and <em>go</em>, where the vowel is spelled with a single letter and says its own name.</p>
<p>It is not uncommon for children to find words containing what are called vowel teams: In such words, the first vowel sound is long, as in the word team itself. The expression “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking,” is often helpful to remember this type of word (for example, <em>rain</em> or <em>boat</em>).</p>
<p>As discussed above, in words like <em>hive</em> and <em>make</em>, the final E “magically” turns the preceding vowel into a long sound. We observed that parents who have an implicit understanding of syllable patterns remind their children of these — for example, by saying “Watch for the magic letter E,” which helps their children read more accurately.</p>
<h2>Tips for parents</h2>
<p>Learning to sound out words is critical but in a complex language like English, it is not enough. In irregular words that don’t conform to typical letter-to-sound
pronunciations (such as the word <em>one</em>), it is counterproductive to tell children to sound them out. Indeed, when parents ask children to sound out irregular words, or act overly confused when a child pronounces “one” as “own,” it can be frustrating for children.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/300931/original/file-20191108-194646-1w8jpzy.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=582&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">P is for Pterodactyl, by Raj Haldar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Sourcebooks Jabberwocky)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Parents can keep their eyes open for words that rhyme (pie, sigh) or do not rhyme even though they look like they should (wood, food). </p>
<p>Interested parents can choose to visit websites such as Reading Rockets to learn more about <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/article/six-syllable-types">syllable types in English and other skills that underlie fluent reading</a>. </p>
<p>They can also seek out clever storybooks to help them and their children learn about phonological awareness and irregular spellings. Some examples are <em><a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460705964/did-you-take-the-b-from-my-_ook-books-that-drive-kids-crazy-book-2/">Did you take the B from my ook?</a></em> or <em><a href="https://shop.sourcebooks.com/p-is-for-pterodactyl.html">P is for Pterodactyl: The worst alphabet book ever</a></em>. </p>
<p>Clearly, helping children read extends beyond simply correcting errors. Rather, parents might start by taking an interest in the beauty and occasional weirdness of language, and then passing it on to their children.</p>
<p>[ <em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125119/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aviva Segal receives funding from The Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandra Martin-Chang received funding from SSCHRC. </span></em></p>With a complex language, like English, learning to sound out words is critical but not enough for learning how to read.Aviva Segal, Part-time Faculty in the Department of Education, Concordia UniversitySandra Martin-Chang, Professor, Department of Education, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1210892019-09-18T23:18:49Z2019-09-18T23:18:49ZParents play a key role in fostering children’s love of reading<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/290989/original/file-20190904-175691-1mzi2qh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C1%2C991%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Reading books with your child means children learn to connect reading with feelings of warmth and sharing. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Learning to read is one of the most important developmental achievements of childhood, and it sets the stage for later school and life success. But learning to read is not straightforward. As child development researchers, parents often ask us how they can help their children to become good readers.</p>
<p>Parents can play a key role in supporting the development of children’s early language skills and fostering a love of reading, before and after children start formal schooling.</p>
<h2>Literacy begins early</h2>
<p>The building blocks of literacy are laid down during infancy. Even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12564">newborn babies’ brains are sensitive to the sounds and complexities of language</a>. Babies don’t just need to hear language, they need to participate in language too. </p>
<p>Even though babies may only be able to say sounds like “ga,” “ba,” and “da,” they benefit from having these sounds repeated back to them in what are called conversational turns. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617742725">recent study</a> found that the number of conversational turns between babies and parents is a key ingredient to building language skills.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292305/original/file-20190912-190012-fvilpg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The number of conversational turns between babies and parents is key to building language skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, when your baby says “ba,” respond. You can repeat “ba” or ask “Is that so?” or try to guess what they are saying (“Did you see a ball?”).</p>
<p>We know that <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/09/06/peds.2017-4276..info?versioned=true">babies who hear more words, speak more words and who hear more complex language produce more complex language later in childhood</a>. These language skills help children get ready to read.</p>
<h2>Early childhood</h2>
<p>As babies turn into toddlers and preschoolers, <a href="https://doi.org/10.4073/csr.2017.14">their language gets more complex and they start to build the knowledge of words that they will eventually need for reading</a>. By building language skills, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2014.09.010">preschoolers are also developing the attention, memory and thinking skills</a> that will prepare them for school.</p>
<p>Preschoolers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1468798415608907">benefit from having books read to them</a>. When parents read to children, it helps <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30908424">build children’s vocabulary</a> and expands conversations. You can start with short picture books like <em>Goodnight Moon</em> and move onto longer picture books like <em>Where the Wild Things Are</em> or <em>Corduroy</em>.</p>
<p>Preschoolers also learn <a href="https://bold.expert/learning-new-words-through-play">important language skills during play</a>. Board games, games like “I Spy,” singalongs and acting out stories all help build the language skills they need for learning to read. When parents interact and talk out loud with toddlers and preschoolers during play, it supports the child’s learning of sounds and words.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292307/original/file-20190912-190031-f0nsh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reading books and talking with your child helps your child build a positive attitude towards language and literacy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having conversations, reading books to your child and playing with your child are all activities that help your child build a positive attitude towards language and literacy. They will learn to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728185/">connect reading with feelings of warmth and sharing</a>. You can encourage them to choose the books, and the place where you will read them, and in turn start to foster their identity as a reader. These positive experiences support your child’s emotional and intellectual development.</p>
<h2>Ready to read</h2>
<p>Researchers have long debated how children learn how to read, and how best to teach them. Today, it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1529100618772271">clear that children need explicit phonics instruction (learning which sounds match different letters), lots of practice, and support for understanding written material</a>. This means that children must learn how to “crack the code” of reading.</p>
<p>Children need to learn that lines, curves and dots make up a letter and that each letter matches to a sound. Although the English language has 26 letters, <a href="https://alphabeticcodecharts.com/yep_2013_Amer_Can_Alphabetic_Code_complete_picture_chart.pdf">these letters make up 44 different sounds</a>. Children start to learn that the letters are paired up with certain sounds through various activities at school, and you can help your child practise when they read <a href="https://www.readingrockets.org/">out loud to you at home</a>.</p>
<p>Once children have learned to map sounds to letters, they need to learn to map the sounds to meaning or match the sounds to the words they know. They also need to build reading fluency. Fluency means reading accurately, smoothly and with expression. As a child gains fluency, they read more naturally, faster and more easily.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292330/original/file-20190912-190007-2gdmdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As a child gains reading fluency, they read faster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Parent tips for early readers</h2>
<p>Most children begin home reading programs in Grade 1 and continue with home reading into grades 2 and 3. Below are some suggestions for nurturing and building a positive home reading experience.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Try to set aside at least 15 minutes a day for reading time.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider the factors that set reading up for success in your home. For example: What times of day might work best for your child to do their home reading with you? Where do they most like to read, on the couch or in their bed?</p></li>
<li><p>Practise reading books that are simple and easy for your child to repeat. If your child cannot get through the book, the level may be too advanced.</p></li>
<li><p>Point out periods and commas where your child should pause, and talk about using different voices. Point out different kinds of expressions. For example, if the character in the story said “STOP IT,” you could explain to your child that they could use a louder voice.</p></li>
<li><p>Indulge and support your child’s love of certain stories. The best way for children to become fluent readers on their own is through practice, and repeating beloved stories is one way to encourage practice.</p></li>
<li><p>Continue to read to your child. When parents read, children can listen and enjoy books that they wouldn’t be able to read yet. This helps build their vocabulary and enjoyment.</p></li>
<li><p>Check your child’s understanding of the book. You can help your child by asking questions before, during and after reading. Your questions create opportunities for conversation. You might ask questions like: </p></li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
<p>“Why do you think the children snuck downstairs?”</p>
<p>“Does this story remind you of anything we have done?”</p>
<p>“Leaped is an interesting word. What does that mean? Do you know another word we could have used there?” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Then you could mention jumped, hopped or skipped.</p>
<p>Some children will learn to read more quickly than others, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1529100618772271">all children need practice</a> to become skilled readers. A consistent home reading program can start children on the path to literacy and all of its benefits.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=thanksforreading">Thanks for reading! We can send you The Conversation’s stories every day in an informative email. Sign up today.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121089/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny Pexman receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sheri Madigan receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the Canada Research Chairs program and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Graham receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Reggin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Early experiences sharing and developing positive connections, language and communication set the stage for home reading to start children on the path to literacy.Lorraine Reggin, PhD student, Cognitive Psychology, University of CalgaryPenny Pexman, Professor of Psychology, University of CalgarySheri Madigan, Assistant Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of CalgarySusan Graham, Professor and Director, Owerko Centre, University of CalgaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067932018-12-03T11:49:36Z2018-12-03T11:49:36ZThere’s no simple answer to what counts as ‘science’ in teaching reading<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247000/original/file-20181123-149335-113ckzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Two adversarial approaches have dominated debates about teaching reading for decades.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Xolisa Guzula</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What is the best way to teach children to read? This apparently simple question has, in fact, has been the subject of robust and often polarised debate. </p>
<p>Recently the New York Times ran <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/opinion/sunday/phonics-teaching-reading-wrong-way.html">an opinion piece</a> titled “Why are we still teaching reading the wrong way?’”. It claimed that “teacher education programmes continue to ignore the sound science behind how people become readers”. </p>
<p>As a teacher educator who also supports sound science, I think there are two key issues to consider before confidently staking a claim about the “right way” to teach reading. First, what do we mean by “reading”? And second, what counts as sound science? </p>
<p>This is important because the answers guide how reading is – or isn’t – taught and tested. If we hold the view that reading is primarily about recognising letter-sound relationships and recognising as well as pronouncing words correctly, then we are likely to focus on instructing children systematically in letter-sound relationships (a phonics approach). </p>
<p>If we think that reading is primarily a meaning-making process that comes naturally to children, we will focus on engaging children in meaning-making through story reading and writing meaningful texts (a whole language approach). </p>
<p>These two adversarial approaches have dominated debates about teaching reading for decades. My colleagues and I in the newly formed <a href="https://bua-lit.org.za/">bua-lit collective</a> believe that this is a false, if not confusing, dichotomy. We are language and literacy researchers, activists, educators and teacher educators working together to share our collective knowledge and research about literacy, particularly in multilingual contexts.</p>
<p>We <a href="https://bua-lit.org.za/our-position/">argue</a> that learning to read involves more than decoding letter-sound relationships and making meaning from isolated texts. Children also need to be engaged in specific, meaningful daily practices that demand and model different kinds of reading as well as writing, involving a wide range of types of texts. </p>
<p>Children need to have a purpose to read and write (beyond assessment), positive reading and writing role models, and they need to learn how language and meaning work differently in different kinds of texts – for instance, in a story versus instructions. </p>
<h2>Unpacking science</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1805.10602.pdf">a view</a> among some philosophers of science that science is a discipline with an accepted and uncontroversial methodology. It tests hypotheses by gathering empirical data to discover general laws that make the world more predictable. This approach assumes a certainty to scientific knowledge, and often values data collection above theorising. </p>
<p>Yet this view of science is challenged within science itself. For example, theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1805.10602.pdf">offers</a> an alternative position: science is not about certainty. The methodology of science is not “written in stone”, and its conceptual structures have changed over time. In fact, Rovelli states the core of science is continuous uncertainty and “scientifically proven” is a contradiction in terms. </p>
<p>Knowledge in science has changed fundamentally over hundreds of years. Science is an integral part of the modern world, and we understand more about the world through scientific endeavours. But there is much we don’t understand. Sound science requires not just careful methods, but also conceptual clarity about what is being measured.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the “sound science” referred to in discussions about the teaching of reading generally ignores such critiques. It operates from a narrow understanding of what science is, and also of what reading is. </p>
<p>That’s a problem. Positivist science is relatively successful in testing children’s alphabetic knowledge – do they recognise and can they name individual letters of the alphabet, or can they decode the word cat as “c-a-t”. </p>
<p>But it is far more difficult to test their ability to make meaning of and to engage critically with a text. This is because every person’s ability to understand a text depends on their existing knowledge, experiences, language resources and the practices and activities they’ve engaged in.</p>
<h2>Making meaning</h2>
<p>Can you read the sentences below?</p>
<p>Being architecture neutral is a big chunk of being portable, but there’s more to it than that. Unlike C and C++, there are no “implementation dependent” aspects of the specification. The sizes of the primitive data types are specified, as is the behaviour of arithmetic on them.</p>
<p>You probably “read” that paragraph quickly and fluently. But how much of it did you understand? If you are familiar with the language and activities of computer programming, you may understand quite a lot. But many, although they recognise the letter-sound combinations and individual words, can make little sense of it. Even being able to “read” these sentences fluently doesn’t help us. </p>
<p>Why? Because we don’t have the appropriate background knowledge nor experience in computer programming. Making meaning through reading is a highly complex process. It goes far beyond letter and word recognition. Your ability to decode that test passage should show that “decoding” is not the same as reading.</p>
<p>This fact becomes extremely clear when you consider some children’s poor “reading” performance. In South Africa, for instance, most children don’t have access to rich print resources at home or in school. They are <a href="http://sabookcouncil.co.za/wp-content/uploads/Final-Report-NRS-2016.pdf">not exposed</a> to people around them reading the kind of texts they need to read at school.</p>
<p>This means most of the country’s children are at the mercy of a narrow approach whose proponents believe “reading” is a purely cognitive process that can be scientifically tested. This approach won’t enable children to learn to read in a way that helps them to succeed at school beyond the early grades. </p>
<p>As well as explicit teaching of decoding and comprehension strategies, children need to participate extensively in purposeful reading and writing practices in order to become successful readers and writers. These activities are not easily assessed – but we cannot allow what is easily measured to drive what counts as successful reading for South African children. </p>
<p><em>Carolyn McKinney writes here on behalf of the <a href="http://www.bua-lit.org.za/">bua-lit collective</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106793/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn McKinney receives funding from the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Reading involves more than decoding letter-sound relationships and making meaning from isolated texts.Carolyn McKinney, Associate Professor in Language Education, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1065312018-11-11T19:04:40Z2018-11-11T19:04:40ZExplainer: what’s the difference between decodable and predictable books, and when should they be used?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244863/original/file-20181110-39548-lgzbnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It makes sense for children in the early stages of learning to read to be given decodable books.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A child’s early experiences with books both at home and later in school have the potential to significantly affect future reading performance. Parents <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/15589611.pdf">play a key role</a> in building oral language and literacy skills in the years prior to school. But it’s teachers who are responsible for ensuring children become readers once at school. </p>
<p>While there’s much we know about how students learn to read, research on books used to support beginning reading development is sparse. Guidelines provided in the <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Search/?q=ACELY1649">Australian Curriculum</a>
and the <a href="https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/national-literacy-and-numeracy-learning-progressions/national-literacy-learning-progression/reading-and-viewing/?subElementId=50915&scaleId=0">National Literacy Progressions</a> complicate matters further. Teachers are required to use two types of texts: decodable and predictable books. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-phonics-and-why-is-it-important-70522">Explainer: what is phonics and why is it important?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Each book is underpinned by a different theory of reading, arguably in conflict. This contributes to uncertainty about when and how the books might be used. </p>
<h2>The difference between decodable and predictable books</h2>
<p>Predictable books and their associated instructional strategies align with a whole-language approach to reading. </p>
<p>In this approach, meaning is prioritised. Children are encouraged to draw on background knowledge, memorise a bank of the most common words found in print, and to use cues to guess or predict words based on pictures and the story. This method is not consistent with a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257643693_The_influence_of_decodability_in_early_reading_text_on_reading_achievement_A_review_of_the_evidence">phonics approach</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244862/original/file-20181110-38449-o6sif1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=525&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This is a good example of predictable text.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the earliest levels, <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-07799-002">predictable and repetitive sentences</a> scaffold beginning readers’ attempts at unknown words. Word identification is supported by close text to picture matches and familiar themes for children in the early years (such as going to the doctor). </p>
<p>While there is some evidence the repetitive nature of predictable books <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19388070802613450">facilitates the development of fluency</a>, the features contained within disadvantage young readers as they do not align with the letter-sound correspondences taught as part of phonics lessons. This is particularly problematic for children who are at risk of later <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rev3.3121">reading difficulties</a>. </p>
<p>In comparison, decodable books consist of a high percentage of words in which the letters represent their most common sounds. Decodable books align with a synthetic phonics or code-based approach to reading. This approach teaches children to convert a string of letters (our written code) into sounds before blending them to produce a spoken word.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T87VRHXUNJo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The reading video above is an example of a child reading one of the many widely available decodable books.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When reading decodable books, children draw on their accumulating knowledge of the alphabetic code to sound out any unknown words. Irregularly spelt words (for example was, said, the) are also included, and children receive support to read these words, focusing on the sounds if necessary. </p>
<p>There is <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/1985-15758-001">mounting evidence</a> for the use of decodable books to support the development of phonics in beginning readers and older kids who haven’t grasped the code easily. Decodable books have been found to promote self-teaching, helping children read with greater <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10573560590523667">accuracy and independence</a>. This leads to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11145-011-9355-2">greater gains</a> in reading development. </p>
<h2>The role of books in early reading development</h2>
<p>Children need lots of opportunities to practise reading words in books. Given research demonstrates a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251371861_Long-term_effects_of_synthetic_versus_analytic_phonics_teaching_on_the_reading_and_spelling_ability_of_10_year_old_boys_and_girls">synthetic phonics</a> approach provides young readers with the <a href="http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5551/2/report.pdf">most direct route to skilled reading</a>, there’s a strong logical argument for supporting early reading with decodable books. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-easy-as-abc-the-way-to-ensure-children-learn-to-read-1373">As easy as ABC: the way to ensure children learn to read</a>
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<p>Until the most recent version of the Australian Curriculum, only predictable books were included in the Foundation and Year one English curricula. The addition of decodable books recognises the critical support they provide beginning readers. But this places teachers in a difficult position because the elaborations in the curriculum documents place more emphasis on the strategies designed primarily for use with predictable books. </p>
<h2>Using different books in the classroom</h2>
<p>While reading is an extraordinarily complex process, a model of reading called the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0741932518773154">Simple View of Reading</a> is very helpful from an educational perspective. It explains skilled reading as the product of both decoding and language comprehension. This helps us understand what we need to do when teaching children to read, and the types of books they need to support early reading development. </p>
<p>Before they enter school, the majority of children are considered to be in the “<a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ683147">pre-alphabetic</a>” stage of reading. In this stage, children have little or no understanding the written code represents the sounds of spoken language. They would not have the skills to use decodable books. </p>
<p>Instead, they recognise words purely by contextual clues and visual features. For example, children know the McDonalds sign because of the big yellow arches (the M) or can read the word “stop” when they see the sign, but not out of that context. </p>
<p>Predictable books would help the pre-alphabetic reader gain insight into the workings of texts, especially with regard to meaning. In particular making the connection between spoken words – which they are familiar with – and written words, which they are not. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244697/original/file-20181109-74787-13hm1ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After decodable books have been used to get children beyond beginning reading, real books provide broader vocabulary and language structure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beyond this stage, predictable texts become less useful because memorisation and meaning-based strategies aren’t sustainable long term. Once children have advanced to the partial and full alphabetic stages of reading, usually fairly quickly after starting formal reading instruction, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19388070109558338">they benefit more from decodable books</a> which allow them to apply the alphabetic code.</p>
<h2>So where to from here?</h2>
<p>There is <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1529100618772271">no evidence</a> children benefit from the continued use of decodable books beyond the beginning stages of reading. In the absence of any empirical studies, we suspect it would be a good idea to move children on once they have sufficient letter-sound knowledge and decoding skills that they can apply independently. At this point, the introduction of real books would <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01443410903103657?journalCode=cedp20">benefit students</a> and provide access to more diverse language structures and vocabulary.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/international-study-shows-many-australian-children-are-still-struggling-with-reading-88646">International study shows many Australian children are still struggling with reading</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Given what we know about how reading works, it makes sense for children in the early stages of learning to read to be given decodable books to practise and generalise their developing alphabetic skills. At the same time, they will continue to benefit from hearing the rich vocabulary and language forms in the children’s books being read with (to) them. </p>
<p>It’s less clear what predictable texts contribute to beginning reading in schools when considering how reading skills develop. But there is evidence they might have a useful role to play in pre-school prior to the start of formal reading instruction. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Update: the authors’ disclosure statements have been updated with further information.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106531/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simmone Pogorzelski consults to MultiLit Pty Ltd which sells decodable readers, among other reading materials that the company researches and develops.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Wheldall is a director of MultiLit Pty Ltd which sells decodable readers, among other reading materials that the company researches and develops.</span></em></p>Children in the early stages of learning to read should be given decodable books to practise and generalise their developing alphabetic skills.Simmone Pogorzelski, PhD Candidate, Sessional Academic, Edith Cowan UniversityRobyn Wheldall, Honorary Fellow, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1060662018-11-07T19:20:19Z2018-11-07T19:20:19ZLearning music early can make your child a better reader<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244249/original/file-20181107-74757-tkpa0f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As we look to improve the reading outcomes of our young children, more music education in our preschools and primary schools could be the answer.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Neuroscience has found a clear relationship between music and language acquisition. Put simply, learning music in the early years of schooling can help children learn to read.</p>
<h2>Music, language and the brain</h2>
<p>Music processing and language development share an overlapping network in the brain. From an evolutionary perspective, the human brain developed music processing well before language and then used that processing to <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/370/1664/20140089">create and learn language</a>. </p>
<p>At birth, babies understand language as if it was music.
They respond to the rhythm and melody of language before they understand what the words mean. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ueqgenARzlE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Babies and young children mimic the language they hear using those elements of rhythm and melody, and this is the sing-song style of speech we know and love in toddlers. </p>
<h2>Musically trained children are better readers</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.eduplace.com/marketing/nc/pdf/fw_p42-43.pdf">foundation of reading</a> is speech and to learn how to speak, children must first be able to distinguish speech from all other sounds. Music <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0093934X12001617">helps them do this</a>. </p>
<p>Reading is ultimately about making meaning from the words on the page. A number of skills combine to help us make those meanings, including the ability to distinguish between the sounds in words, and fluency of reading. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-learn-to-read-76283">How do we learn to read?</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>Fluency includes the ability to adjust the the patterns of stress and intonation of a phrase, such as from angry to happy and the ability the choose the correct inflection, such as a question or an exclamation. These highly developed auditory processing skills <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378595513002098">are enhanced by musical training</a>. </p>
<p>Musically trained children also have <a href="http://mp.ucpress.edu/content/29/2/147">better reading comprehension skills</a>. </p>
<p>Music can also give us clues about a child’s struggles with reading.<br>
<a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/111/40/14559.short">Research</a> has found three- and four-year-old children who could keep a steady musical beat were more reading-ready at the age of five, than those who couldn’t keep a beat. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244251/original/file-20181107-74757-5uojcy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children should be taught to read music as well, which reinforces the symbol to sound connection crucial for learning to read.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What parents and teachers can do</h2>
<p>Language learning <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/desc.12172">starts from day one of life</a> with parents talking and singing to their babies. Babies bond with their parents and community primarily through their voice, so singing to your baby both forms a bond with them and engages their auditory processing network.</p>
<p>Taking toddlers to a well-structured, high quality music class each week will build the musical skills that have been found to be so effective in learning to read. It is vital to look for classes that include movement activities, singing, and responding to both sound and silence. They should use good quality music-making toys and instruments.</p>
<p>As they head into preschool, a crucial time for language development, look for the same well-structured music learning programs delivered daily by qualified educators. The songs, rhymes and rhythm activities our children do in preschool and daycare are actually preparing them for reading. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-your-child-struggle-with-spelling-this-might-help-104410">Does your child struggle with spelling? This might help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Music programs should build skills sequentially. They should encourage children to work to sing in tune, use instruments and move in improvised and structured ways to music. </p>
<p>Children should also be taught to read musical notation and symbols when learning music. This reinforces the symbol to sound connection which is also crucial in reading words.</p>
<p>Importantly, active music learning is the key. Having loud music on in the background does little for their language development and could actually impede their ability to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2006.00374.x">distinguish speech</a> from all the other noise.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244252/original/file-20181107-74778-14jna23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Parents should look for good quality music programs for their toddlers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This isn’t to say children need silence to learn. In fact, the opposite is true. They need a variety of sound environments and the ability to choose what their brains need in terms of auditory stimulation. Some students need noise to focus, some students need silence and each preference is affected by the type of learning they are being challenged to do.</p>
<p>Sound environments are more than just how loud the class is getting. It’s about the quality of the sounds. Squeaky brakes every three minutes, loud air-conditioning, background music that works for some and not others and irregular bangs and crashes all impact on a child’s ability to learn. </p>
<p>Teachers can allow students to get excited in their lessons and make noise appropriately, but keep some muffled headphones in your classroom for when students want to screen out sound.</p>
<h2>Music for all</h2>
<p>Our auditory processing network is the first and largest information gathering system in our brains. Music can enhance the biological building blocks for language. Music both prepares children for learning to read, and supports them as they continue their reading journey. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it’s disadvantaged students who are least likely to have music learning in their schools. Yet <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/events/dstm/">research</a> shows they could benefit the most from music learning. </p>
<p>As we look to ways to improve the reading outcomes of our young children, more music education in our preschools and primary schools may be one way clear way forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106066/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anita Collins is a visiting fellow at the Music, Mind & Well-being institute at the University of Melbourne.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Misty Adoniou receives funding from the ACT Education and Training Directorate to research writing in secondary schools.</span></em></p>Learning music in the early years of schooling can help children learn to read.Anita Collins, Adjunct assistant professor, University of CanberraMisty Adoniou, Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1044102018-10-15T19:03:54Z2018-10-15T19:03:54ZDoes your child struggle with spelling? This might help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239265/original/file-20181004-52672-lu64t9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">English spelling is not an illogical burden there to make life difficult for our children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>English spelling has a reputation for being illogical and chaotic. What’s going on with <em>yacht</em>, and why the W in <em>two</em>? There are a thousand other “but why?” questions our children ask about English spelling.</p>
<p>“English is crazy/confusing/tricky,” we say. “There are some words you just have to learn by heart,” we advise young children. “It’s a special word.”</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-does-english-have-so-many-different-spelling-rules-98831">Curious Kids: Why does English have so many different spelling rules?</a>
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<p>Those responses aren’t accurate or helpful to a child learning how to spell. English spelling isn’t random. There is a system to English spelling, and <a href="https://pages.wustl.edu/files/pages/imce/readingandlanguagelab/kessler_treiman_2003-_is_english_spelling_chaotic.pdf">there are reasons</a> words are spelled the way they are. </p>
<h2>How do words work?</h2>
<p>Morphology (the meaning components of words), phonology (the sound components of words), orthography (the multiple ways the same sound may be written), and etymology (the origin of words) are the threads that work together to explain the spellings of words. </p>
<p>An effective spelling program will teach <a href="http://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-10/adoniou-on-what-teachers-should-know-about-spelling">all these threads together</a>. </p>
<h2>Words are packets of meaning</h2>
<p>English is a morpho-phonemic language. This means words are spelled according to their meaning parts (morphemes) as well as their sounds (phonemes). Morphemes are base words, prefixes and suffixes. </p>
<p>Phonemes and morphemes <a href="http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Morphemes-research-briefing.pdf">work together</a>, so to teach English spelling <a href="http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Pete_Bowers_Research_files/Goodwin%20meta-analysis.pdf">it’s important to teach the two together</a>.</p>
<p>For example, the word <em>magician</em> is not spelled <em>majishun</em>, even though it sounds like it should be. So before asking “what sounds can I hear?” when we spell a word, we need to ask “what does this word mean?”.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239266/original/file-20181004-52660-iimktd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Breaking words into their meaningful parts is very helpful for students because it also improves their vocabulary and reading comprehension.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>A magician is a person who does magic – and all of that meaning can be found within the spelling of the word. <em>Magic</em> is the base word, and “ian” is the suffix that means “the person who does”. </p>
<p>We see this suffix at work with lots of base words that end in “ic”, such as musician, politician, clinician, physician, electrician and technician.</p>
<h2>Building vocabulary</h2>
<p>Breaking words into their meaningful parts is very helpful for students because it also improves their vocabulary and reading comprehension. They can use these skills to tackle the longer words that often trip them up when reading. </p>
<p>This skill is particularly crucial as they move through school and must read and spell increasingly complex words such as collaborate (col = prefix meaning together, labor = work, ate = suffix that makes verbs). </p>
<p>It also helps them learn the concepts embedded within the words, such as perimeter (peri = around, meter = measure).</p>
<h2>Finding links</h2>
<p>Even single morpheme words are part of a larger family that are worth studying. The silent W in <em>two</em> becomes audible and more memorable when we look at its family. <em>Two</em> is the base word in <em>twelve</em>, <em>twenty</em>, <em>between</em>, and <em>twin</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239268/original/file-20181004-52691-kue8q3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">I before E, except after C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>This is well within <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ881137">the learning capacity</a> of very young children. For example, I watched a five-year-old volunteer <em>Twix</em> to his teacher as she was explaining the <em>two</em> word family to her class. He explained a Twix was <em>two</em> sticks of biscuits.</p>
<h2>Learning rules</h2>
<p>Of course, the C sound in <em>magic</em> could potentially have been written as a K, “ck”, “ch” or “que”. In English, for the vast majority of words there will be more than one way to spell the sounds you can hear. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-absurdity-of-english-spelling-and-why-were-stuck-with-it-44905">The absurdity of English spelling and why we're stuck with it</a>
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<p>There are patterns we can teach children to make this easier (orthography). That’s why we teach children things like I before E except after C. It doesn’t work all the time, but it reduces the odds.</p>
<p>Very often, making the correct choice comes down to the word’s origin – and that brings us to etymology. </p>
<h2>A multilingual language</h2>
<p>As a language, English is no snob. It began as a German language but it hasn’t had a history of protectionism. Instead, it has opened its arms and its dictionary to tens of thousands of words from dozens of other languages – <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02648260">most notably French, Greek and Latin</a>. </p>
<p>But while English has been a keen adopter of words from other languages, we English speakers have not always managed to get our tongues around their foreign pronunciation. So we’ve often kept the original spelling, but applied our own English sounds. That’s how we end up with words spelled like <em>yacht</em> but said like <em>yot</em>. </p>
<p>Interestingly <em>yacht</em> meant <em>hunter</em> <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/yacht">in Dutch</a>, which is what they invented the yacht for, to hunt down pirate ships to protect Dutch trading ships.</p>
<h2>Helping struggling spellers</h2>
<p>This etymological work, and indeed the work on morphemes, should not just be extension work for high achievers. It’s core work for understanding how words work in English and so must be done with every student. All children must be shown how the English language works, and none need this more than <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1003988">those who struggle with the language</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trying-to-change-englishs-complex-spelling-is-a-waste-of-time-38027">Trying to change English's complex spelling is a waste of time</a>
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<p>English spelling is not an illogical burden there to make life difficult for our children. If we are not simultaneously teaching students the phonology, orthography, morphology and etymology of words, then we are not giving them all the pieces of the spelling puzzle – and their struggles will be our failure.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Misty Adoniou is a Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne and an adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra. She is the author of the Cambridge University Press book 'Spelling it out: how words work and how to teach them'.</span></em></p>Teaching children how to break down words into their meaning and origin can help them be better spellers.Misty Adoniou, Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/767832017-05-10T19:43:40Z2017-05-10T19:43:40ZExplainer: how the brain changes when we learn to read<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168547/original/file-20170509-11008-n9tvg0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Learning to read is not actually that easy. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Right now, you are reading these words without much thought or conscious effort. In lightning-fast bursts, your eyes are darting from left to right across your screen, somehow making meaning from what would otherwise be a series of black squiggles.</p>
<p>Reading for you is not just easy – it’s automatic. Looking at a word and not reading it is almost impossible, because the cogs of written language processing are set in motion <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721414540169">as soon as skilled readers see print</a>.</p>
<p>And yet, as tempting as it is to think of reading as hard-wired into us, don’t be fooled. Learning to read is not easy. It’s not even natural.</p>
<p>The first examples of written language date back to <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/forensic-document-examination/lewis/978-0-12-416693-6">about 5,000 years ago</a>, which is a small fraction of the 60,000 years or more that humans have spent using spoken language.</p>
<p>This means our species hasn’t had enough time to evolve brain networks that predispose us to learn literacy. It is only through years of practice and instruction that we have forged those connections for ourselves.</p>
<h2>How the brain learns to read</h2>
<p>Brains are constantly reorganising themselves. Any time we learn a new skill, connections between neurons that allow us to perform that skill become stronger. This flexibility is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222570/?report=reader">heightened during childhood</a>, which is why so much learning gets crammed in before adolescence.</p>
<p>As a child becomes literate, there is no “reading centre” that magically materialises in the brain. Instead, a network of connections develops to link existing areas that weren’t previously linked. Reading becomes a way of accessing language by sight, which means it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17964253">builds on architecture</a> that is already used for recognising visual patterns and understanding spoken language.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168551/original/file-20170509-11023-1mqi2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Words and letters are initailly stored in the brain as symbols.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<h2>The journey of a word</h2>
<p>When a skilled reader encounters a printed word, that information travels from their eyes to their occipital lobe (at the back of the brain), where it is processed like any other visual stimulus.</p>
<p>From there, it travels to the left fusiform gyrus, otherwise known as the brain’s “letterbox”. This is where the black squiggles are recognised as letters in a word. The letterbox is a special stopover on the word’s journey because it only develops as the result of learning to read. It doesn’t exist in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20395549">very young children</a> or <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21071632">illiterate adults</a>, and it’s activated less in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00452.x">people with dyslexia</a>, who have a biological difference in the way their brains process written text.</p>
<p>Words and letters are stored in the letterbox – not as individually memorised shapes or patterns, but as symbols. This is why a skilled reader can recognise a word quickly, regardless of <em>font</em>, cAsE, or <a href="http://www.unicog.org/publications/Dehaene%20Review%20Cognitive%20neuroscience%20of%20Reading%20and%20Education%202011.pdf"><strong>typeface</strong></a>.</p>
<p>Information then travels from the letterbox to the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.13018/abstract">frontal and temporal lobes</a> of the brain, to work out word meaning and pronunciation. These same areas are activated <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18838044">when we hear a word</a>, so they are specialised for language, rather than just reading and writing.</p>
<p>Because information can travel so quickly across the skilled reader’s synaptic highways, the entire journey takes <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2734884/">less than half a second</a>.</p>
<p>But what happens in the brain of a five-year-old child, whose highways are still under construction?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168667/original/file-20170510-7902-1f0aslv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Learning to read takes a lot of effort.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<h2>The growing brain</h2>
<p>For young children, the process of getting from print to meaning is slow and effortful. This is partly because beginning readers have not yet built up a store of familiar words that they can recognise by sight, so they must instead “sound out” each letter or letter sequence.</p>
<p>Every time children practise decoding words, they forge new connections between the visual and spoken language areas of the brain, gradually adding new letters and words to the brain’s all-important letterbox.</p>
<p>Remember, when a practised reader recognises a word by sight, <a href="http://www.unicog.org/publications/Dehaene%20Review%20Cognitive%20neuroscience%20of%20Reading%20and%20Education%202011.pdf">they process the letters</a> in that word, rather than its shape. </p>
<p>Literacy instruction can therefore support children’s learning by highlighting the symbolic nature of letters - in other words, by drawing attention to the relationships between letters and speech sounds.</p>
<p>Here, evidence from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20395549">brain imaging research</a> and <a href="https://czone.eastsussex.gov.uk/sites/gtp/library/core/english/Documents/phonics/A%20Systematic%20Review%20of%20the%20Research%20Literature%20on%20the%20Use%20of%20Phonics%20in%20the%20Teaching%20of%20Reading%20and%20Spelling.pdf">educational research</a> converge to show that early <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-phonics-and-why-is-it-important-70522">phonics</a> instruction can help construct an efficient reading network in the brain.</p>
<h2>What might the future hold for literacy development?</h2>
<p>As technology evolves, so too must our definition of what it means to be “literate”. Young brains now need to adapt not only to written language, but also to the fast-paced media through which written language is presented.</p>
<p>Only time will tell how this affects the development of that mysterious beige sponge between our ears.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicola Bell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We are not hard-wired to read. It has taken thousands of years of practice to forge connections in our brains to help us do this.Nicola Bell, PhD student, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/720802017-02-02T00:51:29Z2017-02-02T00:51:29ZWhy do we need a phonics test for six-year-olds?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155093/original/image-20170201-12672-16auiog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children need to learn how to sound out words they haven't seen before.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Education Minister Simon Birmingham has announced that all Australian six-year-olds will soon be <a href="http://www.senatorbirmingham.com.au/Media-Centre/Media-Releases/ID/3350/Literacy-and-numeracy-check-for-all-Aussie-schools-under-the-Turnbull-Governments-quality-reforms">required to do a phonics test</a>.</p>
<p>Researchers, parents and others concerned about our system’s failure to identify children who initially struggle to learn to read – and can go on to have a reading disability – have pushed for this test to ensure children are getting the support they need early on.</p>
<p>But the announcement has divided opinions. And at first glance it does look like yet another impost from on high – on already overwhelmed teachers. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-phonics-test-is-pointless-we-shouldnt-waste-precious-money-buying-it-from-england-69355">Some are concerned</a> it is an unnecessary waste of money that should be channelled into intervention, or that the test will prompt teachers to practise test items. </p>
<p>Okay, measuring children’s early phonics skills alone won’t make a difference to how early reading develops. But if you don’t properly measure something, you can’t properly manage it. </p>
<p>And arguments about children practising how to read short, real and made-up words is precisely what will help develop phonic knowledge, and should be encouraged. </p>
<p>But, looking more closely, this test has significant potential to reduce teacher workloads across the school system by identifying students at risk of reading failure early. </p>
<p>This provides targeted support and prevents the need for teachers to cater for an increasingly wide ability range of students as they move through primary and into secondary school. </p>
<p>It also has the potential to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-should-trial-the-new-phonics-screening-check-69717">sharpen teachers’ focus</a> on a key area – reading – that students nationwide continue to struggle with. </p>
<p>While national average performance may have shown a statistically significant, but relatively small, <a href="https://theconversation.com/naplan-results-reveal-little-change-in-literacy-and-numeracy-performance-here-are-some-key-takeaway-findings-70208">improvement</a> since national testing (such as NAPLAN) was introduced, this is yet to be seen in high school years. And not all states have improved to the same extent.</p>
<h2>Is it actually a test?</h2>
<p>The word “test” conjures up ideas of an external assessor and associated stresses, but the child’s classroom teacher would administer the literacy screener individually. </p>
<p>It will be not unlike the <a href="http://www.det.wa.edu.au/educationalmeasurement/detcms/navigation/on-entry/">on-entry assessments</a> five-year-olds typically complete when they begin the foundation year of school in some states.</p>
<p>Children would be presented with a list of real and made-up words – and teachers would record their score. </p>
<p>This in itself is highly informative for teachers. And it’s preferable to sending students to a literacy specialist for assessment, which is common practice in many schools. </p>
<p>After listening to each child, teachers will know whether children can blend single sounds, or which letter combinations (for example, /sh/) they need to reteach.</p>
<p>The test should take between five and seven minutes per child. The aim is to identify children who aren’t learning to sound words out well. And to detect this early before they fall too far behind their peers.</p>
<p>Many young children can give the false impression that they are learning to read, when in fact they are mostly guessing words from pictures or context. </p>
<p>This guesswork is often aided by the provision of repetitive, predictable texts. </p>
<p>It is also sometimes encouraged by teachers taught the “three-cueing” model of reading at many universities, and promoted by some government and non-government education authorities who recommend particular methods. </p>
<p>Rather than apply the letter-sound relationships to systematically decode words, children are encouraged to use unreliable strategies such as looking at the illustrations, rereading the sentence, saying the first sound, or guessing what word might “fit”.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.balancedreading.com/3cue-adams.html">Research shows</a> that the three-cueing model lacks a scientific basis. Yet people continue to use it because it is familiar and it is marketed as a strategy to promote reading comprehension.</p>
<p>While the goal of reading is undeniably to extract meaning, children who cannot accurately read the words on the page are invariably very poor comprehenders. </p>
<p>To become a strong reader, a young child must learn how to sound words out accurately and quickly. No exceptions. Decades of <a href="https://seidenbergreading.net">research</a> back this up.</p>
<p>Sounding out words is very difficult for around 20% of children in the general population, and typically a much higher percentage in areas of disadvantage. We know that such children, if left unassisted, usually <a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/article/waiting-rarely-works-late-bloomers-usually-just-wilt">never catch up</a>.</p>
<h2>But don’t teachers already do this?</h2>
<p>Regular monitoring of the critical precursor skills young children need to become fluent and accurate readers, such as identifying the first sound in spoken words, is something effective teachers already do. </p>
<p>For those who don’t, the requirement to listen to every six-year-old read the same list of made-up and real words will at the very least flag those children who are struggling and draw attention to their instructional needs. </p>
<p>Many schools use <a href="https://dibels.uoregon.edu/market/assessment/dibels">free one-minute assessments</a> to <a href="http://www.motif.org.au">test</a> these skills. These are very similar to the literacy test being proposed. The cost of the UK Phonics Check <a href="https://www.cis.org.au/app/uploads/2016/11/rr22.pdf?">has been estimated</a> at £10-12 (around A$20) per child.</p>
<p>The most useful tests investigate children’s ability to read both real words and short made-up-words like lib, mep, gax; these are examples used in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/532604/2016_Phonics_screening_check_pupils__materials_-_standard__STA167501e_.pdf">2016 Phonics Test in England</a> – the model Australia will be using.</p>
<p>What’s important is that students have not seen these made-up words before. </p>
<p>If they have been taught the precursor skills – letter sound knowledge (phonics) and the strategy of decoding – this assessment will show it.</p>
<p>All of us have to be able to attack words we’ve never seen before. Look at Pokémon cards featuring names such as Pikachu and Nidoran; place names such as Naringal; brands like Bupa; or characters in a book, such as Hagrid. </p>
<p>The earlier children can develop this skill, the better their chance of reading and spelling well.</p>
<h2>Current assessments in schools</h2>
<p>The problem is that the assessments some schools use don’t always include made-up words. </p>
<p>Some children start school being able to recognise words because of their shape or associated picture clue, but cannot independently decode. Made-up words are objective and favour no child.</p>
<p>The assessments of reading used, like the <a href="https://readingrecovery.org/reading-recovery/teaching-children/observation-survey">Observation Survey</a> or <a href="http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/readassess/1.0">Running Record</a> – which tend to be more labour-intensive – focus more on reading comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. </p>
<p>These are important, but if a student is struggling in any of these areas, the main reason is often due to poor sounding-out skills.</p>
<p>Children who struggle to sound out words must be identified and given extra help as early as possible, both at a classroom level and then in small groups. </p>
<p>Many parents quietly pay tutors for expert help outside school hours. Many other parents can’t afford this. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4906364">consequence for taxpayers </a> is a much larger bill for things like unemployment benefits, forgone taxes, adult literacy courses and prisons. The school-to-prison pipeline is real. </p>
<h2>How will the phonics test be implemented?</h2>
<p>We don’t know yet exactly how the phonics test will work here because the minister’s expert panel hasn’t done its work yet. </p>
<p>However, we can be encouraged by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phonics-screening-check-evaluation-final-report">research into the impact</a> of a similar test in England. </p>
<p>There is some evidence that, in helping sharpen teachers’ focus on phonics, the test led to a greater emphasis on systematically and explicitly teaching children about sounds and their spellings. This was something our national inquiry into the teaching of reading <a href="http://tinyurl.com/d6v2v9y">recommended over a decade ago</a>.</p>
<p>For teachers who are ideologically opposed to <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-phonics-and-why-is-it-important-70522">explicit, systematic phonics instruction</a>, this literacy check is an unwelcome impost. </p>
<p>However, for many schools that include phonological awareness and systematic decoding instruction, it is simply a validation of their effective early reading instruction.</p>
<p>• <em>This piece was co-authored by Alison Clarke, a speech pathologist at the Clifton Hill Child and Adolescent Therapy Group in Melbourne.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72080/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Hammond is the President of Learning Difficulties Australia. </span></em></p>Many young children can give the false impression that they are learning to read, when in fact they are mostly guessing words from pictures or context. This test will help to identify these students.Lorraine Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Education, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/593162016-06-21T20:11:16Z2016-06-21T20:11:16ZSpacing of letters, not shape of letters, slightly increases reading speed of those with dyslexia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/127260/original/image-20160620-9559-usuw68.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Arial font was as effective as Dyslexie front when the spacing of letters and words were enlarged.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2008, a new font designed called “Dyslexie” was labelled “<a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/31480740/new-font-a-breakthrough-for-dyslexics/#page1">a breakthrough</a>” by the media for reportedly being about to help increase the reading speed of those with dyslexia. It received media attention worldwide. Publishers even announced they were going to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/education/books-just-the-type-to-help-tame-dyslexia/news-story/6a9c75ba9d7c1e4175b3136b3af8a5b2">publish books</a> in the font.</p>
<p>This is despite there being hardly any empirical evidence for the efficacy of Dyslexie.</p>
<p>We conducted a study to see if Dyslexie is indeed more effective than a commonly used sans serif font (Arial) and, if so, whether this can be explained by its special letter design.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dys.1527/abstract;jsessionid=05EAC01A23C6222730B122EA2DC876B1.f03t02">Our results</a> found that the benefits of Dyslexie font were pretty small, and that the slight gain to reading speed was actually down to the spacing of the letters and words rather than the specially designed letter shapes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=511&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/123008/original/image-20160518-13481-1tvmlaw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The design</h2>
<p>Dyslexie’s hallmark is its letter shapes. These shapes have heavy bases which are postulated to suppress the supposed tendency of individuals with dyslexia to mirror-reverse or rotate letters. Dutch artist Christian Boer, who designed the font, aimed to make the letters as distinct as possible from each other to avoid confusion between letters. </p>
<h2>Disproving the effectiveness of Dyslexie</h2>
<p>In our research we tested 39 English speaking low-progress readers from grades 2 to 6. The children were asked to read texts of similar difficulty in Arial and Dyslexie font that had the same letter-display size, but differed in the degree of word and letter spacing. </p>
<p>Our findings show that the Dyslexie font increased reading speed by just 7%. To put this into perspective, in order to match the reading speed of normal readers at least a 70-100% improvement is needed. </p>
<h2>Arial gives same results</h2>
<p>Importantly, the same gain could be obtained with Arial font when we enlarged the spacing settings.</p>
<p>In most individuals with dyslexia, the cognitive problems that cause their reading impairment are beyond the early visual letter processing level. Many people with dyslexia struggle to learn the rules for sounding out letters. In this case there is no reason to assume that specific letter shapes would assist in making reading easier. </p>
<p><a>Previous research</a> has also shown that individuals with dyslexia can benefit to a small extent from larger spacing of objects. This is because they struggle more than their normal reading peers to process objects that are presented closely together. In the case of reading, these objects would be words or letters. However, more research is needed to validate this interpretation. </p>
<p>Based on our research and earlier findings, it is clear that typesetting factors like spacing can only marginally contribute to reading improvement in individuals who struggle with reading. </p>
<p>To significantly improve reading it is important to concentrate on remediation of the specific underlying cause(s) of the reading impairment, like training rules for converting print to speech sounds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eva Marinus receives funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Cognition and its Disorders (CE1 10001021), <a href="http://www.ccd.edu.au">www.ccd.edu.au</a> </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Wheldall is an Emeritus Professor of Macquarie University, Sydney. He is also the Chairman of MultiLit Pty Ltd of which he is a shareholder and from which he receives financial benefit.</span></em></p>A new font designed called ‘Dyslexie’ was labelled ‘a breakthrough’ by the media for reportedly being about to help increase the reading speed of those with dyslexia. But does it really work?Eva Marinus, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Macquarie UniversityKevin Wheldall, Emeritus Professor of Education, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/473182015-09-17T10:10:30Z2015-09-17T10:10:30ZDinnertime storytelling makes kids voracious readers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95026/original/image-20150916-11989-13ikhfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1139%2C611%2C5781%2C4009&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Family dinners can whet children's appetites for reading.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=213737308&src=lb-29877982">Family via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a young child, I loved to imagine myself as a pioneer girl in <a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/9780060264307/little-house-in-the-big-woods">Little House in the Big Woods</a>, eating fresh snow drizzled with maple syrup. I even pestered my mother to make this treat with the dirty snow that fell on our Manhattan sidewalk. Not a chance.</p>
<p>Years later, I honored my young sons’ request to try a coconut after reading the adventures of <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/20204/the-story-of-babar-by-jean-de-brunhoff/">Babar</a>. Who knew that even a hammer and chisel won’t crack these nuts? I resorted to clearing out the sidewalk below and then pitching the fruit out a third-floor window.</p>
<p>It worked, but thankfully there are many easier ways to bring food and reading together than hurling coconuts or eating dirty snow.</p>
<p>Here are some of the connections I researched while working on my book, <a href="http://www.amacombooks.org/HomeForDinner.htm">Home for Dinner</a>. And remember, none of these requires a gourmet meal or a trip to the bookstore. Library books and a takeout pizza are just as good.</p>
<h2>Dinner conversation builds vocabulary</h2>
<p>For starters, there is the linguistic pairing of reading and eating, shown in such common expressions as “devouring a good book” or being a “voracious” reader.</p>
<p>Those sayings reflect the reality that children who have <a href="https://theconversation.com/science-says-eat-with-your-kids-34573">regular family dinners</a> have a real leg up on being good and early readers. Years of research from the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development have shown that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/cd.155">dinner conversation is a terrific vocabulary booster</a> for young children – even better than <a href="http://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0b013e32833a4673">reading aloud</a> to them.</p>
<p>Rare words, those that go beyond the 3,000 most common ones, are 10 times more likely to show up in dinner conversation than in storybooks. When parents tell a story at the dinner table about their day or recount a funny family anecdote, they usually include many words that a young child hasn’t yet learned but can understand from the context of the story. <a href="http://www-tc.pbs.org/teacherline/courses/rdla170/docs/fostering_language.pdf">Children who have rich vocabularies</a>, packed with less common, more sophisticated words, learn to read more easily because they can make sense of the words they are deciphering.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95028/original/image-20150916-11961-c3oawp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Then what happened?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=121428349&src=lb-29877982">Mealtime via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Encourage children to tell stories</h2>
<p>The benefits to children don’t just come from <em>listening</em> to stories. Children who know how to <em>tell</em> stories are also better readers. In one large study, kindergartners who were <a href="http://products.brookespublishing.com/Beginning-Literacy-with-Language-P20.aspx">able to tell stories</a> grew up to be fourth- and even seventh-graders with higher reading comprehension than those kindergartners who lacked narrative skills.</p>
<p>Dinner is a prime time for children to tell stories and to be encouraged to tell better stories. Researchers have found that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000998003651">children can be taught</a> to tell longer, more information-packed stories with a few simple instructions.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Reminisce with your children about past experiences you’ve shared with them. “Remember when we forgot to take the brownies out of the oven?”</p></li>
<li><p>Ask a lot of open-ended questions, including plenty of “how” and “why” questions rather than questions with yes-or-no answers.</p></li>
<li><p>Encourage longer stories by repeating what your child says or by elaborating on her story.</p></li>
<li><p>Instead of deciding what story to tell, follow your child’s lead on what she wants to talk about.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In this study, children who were given these instructions had bigger vocabularies and told more complex stories a year later.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/95029/original/image-20150916-6287-1nxdedd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Books can provide a feast of culinary ideas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/thedza/368548810">Danielle York</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Make a literary meal</h2>
<p>There are other tasty connections between food and books. Consider the banquet of children’s books that feature food as a central force in the action. There are the magical noodles in <a href="http://books.simonandschuster.com/Strega-Nona/Tomie-dePaola/9780671662837">Strega Nona</a>, the pomegranate seeds that bind Persephone to Hades, the irresistible Turkish delight in <a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/9780064471046/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe">The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</a> and the whimsical tribute to picky eaters, <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/43017/green-eggs-and-ham-by-dr-seuss/">Green Eggs and Ham</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/94904/original/image-20150915-29645-lyyb44.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reading done away from the table can inform dinnertime topics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/edenpictures/3778974733">Eden, Janine and Jim</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just as dinner conversation can lead to more reading, reading can be the prompt for meals and for conversation. Parents and children might recreate a favorite literary meal for dinner, and then read that book, or a portion of it, aloud. Split pea soup from <a href="http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/George-and-Martha/9780395199725">George and Martha</a> or spaghetti and meatballs from <a href="https://catalog.simonandschuster.com/TitleDetails/TitleDetails.aspx?cid=1376&isbn=9780689306471">Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs</a> are two possibilities.</p>
<p>And, don’t forget the many nursery rhymes that involve porridge, rice pudding and blackbird pie (to name just a few). It could be fun to imagine what <a href="http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone-9781582348261/">Harry Potter</a> might eat for dinner at Hogwarts or to create a high tea that <a href="http://www.hmhco.com/shop/books/Mary-Poppins-80th-Anniversary-Collection/9780544340473">Mary Poppins</a> might like.</p>
<p>Of course it’s not just children’s literature that gets our mouths watering. Melville devotes a chapter to clam chowder in <a href="http://www.penguin.com/book/moby-dick-by-herman-melville/9780142437247">Moby Dick</a>, and in Nora Ephron’s <a href="http://knopfdoubleday.com/book/46734/heartburn/">Heartburn</a>, the philandering husband gets his comeuppance with a Key lime pie in the face.</p>
<p>If cooking a literary meal doesn’t get you in a reading mood, here’s another idea for a dinner: ask family members to talk about one book that changed their life. That dinner conversation might just jumpstart some bedtime reading.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/47318/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Fishel is a co-founder of a non-profit organization, The Family Dinner Project (thefamilydinnerproject.org), that helps families online and in person have more and better dinners together.</span></em></p>Family meals – with lively conversation, storytelling and discussions of books and the tales they contain – feed children’s literacy skills.Anne Fishel, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/372152015-03-02T19:20:05Z2015-03-02T19:20:05ZKnowing your child’s reading stage and how to help them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71162/original/image-20150205-28608-16u1c2v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A child's reading progression isn't based on age, so you need to know what stage your child is up to in order to help them.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Learning to read is a complicated process and parents often wonder if their child is developing reading abilities at the rate they “should”. <a href="http://www.wileydirect.com.au/buy/literacy-in-australia/">Research</a> agrees, however, that <a href="http://www.pearson.com.au/products/S-Z-Tompkins-Gail-Et-Al/Literacy-for-the-21st-Century-A-Balanced-Approach/9781442532700?R=9781442532700">reading</a> (and writing) is very much a developmental process, which can look very different for different children, regardless of their age.</p>
<p>It can be very tempting to compare children of the same age in terms of their reading development. However, this is in no way a reliable indicator of how they should be reading at a certain age. Parents with multiple children can usually attest to the difference in their children’s reading abilities at similar ages. </p>
<p>Rather than judging progression by age, it’s important to think about learning to read as occurring in three stages.</p>
<h2>1. Emerging readers</h2>
<p>Readers in the emergent stage of reading are usually those who are just gaining an understanding of how a text works. They will display good book handling behaviours, they will know where the book begins and ends and they understand that print and pictures convey a message. In this stage readers can usually recognise a small number of high-frequency words (5-20 words) that occur regularly throughout a text.</p>
<p>When your child is displaying these reading behaviours, you can assist them by pointing out environmental print (words on signs, around the home, at the supermarket), talking about the meaning of favourite books at bedtime and making links between these stories and the child’s own experiences.</p>
<h2>2. Beginning readers</h2>
<p>In this stage of reading development, children are becoming much more familiar with different texts and usually start to read much more widely and independently. You may notice your child can identify many more high-frequency words (20 – 50 words) and they also begin to self-correct words as they are reading. While children may sometimes read slowly and word by word at this stage, they are still gaining valuable information from the text.</p>
<p>Parents that engage with their child at this stage of reading are assisting them best when they allow their discussions about the book to go a little deeper. Perhaps discuss what could happen next after the book is finished or explore different texts that the author has written.</p>
<h2>3. Fluent readers</h2>
<p>Fluent readers, as the title suggests, are those who can identify most high-frequency words automatically. They tend to read from a wide range of different texts with little or no assistance. Readers at the fluent stage tend to use a range of different strategies to figure out unknown words, including skipping the word and allowing the wider context to convey the message, reading on for more information, and substituting the word with a word that would also make sense.</p>
<p>When you are reading with a fluent reader, it is useful to begin discussions about different types of texts, their purposes and the characteristics of how these texts are made up. For instance, when looking at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_novel">graphic novels</a>, you could talk about how the author uses images to represent different aspects of the story and the impact that text placement has on how this is displayed.</p>
<h2>Some common questions from parents</h2>
<p>In my work with parents, I am frequently asked many questions about how best to assist their children at various stages of their reading progression. Some of the most common questions are answered below.</p>
<p><strong>What do I do when my child doesn’t know the word?</strong></p>
<p>There are a number of things that you can do when you are reading with your child and they come to a word they don’t know. My first piece of advice is to avoid eye contact with the child. </p>
<p>When a child looks to us for help with a word, we often want to save them, help the reading process move along and provide the word. However, this is an unsustainable strategy for the child as they need a set of skills to call upon when they are reading with you. Rather than looking at your child, focus your attention on the book. After all, this is where all the clues are to figuring out the word. </p>
<p>Encourage your child to skip the word and read on for more information, use the pictures for a clue, or even leave the word behind and continue reading. By refocusing the child’s attention back to the meaning of the text, the content of the text will help fill in the blanks. If your child has skipped the word and still can’t figure it out, drop the word into the conversation as you turn the page.</p>
<p><strong>Should I get my child to practise individual words they’re having trouble with?</strong></p>
<p>Learning words in isolation does not always translate to being able to figure out unknown words in texts. Consider learning the word duck: you could write this on a card for your child to learn, look at pictures of ducks when learning the word and talk about ducks that you’ve both seen at the park together. However, when your child reads the word duck in a passage about cricket, the meaning is considerably different.</p>
<p>The best way to learn words therefore is in context - in books. Point out interesting words that you encounter in the text after you’ve finished reading and think about where you’ve seen these before. Reading widely and frequently is the best way to build your child’s vocabulary and increase their bank of known words.</p>
<p><strong>My child spends too long looking at the pictures when they are reading; should I cover the pictures so they can concentrate?</strong></p>
<p>No! A frequent misconception about the reading process is that when children are spending too long looking at the pictures they are getting distracted. When a child is looking at the pictures, they are gaining valuable information about the meaning of the text. </p>
<p>The clues that are visible in the illustrations are often the best way to figure out the meaning of the text. Encouraging your child to flick though the text before reading, or doing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BshkXhB8A24">“book orientation”</a>, where you first discuss the book, its title and the pictures, is one of the best ways to help your child’s reading progression.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Spencer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A child’s reading progression isn’t based on age, so you need to know what stage your child is up to in order to help them.Ryan Spencer, Clinical Teaching Specialist; Lecturer in Literacy Education, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/363592015-01-22T19:01:58Z2015-01-22T19:01:58ZDitch the home readers – real books are better for your child<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69211/original/image-20150116-5182-1cv38fu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sometimes Fun with Dick and Jane isn't so fun after all, meaning kids will disengage from reading.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/306056407/in/photolist-fHnkvo-d9Z3Hz-sAQ2q-5uuE29-t3BUB-bQY1LD-figvoT-dpffD-5urFSX-6Ti7wq">Liz West/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As school resumes for the new year, the “home reader” routine for primary school children also recommences. For many parents and children, reading these short texts can be the most agonising part of the nightly homework routine. It’s no wonder that so many children dislike reading their home reader.</p>
<p>These books are often mass-produced, boring texts that hold little excitement or mystery. Frequently, they are the same book that your child has read before, either in class or as a previous week’s home reader.</p>
<p>However, parents brave the battle of reading these books every night as we all understand that learning to read takes practice. Parents are often all too familiar with their own experiences of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_and_Jane">Dick and Jane-type readers</a> from their childhood.</p>
<p>Reading does take practice and time to master. Children do need ample opportunities to practise their reading, therefore reading at home is vital. However, it is important these reading experiences are enjoyable, fun and exciting. Otherwise, what is the benefit of returning tomorrow?</p>
<h2>What are home readers, where do they come from and how are they used?</h2>
<p>Home readers are short, easy-to-read books, which are typically levelled in terms of reading difficulty. Children in the lower primary school grades typically borrow a number of these books each week to take home for reading practice. In many cases, children are given books matched to, or slightly below, their reading level. Books are sometimes chosen for them by the teacher, a parent helper or by the students themselves.</p>
<p>Commercial reading programs provide schools with an easy, quick way to add multiple copies of these readers to their classroom libraries. The accompanying resources that are supplied with these kits are typically generic lessons. The <a href="http://www.reading.org/General/AboutIRA/PositionStatements/CommercialProgramsPosition.aspx">International Reading Association</a> has warned teachers to ensure the materials are accompanied by research supporting their success.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/69692/original/image-20150121-29832-1yksk7m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Standardised readers don’t allow the teacher to tailor instruction to suit the students’ needs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commercial reading programs frequently fool the purchasers into believing that using their standardised system will make learning to read easier and faster. However, these programs very rarely cater for the individual and diverse needs of students and are infrequently supported by research. Teachers that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Differentiated_instruction">differentiate</a> their instruction during reading lessons are those who will best suit the varying and complex needs of the children in their class.</p>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/10.1080/105735601455738">Research indicates</a> that many commercial reading programs spend too much time focusing on word analysis instruction (the sound of the word) rather than thinking about what the words – and the book – mean. The prescriptive lessons described to teachers in support materials for these books also do not consider the often different and varying needs of students within a particular class.</p>
<h2>Why should we ditch the home readers?</h2>
<p>Recent <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/TRTR.1154/pdf">research</a> highlights that when children are provided with the opportunity to select their own reading material, they achieve greater levels of success. Sometimes, these choices may be harder, but the interest level creates the opportunity for the child to stay motivated to solve their normal reading problems.</p>
<p>Ironically, <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/images/WMFR_info-2.jpg">further research just released by Scholastic</a>, a major publisher of commercial reading programs, highlights the importance of wide, varied and self-selected reading in creating fluent and resourceful readers.</p>
<p>Parents often feel as though they have no choice when it comes to reading home readers with their children and feel unable to speak with authority about this with their child’s teacher. All teachers are open to new possibilities in order to engage the children in their class to read. A short note or meeting quickly explaining the reading that you plan to do with your child and a selection of the books you are planning to read in lieu of the readers is more than adequate.</p>
<h2>What should we read instead?</h2>
<p>Real books! A visit to the school or local library or bookstore will unearth thousands of entertaining and enjoyable books to engage your child. Here are a few suggestions of how to start:</p>
<p><strong>1. Let your child make the choice</strong></p>
<p>Letting your child make their own choice about what they want to read is the most powerful way to encourage them to be motivated and interested readers. If your child loves dinosaurs, find the section in your local library and borrow as many as you can. </p>
<p>Don’t worry about the book being too hard – you can use a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxFLeIZQzV0">strategy</a> to help your child access the text when reading together at home, or you can read it to them. Don’t worry if the book appears too easy – this will provide valuable reading practice for your child and it will be something that they can access independently.</p>
<p>Lastly, don’t make your child’s choice wrong – this is about them and their reading, you want them to be excited and wanting to return.</p>
<p><strong>2. Use your librarian’s knowledge and expertise</strong></p>
<p>Librarians are a frequently underutilised resource. Almost all will be able to supply a synopsis and name of great books that will interest and excite your child. A quick chat when you pop into the library each week with your child about reading interests and successes will keep you on top of the librarian’s mind – you’ll be amazed what they will keep aside for you each week.</p>
<p><strong>3. Have fun when reading – don’t teach the book</strong></p>
<p>Most importantly, make reading together the most fun and enjoyable part of your and your child’s day. Read the books together with funny voices, or take turns to read different characters. Talk about your favourite parts of the books when you are finished with them and which authors you like the most. </p>
<p>As cherished Australian <a href="http://memfox.com/for-parents/">author Mem Fox suggests</a>, don’t teach the book – enjoy it!</p>
<p>Committing to a better reading life with your child does take time, to choose great books together and to experience them. For an hour each week visiting the local library, you can make a priceless investment in your child’s reading and educational future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36359/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ryan Spencer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As school resumes for the new year, the “home reader” routine for primary school children also recommences. For many parents and children, reading these short texts can be the most agonising part of the…Ryan Spencer, Clinical Teaching Specialist; Lecturer in Literacy Education, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/247772014-04-30T20:30:44Z2014-04-30T20:30:44ZThe seven messages of highly effective reading teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47317/original/4dxxgjq8-1398815772.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teaching kids to read isn't just about learning the alphabet or "sounding out", it's about making sense of what's on the page. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=141107008&size=medium&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTM5ODg0NDU0NSwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTQxMTA3MDA4IiwicCI6InYxfDEwMTI3NTg4fDE0MTEwNzAwOCIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xNDExMDcwMDgvbWVkaXVtLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJ5b3djM1dmSk1LZ1JabElkOGRHTngxR3hUNlUiXQ%2Fshutterstock_141107008.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=Yadtb5gheg7Diy57jZN7AA-1-26">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1982, the late, great NZ reading researcher Marie Clay identified a group of children having difficulty learning to read as <a href="https://www.heinemann.com/products/08208.aspx">“tangled tots (with) reading knots”.</a></p>
<p>She was referring to children who, despite having no condition that potentially affected their ability to learn, didn’t seem to benefit from reading instruction. She hypothesised that such children “had tangled the teaching in a web of distorted learning which blocked school progress”.</p>
<p>I’ve met many such children (and their teachers) during five decades of anthropological research in hundreds of classrooms. There were also classrooms which either didn’t have “tangled tots” or, if they did, had more success in untangling their “reading knots”.</p>
<p>When I looked more closely at these “non-tangling” classrooms I discovered they had something in common. Their teachers continuously (and subtly) embedded messages about “learning to be an effective reader” in the language they used when teaching reading.</p>
<p>So far I’ve identified the following seven messages.</p>
<h2>1. A reader’s major focus should always be meaning</h2>
<p>The dominant thematic message effective reading teachers give to students is “sensible, coherent meaning should be the end result of any reading encounter”.</p>
<p>Teachers communicated this in many ways. For example, if children were reading and came to something they didn’t know these teachers would say things like, “What would make sense here?” or “That’s a really good guess because it makes sense. What else would make sense?”</p>
<p>Another teacher, when listening to a reader painfully violate the syntax of English by robotically reading “On (pause) one (pause) little (pause) there (pause) but (pause) some,” responded thus: “You just read ‘on one little there but some’. Does that sound like real language? If someone said that to you would it make sense? Why? Why not?”</p>
<h2>2. Effective readers draw on all sources of information in the text</h2>
<p>This was another dominant message in these classrooms. These teachers constantly asked questions or made comments that promoted this behaviour. Here are some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Semantic information:</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“Go back and read the title. Often that will give you a clue about what makes sense here.”</p>
<p>“Think about what you already know about the topic and ask, ‘What makes sense?’”</p>
<p>“Use the story line plus any pictures and ask, ‘What would make sense?’”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Syntactic information:</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“Use your ‘feel’ for the way the English sounds and ask, ‘Does this sound right? Does this sound like English?’”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Graphophonic information</strong> (the relationship between letters and sound):</li>
</ul>
<p>“If you think the word you’re stuck on is ‘horse’, use your knowledge of letter shapes and sounds and ask, ‘Does ‘horse’ look right?’”</p>
<h2>3. Effective readers are always predicting</h2>
<p>These teachers constantly encouraged young readers to predict from the title or any illustrations in the texts they were reading.</p>
<p>“What do you think might happen in this text? Does that make sense? Why? Why not?”</p>
<h2>4. Effective readers self-correct</h2>
<p>This a by-product of the first point. Here’s an example of how these teachers communicated this message.</p>
<p>Text: Father got up at seven o’clock.</p>
<p>Child: Feather got up at seven o’clock.</p>
<p>Teacher: “You just read ‘Feather got up at seven o’clock.’ Does that make sense? What would make sense and looks like ‘feather’?”</p>
<h2>5. Effective readers have a range of strategies</h2>
<p>My data show these teachers continually said things like:</p>
<p>“When I’m reading and I come to something I don’t know, I read ahead to see if I can get some clues about the bits that are troubling me.”</p>
<p>“If that doesn’t work, I might leave it out all together, finish the text and then come back to it.”</p>
<p>“Sometimes I go back to the beginning of the sentence I‘m having problems with and try again.”</p>
<p>“I ask somebody, ‘What does this say?‘ ”</p>
<p>“If none of these work, I might try to sound it out. I don’t spend too much time sounding words out because it slows me down and I forget what I’ve read.”</p>
<h2>6. Effective readers know how they read</h2>
<p>My data shows that these teachers used every opportunity to draw their students’ attention to the meta-cognitive aspects of reading. For example:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A student is selected to try to read a message on the board. As the selected student focuses on the print the teacher comments, “I know what Emily’s doing — she’s reading the message silently to see what the words say inside her head.”</p></li>
<li><p>A student is reading the class calendar to work out when she’s supposed to present at “Show and Tell” and says, “It’s my turn next Thursday.” The teacher overhears this and comments, “What clever reading. Tell the class how you worked that out.”</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>7. Effective readers love reading</h2>
<p>These teachers continually played the role of “Book Whisperers” by:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Sharing enthusiasms about books.</p></li>
<li><p>Sharing stories about their own learning-to-read journey.</p></li>
<li><p>Immersing children in worthwhile children’s literature by reading aloud to them every day.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These teachers seem to know intuitively that making meaning is the core business of learning how to read. In this they are like parents teaching children how to talk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24777/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Cambourne is affiliated with the International Reading Association and the Australian Literacy Educators Association. </span></em></p>In 1982, the late, great NZ reading researcher Marie Clay identified a group of children having difficulty learning to read as “tangled tots (with) reading knots”. She was referring to children who, despite…Brian Cambourne, Principal Fellow, Faculty of Education , University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.