Description
of How Children Learn to Read
James
Distler
MEE 7998
Wilmington
University
It's certainly no secret that the process of learning to
read is extremely complex and involved.
From the moment children are born they're exposed to various forms of
language. As their brains develop,
children begin to acquire a sense of how language works. This language develop is a critical
foundation for children as they begin to process of learning to read. For example, at approximately 18 months it
can be expected that children are able to speak at least 5o words. By the time they are five years old, they
have much more control over grammar and spoken language. These precursors lay the foundation for
emergent literacy (Ruddell, 2006).
For teachers working with students throughout early
childhood and elementary years, it is important to have a clear understanding
of the five key components of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension (National Reading Panel [NRP], 2000). While all of these components are important
throughout all stages of a child's learning to read, phonemic awareness is
especially important for emergent readers.
Developing understanding of how sounds work together to form words, and words
work together to form sentences is the foundation for reading. It is also important for children to be
taught in print-rich environments where they have access to various types of
written words, either on labeled items, written books, or everyday items such
as cereal boxes. another important
experience for emergent readers is "pseudo reading" where students
are pretending to read and becoming comfortable with written language. Along with phonemic awareness, phonics
instruction come in to play. First,
students must learn the alphabetic principle, meaning what the letters are and
how they work together to form words.
Phonics instruction incorproates the process of learning the different
"sounds" made by letters and letter combinations. Phonics instruction is mainly taught in
kindergarten through 2nd grade, however it continues throughout all elementary
grade levels as students become fluent writers and spellers.
As students become confident and comfortable decoding
words (sounding out), they also need to learn sight words, also known as high
frequency words. These are words
students will most likely encounter in their reading and help them develop
greater reading fluency. Fluency is also
developed as students learn to read with varying tones and expression. These previously mentioned components of
reading instruction are also known as word-attack skills.
Vocabulary and comprehension skills must also be
developed in coherence. For emergent
readers, vocabulary and comprehension is built through discussions when
students are read aloud to. In the
classroom, this is often referred to as shared reading where teachers are
modeling what good reading looks and sounds like. As students transition from "learning to
read" the focus becomes "reading to learn". During this stage of reading development,
comprehension and vocabulary instruction become especially important. Students learn how to learn both fiction and
nonfiction text and to monitor their own understanding and comprehension.
Learning to read is arguably the most important skill a
child will learn in school since it is truly integrated in all other areas of
life. Even beyond the K-12 classroom,
adults must constantly "read to learn" for their own needs and
purposes. As future educators, it is
important for us to understand that all children develop in their reading
abilities at different speeds. It is our
job to understand the core components of excellent reading instruction and
support each student's individual reading journey!
References
Cooper,
J. D., Kiger, N.D., Robinson, M.D.
(2009). Literacy: Helping
students construct meaning (8 ed.).
Wadsworth: Belmont, CA
Ruddell,
R. B. (2006). Teaching children to read and write: Becoming
an effective literacy teacher (4 ed.).
Pearson Education Inc.: Boston, MA
Vacca,
J.L, et al. (2003). Reading and learning to read (5 ed.). Pearson Education Inc.: Boston, MA
