How I Teach Reading and Why Nightly Reading is Key to Success

My reading program consists of whole class instruction (Journeys large hardbound book) where we work on; text elements, various comprehension strategies, sequencing, and writing related to text. We also work in small group instruction with phonics readers (Journey’s small readers). We work on phonics daily through sound cards and alphabet knowledge, letter sound patterns that are also included in weekly spelling, and reading in phonics readers. You will see right away that the sounds we will be seeing in reading are also the sounds that we will be practicing in spelling – this is the letter sound relationship that set the foundation in reading. The phonics readers are read each day in reading groups with the teacher as we work on; letter sound relationships, blending sounds, decoding. It is expected that students will also do 20 minutes each night with these same readers. This is the formative year for reading and we cannot let this opportunity pass us by. Those kids who read nightly as better readers by the end of the year than those students who don’t. As a parent, I need your help so that your child is a strong reader by the end of the year. Please, read with them nightly – this is essential! (Students who read at a higher level will have reading materials assigned to them that they will accessed online but will continue to follow the same relationships as the whole group.) Please read the excerpt from the book that sites evidence as to why this type of reading program is key to your child’s success.

Research-Based Methods of Reading Instruction, Grades K–3 by Sharon Vaughn and Sylvia Linan-Thompson

What Is Phonics and Word Study Instruction?

To learn to read and spell using phonics, children have to learn the relationship between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes), and then remember the exact letter patterns and sequences that represent various speech sounds (Moats, 2000). Other terms for phonics include letter-sound correspondences, letter-sound relationships, and sound-symbol associations. There are several forms of phonics instruction, including synthetic, analytic, embedded, spelling-based, and analogy-based phonics. The National Reading Panel (2000) reports that the various forms of phonics instruction vary in 13 important ways, depending on the size of the unit, the pace of instruction, and the precise elements of the learning activities. Because word study is based on the stages of spelling, this chapter describes an explicit approach to phonics instruction that includes a range of skills, from alphabetic knowledge to reading in decodable books.

Given the differences and similarities available across instructional approaches, how will you know if the program you are using is effective? To read successfully—to read independently and construct meaning from text—beginning readers need to be able to identify words automatically and have an effective strategy for decoding unknown words (Bos & Vaughn, 2002; NRP, 2000; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). To reach this point, students have to learn the relationships between 44 speech sounds and more than 100 spellings used to represent them (Blevins, 1998; Bos & Vaughn, 2002). They then have to apply this knowledge to reading both known and unknown words, in isolation as well as in context, and learn to read irregular words.

An effective phonics program follows a defined sequence and includes direct teaching of a set of letter-sound relationships. Each instructional set includes sound-spelling relationships of both consonants and vowels. Sequencing helps students to learn the relationship between letters and sounds, and to use that knowledge to blend the sounds in order to read words, and to segregate the sounds in order to write words, even before they have learned all the letter-sound correspondences. Effective programs also include books and stories that contain a lot of words for children to decode using letter-sound relationships, and provide children with opportunities to spell words and write their own stories using letter-sound relationships (Blevins, 1998; Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement [CIERA], 2001; NRP, 2000; Texas Education Agency [TEA], 2000).

Phonics instruction provides key knowledge and skills needed for beginning reading. However, phonics should not be the entire reading program, but should be integrated with other elements such as language activities, story time, and small group tutoring, to create a balanced reading program. While two years of phonics is sufficient for most students, other students may require more instruction. Use assessment information to adapt phonics programs to meet the needs of individual students (NRP, 2000). Most important, starting early is key. As Stahl (2001) notes, “Early and systematic instruction in phonics seems to lead to better achievement in reading than later and less systematic instruction” (p. 333). Adams (2001) points out that to learn to read, “all students must know the letters of the alphabet, understand their linguistic significance (phonemic awareness), and learn the logic and conventions governing their use (phonics); and . . . ensuring students' grasp of these basics must be a serious goal of any responsible program of beginning reading instruction”.

EXAMPLE OF AN ONLINE DAY