I used to be a teacher. I don't want to go back to teaching, but I do miss it sometimes. Well, what I really miss is being "The Reading Bitch", which is what some of my colleagues used to call me. I think the actual title was reading coordinator, if there was an official title. Basically, it meant that I know a lot about how to teach reading and I'm not afraid to yell about it.
The Basic Components of Reading
Exploritude.
Is totally not a real word. But were you able to pronounce it? That's phonics.
High-dray-shun.
Also not a real word, but if you put the sounds together quickly it sounds like a real word. That's phonemic awareness.
Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.
If you read that quickly three times, that's fluency. Also any time you read a word without having to sound it out phonetically.
I was born in a summer month that has 31 days and starts with "J". The sixteenth of that month is exactly two weeks after my birthday.
If you now know when my birthday is, that's comprehension. Also, logic. They kind of go together.
Loquacious. Hydroponics.
Those are cool vocabulary words that don't come up in everyday conversation. But the bigger your speaking vocabulary the easier reading will be.
The Dirty Truth
If your kid is struggling with and/or dislikes reading, s/he is struggling with one or more of these components. If your kid's teacher can't tell you which one(s) s/he is struggling with and how you can help, then there's a problem with the teacher. Any teacher who can't articulate why a student is struggling with reading shouldn't be teaching reading.
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