Practice Makes Perfect
We all know that reading is a critical life skill, but what is the best way to teach young children to read? How can parents and teachers work together to ensure each child gets the best start in their literacy life?
Debate has raged among education experts for decades about the best teaching methods, with the main theories of instruction being phonics (breaking language into small, simple components) and the whole-language approach (emphasising the meaning, instead of the sounds that make up each word). While this debate seems to polarize educators and also the media, it is important to consider what the research says and to be open minded to the shifts in education based on that research.
Phonics is important. Decoding texts requires a level of understanding of how the alphabetic code works. But reading also requires comprehension. Think of the word <wind>. A child might be told to sound out the word, yet it could have two different pronunciations – and meanings – depending on the context in which it is used. (The wind blew versus a wind-up toy). Letters and sounds do not have single correspondences. Children also need to learn the history of words (etymology) and the meaning-based units of words (morphology). Children need to be taught explicit comprehension strategies such as making connections; questioning before, during and after reading; inferring meaning; visualizing what has been read; and identifying how reading has transformed thinking.
Reading is a complex process and teaching a child how to do it is also complex. One thing is certain, practice with all of these complex processes is required. Practice comes from both reading for oneself and being read to. That is why reading is a compulsory part of homework. We ask our children from Prep to read at home every day. We suggest to parents that they read to their children every day. Malcom Gladwell (2008) suggests that mastery occurs after 10, 000 hours of practice. Let’s help our children to achieve literacy success by reaching for those 10, 000 hours!