Really interesting video about learning to read!

[ElizabethB]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxx7hs0qdKQ&t=16s

She has an interesting chart about how poorly leveled readers worked for her daughter learning new words at 8:23!

 

[EKS]

That was really interesting.

Back when we were first homeschooling, my son qualified for extra reading help at the public school.  He and I met with a readng "specialist" once a week, and her number one strategy was to guess words from context and pictures.  Even then, when I didn't know all that much about teaching reading, I was horrified.

I didn't realize that when young students are assigned books to read at home, they are telling parents to let them read on their own.  I know from my own experience as a mildly (stealth) dyslexic child, that once I started reading on my own, my go to strategy was to skip words I didn't know.  It was so freeing--but it also made it difficult for me to improve my reading.

I also know from teaching two kids to read that it is critical, especially for children who are struggling, to continue to listen to them read aloud (and provide correction and instruction as necessary) for a long time--years.

I suspect that the reason schools are discouraging adult interaction during home reading time isn't because they think it is harmful, but that they are concerned about equity issues.  Not every child will have an adult to read with them at home.  This is why it is so important for schools to provide adults to listen to children read, and these adults should be trained to provide instruction on the fly.  I know our schools have (had) a reading buddy program, but I've heard that the "buddies" were explicitly forbidden from providing instruction.

Edited October 1, 2020 by EKS