Literacy

Our Daily Literacy Block

My reading instruction is aligned with the Science of Reading. This simple view of reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. We will spend every morning working on decoding using the phonics program "Fundations" and language comprehension which includes background knowledge, academic language skills, academic vocabulary, inferential language skills, and narrative language skills. My reading program is guided by research.

What Research Shows:

It begins with the notion that brains are naturally wired for speech but not for reading. These functions are performed in entirely different parts of the brain and require explicit instruction, training, and practice to activate the letter box portion of the brain (back) and then to connect it to the language part (middle) and the meaning part (bottom). FMRI’s show, real time, what happens in the brain of a reader, and the images clearly demonstrate that good readers’ brains use different parts than poor readers. Children need effective phonological and phonemic awareness training to activate the letter box.

Other research has found The Simple View of Reading. This takes a very complex process and narrows it down into a simplistic concept. Decoding x Language Comprehension = Reading Comprehension. Research has shown that a proficient reader needs explicit instruction in both aspects of the equation, and if one or the other factor is neglected, the child will not comprehend what he reads. This has significant implications as it is believed that poor reading skills ultimately cause delinquency, high school dropouts, and incarceration.

Students need to build their background knowledge to support future reading. My reading program embeds comprehension strategy skill training in rich, complex content. The content is always in the forefront, and I teach strategies to support it. Our new reading series, Wit and Wisdom, is a content-rich curriculum.