PHONICS TALK NEWSLETTER - Volume 5 - June 2002 - by Dolores G. Hiskes, DORBOOKS, Inc.

THE PERILS AND PITFALLS OF TEACHING PHONICS: Part Three Different Learning Modes, Comprehension Issues, and a Teaching Tip This is the conclusion of a three-part series on the perils and pitfalls to watch for when teaching explicit phonics. This series is designed to highlight mistakes that are commonly made when teaching phonics, and present more effective alternatives. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* IN THIS ISSUE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - DIFFERENT LEARNING MODES - COMPREHENSION - FREE TEACHING TIP! - THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - A CHUCKLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* DIFFERENT LEARNING MODES ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Children do have different learning modes, of course. Some are primarily visual, some auditory, others tactile and/or kinesthetic. Therefore, we've presumed it necessary to tailor reading methods with perceptual styles. No research has ever validated this approach! Most studies have conclusively proven that letter knowledge and phonemic awareness are the very best indicators of reading success. Additionally, in my experience if a multisensory method is used to teach reading then all students will learn whether auditory, visual, tactile, or kinesthetic. Think about it: A visually-oriented child must still learn to HEAR the sound(s) they are looking at. An auditory learner must still learn to SEE the letter(s) they are hearing. And a tactile/kinesthetic approach will enhance learning for everyone! What we learn with our muscles we don't forget. How students learn is different, but what students learn should be the same. Everyone should be able to decode the longest of words syllable by syllable, regardless of their learning mode. A multisensory teaching method has the synergistic effect of addressing the strongest learning mode while reinforcing the weakest learning mode. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* COMPREHENSION ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A puzzling trend has emerged in recent years. Although many schools have implemented phonics programs and students' reading scores do improve initially, by 3rd and 4th grade comprehension scores begin to plummet. Why? Among the causes for poor comprehension is one that easily can be remedied: The beginning readers in most school phonics programs are only 50% decodable at best. ("Decodable," you may recall, is reading practice that is only comprised of letters and sounds already learned.) At first the stories are very simple, with many picture clues to help students guess accurately at the words they don't know. (1) Students are encouraged to make a good guess at a word they cannot decode, based upon sentence context clues and pictures. (2) Beginning and ending letter sounds are given to help them make an even better guess. (3) Finally, students are frequently told to choose another word that seems to have the meaning they are looking for. Guessing soon becomes an unconscious and automatic habit, but by 3rd or 4th grade the stories are more complex, and there are no more pictures. The more complex the reading, the more frequent, wild and erroneous the guessing! Here is an example of word that is only 50% decodable: "The b--d is very loud." "Hmmmm...could it be 'band'? Or maybe 'bird'? Or possibly 'bard'?" All three words begin and end with the same letters, and could fit within the context of the sentence insofar as far as meaning goes. If students are trained to guess and substitute words they are putting meaning INTO a story rather than extracting meaning FROM a story. And even misreading only one or two words per page can change the entire meaning of a story. The New York Times had an article awhile back about how pharmacists are increasingly mixing up prescriptions such as "chlorpromazine" (an antipsychotic) and "chlorpropamide" (lowers blood sugar) with sometimes tragic results. (N.Y.Times, 6-3-99) Illiteracy is a major drain on our whole economy, and a national disaster! Comprehension, of course, is the whole purpose of reading; and accurate reading is an absolutely essential prerequisite to comprehension. But the question is, how is comprehension best achieved? Let's look at another discipline -- playing the piano. A concert pianist seems to sight-read whole blocks of notes at a time, playing with great joy and meaning. But she didn't learn that way in the beginning: (1) The keyboard was learned one note at a time, (2) Scales were practiced until the notes were automatic in recall, (3) Piano fluency was slowly developed by playing simple melodies first, and gradually more complex pieces with increasingly complicated chords and melodies. After that she was able to focus totally on the meaning and nuance of the music itself because the keyboard knowledge was automatic. Human attention is limited: it cannot focus on the meaning of something AT THE SAME TIME it is trying to determine what that something says! The same principle applies when learning any skill -- including reading. Students naturally can focus on meaning only after: (1) Letters and sounds are learned one at a time, (2) Practiced until automatic in recall with simple syllables and words, (3) Reading fluency is slowly developed by simple, decodable reading practice that gradually increases in length and complexity. At that point they can effortlessly and fluently read anything they want to, focusing completely and automatically on comprehension. In summary, just because a child knows the phonetic code does not mean he is ready to read complex and subtle literature any more than a beginning piano student is ready to play a lovely sonata just because she knows the notes! Decodable reading practice is the key to accurate reading with excellent comprehension, and it is the missing link in most reading programs today. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* FREE TEACHING TIP! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Motivate budding readers with reading activities that are great fun, and engaging for the whole family. Why not have a Treasure Hunt? Details and suggestions on how to do this, with sample rhyming "clues" for different reading levels, are at http://www.dorbooks.com. Click on "Teaching Tips." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* THOUGHT FOR THE DAY ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A CHUCKLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* A second grader came home from school and said to her mother, "Mom, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The mother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "How do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'I' and add 'es'! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* We hope you have enjoyed this concluding issue of our three-part series on the perils and pitfalls of teaching phonics! The first issue discussed phonemic awareness and teaching letter sounds, and the second issue focused on blending practice, invented spelling, and how to teach spelling. Please feel free to share this newsletter with others. We are already busy planning the next report which will discuss the math/reading connection, more about dyslexia,illiteracy in other English- speaking countries, and include a list of decodable readers for you to choose from. So until then...Happy Trails to you! © 2002-2003 Dolores G. Hiskes May only be reprinted with permission from the author