The Reading Wars: Phonics vs. Whole Language
Last month, The New York Times Education Reporter Diana Jean Schemo reported that schools were being pushed into using phonics-based reading materials or else risk losing federal funds under the Reading First program. Schemo profiled the Madison, Wisconsin school district, which chose to stick with their balanced program and withdraw from funding. Are phonics-based reading programs more effective than whole language-based programs? Phonics is based on learning letter sounds and putting them together; Whole language helps the child use contextual cues like pictures and story flow, to read. Dr. Richard Allington, former president of the International Reading Association said the research shows no strong support for a single style, and that relying on phonics may hurt comprehension skill as readers advance.
The Blue Lake take on it:
You don't have to choose! Look at the Six Early Literacy Skills, there are valuable tools in both phonics and whole language approaches. We say go for the best of both worlds. The Tessy & Tab Reading Club magazine stories have very detailed visual clues to help pre-readers with a whole language approach, and our online activities include a phonics-based alphabet game.
Now is the time to start a really long book! If you have young kids that are early readers, show them how much you like to read. Go back to your childhood favorites and read aloud to them. They may be dated, but what captured your imagination will likely capture theirs. In our team we remember Nancy Drew, The Happy Hollisters, and almost any collection of scary stories. Try to find them at your library or on ebay (we are assuming you didn't keep them all)!
A number of schools and HeadStart programs are adopting new digital and paper methods of determining whether preschoolers are developing reading skills at an appropriate pace. The purpose is to identify and attack the problems early, when they are easiest to correct. "Once a child falls behind, it's very difficult to catch up," says Dr. Angela Fawcett of the University of Sheffield in England. Fawcett led a study that found that a small amount of extra tutoring given to preschoolers with language delays-- an hour a week in small groups for 10 weeks -- boosted their skills. The gain exceeded what a year's worth of remediation at age 7 or 8 would produce, she said.
Well before a child learns to form letters with a marker or pencil, she has taken many steps toward learning to write. Children need many opportunities to use their hands to do various things before they can successfully print letters. Squeezing play dough, building a tower of legos, stringing beads and completing a knobbed puzzle are some of the ways children practice for later writing. A child who shows no interest in writing or who doesn’t have proper pencil grip is probably not ready to do so. Children enjoy learning a new skill only when they are ready for it. Getting ready is just as important as mastering the skill.
