Someone on this thread mentioned the need for on-going staff development in the area of phonics...I believe that all the elements of linguistics (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, English orthography, language development) work together when we teach reading, writing, spelling, and speaking. Many of us underestimate both the importance of teaching phonics directly to children, especially those who are at risk for reading failure, and the challenge of teaching phonics systematically and explicitly. 'Canned' programs, no matter what we think of them, help us organize the explicit, systematic part of phonics instruction, which is incredibly important for our challenged readers. That is not a bad thing, in my opinion.
Having said that, there is nothing better than a well informed teacher. We need more professional development explicitly focused on the teaching of phonics, word study, and spelling. Our universities need to send teachers into the field with this deep knowledge already in place. How many of us have received formal instruction on how to successfully teach phonics? Phonics is often treated as a lesser skill. But as others have stated, without effortless decoding skills, we can never really read for meaning. In my school district, I am currently facilitating a book study on Speech to Print, Language Essentials for Teachers by Louisa Moats (2nd edition). I highly recommend this book. As educators we must continue to stretch what we know about the teaching of reading, writing, and spelling. In many ways, this means building our knowledge base. We cannot successfully teach ALL children what we don't deeply understand. We are not wired to read. Cracking the code is a challenge for at least one-third of the students in any given classroom. The more we know about how to teach phonics and word study, the more students will succeed. Speech to Print is a challenging text. My colleagues and I are enjoying the challenge (pre-k through 5th grade teachers). We are learning a lot. The book is a balance of theory and practical application. But it is not a 'how to book' on phonics and word study by any means. In addition, the link below is from the International Dyslexia Association. The focus of this particular journal is on Reading Recovery. The articles are very interesting and sight current research on reading instruction. One of the articles states that children who receive 15 to 20 minutes of out of context word work, prior to their RR lesson, out performed those who did not. I'm paraphrasing, but that is the main idea. http://www.onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?m=13959&l=1 I had the opportunity to attend the International Dyslexia Associations national conference in November 2011. It was outstanding. There is really a wonderful movement pushing forward to merge the best of code based instruction, with the best of meaning based instruction, combining this with the most current research on the brain and how it learns to read. One last comment...Words their Way is certainly research proven. Moats even includes the Developmental Spelling Inventory in the appendix of Speech to Print. However, WTW can be difficult due to management issues. It's tough to group kids for meaningful small group reading instruction, then bring another small group together for word study. There are only so many hours in the day. If those of you who are having success with reader's workshop/ Guided Reading/ and WTW have insights on how you balance all of this, I'm sure many of us would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading this. Amy McGovern Educational Consultant District Literacy Coach Title I Reading Teacher Wausau, WI > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:52:06 +0000 > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Phonics research.. > > Gena... Can you share how you are using it and what PD was given to teachers?? > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Feb 24, 2012, at 7:48 PM, "Gena Schuck" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I love words their way! My district is very data driven but sold on it!! > > > > Blessings, > > ~Gena~ > > > > On Feb 24, 2012, at 2:49 PM, "Palmer, Jennifer" <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > >> I will send the references for this research to the whole list when I get > >> a minute. In the Meantime, get your hands on Words Their Way. Run!!! > >> Don't walk! It references many of the studies you need. > >> > >> Sent from my iPhone > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Mosaic mailing list > >> [email protected] > >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > >> > >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Mosaic mailing list > > [email protected] > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive
