CREATING CONFIDENT READERS In the late 1990s, the National Reading Panel (NRP), a group of expert educators and scientists, conducted a review of existing research on reading instruction and identified the most effective methods for teaching children to read. The NRP concluded that in order to become a confident reader, students must master five foundational skills: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (NICHD, 2000). Today, experts know that mastering these five skills is crucial, and that each must build upon the other and be reinforced in order to create a confident reader (Gamse, Bloom, Kemple, & Jacob, 2008). INFLUENCE OF ORAL LANGUAGE ON READING “Oral language functions as a foundation for literacy and as the means of learning in school and out” (Fillmore & Snow, 2000, p. 14). A student who encounters text that mimics oral language is better equipped to make the connection between oral and written words. Reading instruction that begins with oral language feels natural and intuitive for beginning readers, and brings about ease and comfort with text. Acquisition of the five essential foundational skills for learning to read depends on a strong oral language base. “Children’s speaking and listening lead the way for their reading and writing skills, and together these language skills are the primary tools of the mind for all future learning” (Roskos, Tabors, & Lenhart, 2004, p. 13). Oral language sets the stage for literacy instruction, and competency in oral language is predictive of reading accuracy and comprehension (Foorman, Herrera, Petscher, Mitchell, & Truckenmiller, 2015).
Phonemic Awareness
When students learn how to listen for and manipulate sounds in language, it helps them learn to read. Phonemic awareness is the ability to listen for and manipulate phonemes— the smallest pieces of spoken language. Phonemes are the basic element of language that allows each of us to discern differences in the meanings of the words that we hear and read. Phonemic awareness is one of two important indicators that has been recognized through research (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985; Bishop & Adams, 1990; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) as predictive evidence of how students will learn early reading skills. Teaching phonemic awareness involves supporting students while they begin to manipulate and explore phonemes, first with single sounds and then in syllables and words. Understanding that all words in the English language are created from a discrete set of sounds is vital for anyone learning to read (Lundberg, Frost, & Petersen, 1988; International Reading Association, 1998).
4
SCHOLASTIC F.I.R.S.T. FOUNDATION PAPER
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs