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Literacy Learning in Kindergarten to Grade 2

It’s fitting to end where we began. Literacy learning in Kindergarten to Grade 2 must be the priority of every teacher, parent, school and school district.

Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham say it best:
"Elementary schools have but one overriding mission: to foster the development of independent literacy in all students so that each becomes literate for a lifetime. Learning to read and write are fundamentally essential to success in school and in society"(Schools That Work viii).

The motto of the International Reading Association is that "Reading is a right that we must guarantee for all children, not privilege to bestow on some." And yet, this right is not the current reality. "Scientists now estimate that fully 95% of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all of our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society" ("Teaching Reading Is Rocket Science," 7). And the clock is ticking. "Second grade is broadly viewed as children’s last chance. Those who are not on track by third grade have little chance of ever catching up" (Snow et al. 212).

Ongoing assessments by children, parents and teachers reveal profiles for all children, including those who are at risk. "When children perform poorly, it is often attributed to their delayed development or disability, rather than the paucity of experiences and opportunities to explore written language and literacy understandings …. Teachers need to revise their instruction, not their expectations for learning,when children are not progressing" (McGill-Franzen 57-58).

Effective early intervention is also crucial. Too often, "waiting until they are ready" condemns children to educational failure because learning is a product of experience and is not simply dependent on maturation.

In a study (1998) reported in The Reading Teacher(Baumann et al., 648), teachers were asked to identify their greatest challenges in improving the quality of classroom reading instruction. Results indicate that teachers were generally challenged by

trying to provide for the wide range of reading levels
lack of time
not enough money for materials
teaching struggling readers
parent support and involvement
class size
accommodating diverse children’s needs

These are still major issues requiring more teacher support. In addition, what is needed is ongoing effective staff development, the heart of good teaching—teachers can’t teach what they don’t know.

It is also clear from solid research that there is often a great deal of variation in effectiveness from one teacher to another, even though they both face the same conditions. Pendulum swings have disenfranchised many children. The latest flavor of the month does not work for most children.

To be most effective, teachers base their teaching on sound research verified by carefully examined practice. The International Reading Association provides a research-based description of the distinguishing qualities of excellent classroom reading teachers.

1. They understand reading and writing development, and believe all children can learn to read and write.

2. They continually assess children’s individual progress and relate reading instruction to children’s previous experiences.

3. They know a variety of ways to teach reading, when to use each method, and how to combine the methods into an effective instructional program.

4. They offer a variety of materials and texts for children to read.

5. They use flexible grouping strategies to tailor instruction to individual children.

6. They are good reading "coaches" (that is, they provide help strategically).

In addition, excellent teachers share many of the characteristics of good teachers in general. They have strong content and pedagogical knowledge, manage classrooms so that there is a high rate of encouragement, use strong motivational strategies that encourage in de-pendent learning, have high expectations for children’s achievement,and help children who are having difficulty.

The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement(CIERA) lists characteristics of effective reading programs.

"Primary-level instruction that supports successful reading acquisition is consistent, well designed, and focused. Teachers lead lessons where children receive systematic word recognition instruction on common, consistent letter-sound relationships and important but often unpredictable high-frequency words, such as ‘the’ and ‘what.’Teachers ensure that children become adept at monitoring the ac cu-racy of their reading as well as their understanding of texts through instruction in strategies such as predicting, intervening, clarifying misunderstandings, and summarizing. Instructional activities that promote growth in word recognition and comprehension include repeated reading of text, guided reading and writing, strategy le s-sons, reading aloud with feedback, and conversations about texts children have read" (CIERA. "Ready Reference for Reading Excellence, A Research Collection," U. of Michigan,1999).

Teachers need to teach. "Students need more structured modeling,demonstrating and coaching and less assigning" (Allington 1996,45). "All children need instruction, but some children need incredible amounts of close, personal instruction, usually clear and repeated demonstrations of how readers and writers go about reading and writing" (Allington 1994, 23).

"Children also need time to read (and write) in school. We continue to organize the school day such that most children have little opportunity to actually read or write" (Allington 1994, 20). Children spend a great deal of time doing "activities." One must ask if the activities are as valuable as time involved in authentic reading and writing would be.

Enhancing the home-school connection is crucial. Most parents are willing to help their children learn to read and write. A small number of parents can’t or won’t help. It is important in these cases that the "victim" (child) is not blamed or that the expectations be lowered. These children generally depend on schools to become literate. Catherine Snow’s research provides dramatic evidence that classroom teachers can make it happen for at-risk children as well.

Reading and writing open up the world of learning. Taking children from where they are in their literacy development and scaffolding instruction is what all effective teachers do. For early elementary teachers and parents, there is nothing more exciting than witnessing each child develop both the necessary literacy strategies and skills,and the confidence and enthusiasm of a successful literacy learner.