It’s Time to End the Reading Wars: We Know What Works
It’s hard to believe that teaching reading is a source of embittered controversy in this country. Yet as this extraordinary radio piece documents, we are still enmeshed in “reading wars” that should long ago have been put to rest. There is copious scientific evidence that mastering phonics is necessary for learning to read, but the myth persists that it is not only irrelevant but even harmful. The result is that hundreds of thousands of teachers do not learn proven practices for teaching children to read, and unwittingly commit education malpractice in their classrooms.
One of the first decisions I made when I founded Success Academy was to adopt an evidence-based phonics program, Success For All. Over time, we also developed our own curriculum, THINK Literacy, to comprehensively meet our kids’ needs: we stock our classroom libraries with great books, devote time each day to independent reading, and spend considerable classroom time reading aloud, analyzing, and discussing great works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry with our scholars. Robust phonics instruction in the early grades remains a core component to this approach, and has been absolutely essential to our success in developing strong readers.
Whether you are an educator, a parent, or an interested member of the public, I hope you will take a moment to listen to this enlightening piece. It provides much-needed insight on the difficulties of changing classroom practices that are rooted in ideology rather than what works best for kids. The science is clear: children need phonics instruction to become strong readers. It is negligence of the highest order when schools fail to provide this essential foundation.
Executive Director
6 年I fully agree that Phonics should be number 1 when teaching children about the alphabet. It is essential to have a literacy rich environment in junior Kindergarten (and even earlier) as it lays the foundation for reading and making the connection between text and objects. I wish more teachers understood this concept!
Gifted and Talented Service Provider
6 年I believe phonics are essential but also believe that not all children can learn to read phonetically. ?A balanced approach needs to be offered to all students using phonics, phonemic awareness, syntax, and semantics to address all learning styles.
Accounts clerk at Nyamira Girls Secondary School
6 年??
Assistant Professor
6 年Students need phonemic awareness and phonics. Without phonemic awareness, the reading process is incomplete and dyslexic students may never be remediated.
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6 年Phonics was always an important part of a reading program. Some students need that help beyond third grade where many reading programs discontinue phonics.