Little Timmy Learns to Read: A True Story
This is a podcast version of this short article.
This is a true story.? Mrs. Peterson was working with little Timmy, a 2nd-grade student.? Little Timmy was reading out loud from his reading book.? His reading was slow and choppy.? He seemed to be reading individual words instead of sentences.? Then he came to a word that he didn’t recognize.? Little Timmy stopped.? He tried to use his phonics skills but had no success.? So, he stopped again and just looked at the word, waiting for Mrs. Peterson to help him.
“Sound it out, little Timmy,” Mrs. Peterson said to little Timmy in a kind, gentle voice.
Sound it out?” little Timmy asked incredulously.? “Sound it out??
"Yes, little Timmy," Mrs. Peterson said. "Sound it out."
"Yes of course, how marvelous," little Timmy replied.? "Just sound it out.? I never thought of that.? Thank you, Mrs. Peterson.? Oh, thank you so very much.? I’m sounding out every word as I read, and I can’t seem to sound out this word, so I just need to sound it out.? That’s brilliant advice, Mrs. Peterson!”?
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“That’s right, dear,” Mrs. Peterson replied patiently. “Sound it out.”
“But here’s the conundrum, Mrs. Peterson,” little Timmy said angrily. “I’ve spent my entire school life learning how to sound out words.? I’ve been sounding out nonsense words and words on lists for two stink’n years.? I’ve learned how to syllabify words. I know the six syllable types.? I know all about diphthongs, consonant diagraphs, and r-controlled vowel spellings.? I can even blend, segment, and manipulate syllables in multi-syllabic words and sounds in five-phoneme words, including consonant blends.? I know all this stuff, Mrs. Peterson.? And I’m sounding out words just like you taught me, and yet here we are.? I find myself in a situation.? There’s a word that I can’t sound out, and you’re asking me to sound it out.? That doesn’t make sense, does it, Mrs. Peterson? ?Does that make any sense at all? Is this like a Buddhist koan?? Like what’s the sound of one hand clapping?? Is it that sort of thing?”
Okay, I lied. This isn't a true story.? But you get the point.? Phonics is important, but if that’s all you’re teaching, you limit students’ ability to recognize words and create meaning with print.? And that is the end goal – to create meaning, not to fill out phonics worksheets, or pass end-of-unit tests, or sound out words in isolation.
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2 周We don’t say “sound it out”—that’s outdated and ineffective phonics instruction. It’s banned in the schools I support!! Hate it! Instead, we guide word mapping, which is what researchers should focus on observing. We map words visually and linguistically with children, doing so in meaningful contexts. I agree that anyone who says “sound it out” has little understanding of what children need in that moment or lacks a nuanced understanding of an opaque orthography. I dislike the term “phonics” because it has become synonymous with instruction that doesn’t align with the science of learning. Share explains that children re-code when words are in context—the key is that they figure out the word and then figure out the mapping. This is why context matters. For instance, when a child reads, “Mum put the jam on the toast,” they can decode the words using basic GPCs, except for “put.” They realise what the word is and—with good phonemic awareness—then re-code, storing new knowledge of the code. Most children can do this naturally, without explicit instruction. Unfortunately, phonics programme developers prevent children from seeing words in meaningful context, thereby missing this essential process. We don’t. Talk to us instead!
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2 周Bravo!!! A great example of the ineffectiveness of many current reading methods, like DIBELS, for example. Reading teachers, please remember that there is context to consider.