Approaches to Reading Instruction

Amber AllenDawn Hermann

Jamie Milanowski

History of Reading

• Transition from home to classroom teaching• 1950s Dick and Jane books

– “Whole Word” approach• Phonics approach

– Led by Rudolph Flesh• Why Johnny Can’t Read (1955)

– Attacked the whole word approach• Children’s stories with controlled vocabularies.

• Whole Language started in Late 70s– Popular in 80s/90s– Students struggling with Whole Language approach

• Each child learns differently

• Phonics approach reintroduced and became popular in the 90s (Brown, 2011; Reyhner, 2008)

Whole Language Approach• Example: – Learning to read through Whole Language

approach

Whole Language Approach• Focus on meaning and strategy instruction

rather than decoding• Looks at language as a whole rather than

individual parts• Teaches reading and writing through oral

language experiences of the child

Components of Whole Language Approach

• Top-down approach• Literate Environment• Oral Language and Literacy used across all

content areas• Student-Centered• Reading and writing for real purposes

Cons of Whole Language• No focus on language structure• Literacy Sub-skills are taught as the need

arises

SLP Role with Whole Language• Provide services consistent with school’s approach to

literacy• Ideal program for SLP-Focus on oral language• Assessment procedures-ongoing in natural

environment• Service Delivery-classroom based model• Provide teachers with suggestions for using oral

language to promote literacy learning• Help students acquire oral language skills• Help students acquire written language skills

Phonics Approach• Direct, explicit, systematic• Focuses on the relationship between the letter (or

grapheme) and the sound it makes. • Teaches reading in a hierarchy type of fashion• Teaches each letter sound– Sight words also taught

• my, the, at, to– Sentences– Paragraphs

• Bottom up approach

(Byrd, 2008)

Phonics Approach• Pros

– Sound out unfamiliar words– Those with large vocabularies can read a wide variety of children’s literature

• Cons– English does not have a one-to-one sound symbol relationship– English homonyms create difficulties for spelling (even college level)

• E.g., to, too, two; Their, there, they’re– Very common “outlaw words” still need to be memorized as sight words

(e.g., sight)– About half of the English language cannot be pronounced correctly using

phonics– Differing vocabulary sizes– Differing dialects of English that vary in pronunciation (e.g., Minnesota vs.

Texas)

Phonics Approach• SLP Role– Phonological awareness– Teach skills within a group or individual– Collaboration with teacher

Phonics Example• Reading Mastery• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BELlZKpi1Zs

The Great Debate• Whole-Language vs. Phonics• California implemented whole language in the

1980s, but then offered school districts financial incentives to return to the phonics method in 1996.

• The National Research Council made a public statement in 1998, asking to end the “reading wars.” The Council cited for more than two decades bouncing back and forth between the two methods resulted in little academic gain.

The Great Debate

• The “reading wars” were not just about academics, they were also political.– Conservatives saw whole language as a freewheeling

approach that was missing standards and rules needed in education.

– Liberals said phonics perpetuated patronizing “drill and kill” strategies which turned kids into reading robots and turned them away from wanting to learn.

– Whole language was used in more liberal states, phonics in conservative states.

Balanced Literacy Approach• In 1997, Congress asked NIH to create the National Reading Panel to

consider the debate question. In 2000, the panel released its “meta-analysis” and deduced that all children must master five skills:

Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency

Vocabulary Comprehension

Balanced Literacy Approach

Balanced Literacy Approach• Children need to learn to both sound out

words and look at context to become effective readers.

• The 1998 National Research Council report stated, “ If we have learned anything from this effort, it is that effective teachers are able to craft a special mix of instructional ingredients for every child they work with.”

Balanced Literacy Approach• In a balanced literacy approach how you teach

and what you teach are equally important.• Some sound-letter patterns are more

consistent, and should be taught early as a foundation for literacy.

• Books such as kindergarten standards like “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” work well to introduce blended literacy.

Balanced Literacy Approach• Example:• http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv6jKXQ6Voo

Children with Language Delays/Disorders

• While both methods can be effective with normally-developing readers, choosing one method over the other could harm children’s development, especially those with language impairments (LI).

• Children with LI tended to benefit most from phonics, while gifted children did well with the whole language approach. – The whole language approach has been found to be

particularly detrimental to children with dyslexia.

References• Brown, E. (2011). History of reading instruction. The Phonics Page. Retrieved on July 27, 2013 from

http://thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/historyofreading.html.• Byrd, C. M. (2008). Reading instruction beliefs and practices of early elementary school teachers. Psi

Chi, The National Honor Society in Psychology, 13(2), 76-85.• Chaney, Carolyn. (1990). Evaluating the Whole Language Approach to Language Arts: The Pros and

Cons. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 21, 244-249.• Dahms, Joel (2006). Spelling out dyslexia: Northwest researchers shed light on spelling problems in

dyslexic children, provide hope for new treatment. Northwest Science & Technology. Retrieved on July 28from https://depts.washington.edu/nwst/issues/index.php?issueID=fall_2006&storyID=800.

• Kolker, Robert (2006). A is for apple, B is for Brawl. New York. Retrieved on July 28, 2013 from http://nymag.com/news/features/16775/index1.html.

• Reyhner, J. (2008). The reading wars: Phonics versus whole language. Retrieved on July 26, 2013 from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/Reading_Wars.html.

• Schory, M.E. (1990). Whole Language and the Speech-Language Pathologist. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 21, 206-211.

• Strickland, Dorothy. Practical strategies to help you build a truly balanced classroom literacy program. Scholastic Instructor. Retrieved on July 28, 2013 from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/balanced-literacy.