ED Corner
Tonya V. Wingfield
Tackling the Issue of Reading Comprehension
The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand; you don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers:
7516324 This is hard to read and remember.
751-6324 This is easier because of chunking.
123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure.
Similarly, if you like football then reading about football is easy. You know the meaning of a first down, touchdown or holding penalty;therefore, you have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information about football. (Based on Donald Martin's How to be a Successful Student).
Many parents are under the misconception that their child can read because they have mastered stringing a series of words. However, when they ask their son/daughter to translate what they've just read on paper and in their own words, many children appear as "deer in headlights." They may understand some of the words they've read, but not enough to connect all the words to form a clear opinion of what the writer is trying to convey. Herein lies a major problem that has provided a framwork for failure in school systems across the country.
If we honestly want to see an increase in the number of children that can read and comprehend on grade level, a cooperative partnership must exist between the home, community and school. Preschool children must have access to informative and stimulating social and cultural experiences at home (includes community-based activities) and a Reading/Language Arts curriculum in school that encompasses five reading domains: phonics awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
| Domain | Demonstration |
| Phonics Awareness | Child's ability to recognize words and understands that words the sounds of words. |
| Phonics | Child's ability to connect the sounds of spoken words with letters or groups of letters and blend the sounds of letters together to produce the approixmate pronunications of words. |
| Fluency | Child's ability to read accurately, quickly and expressively with good diction and comprehension. |
| Vocabulary | The words a child knows and can comfortably use. |
| Comprehension | Child's level of understanding of what he/she reads. |
According to E.D. Hirsch, Jr., successful reading requires more than an ability to decode, or ''sound out,'' words. It also requires adequate background knowledge...
Parents can help their child build pre-reading skills such as phonics awareness and comprehension before they enroll in school. Reading nursery rhymes to your child is an excellent way to develop their phonics awareness skills. Developing a background knowledge that builds comprehension can include routine activities like brushing their teeth, making their bed and picking up their toys. Outside the home they can learn from going to the library, the park, the zoo or even the grocery store.
Once enrolled in school, children must have access to a Reading/Language Arts curriculum that builds upon the pre-reading skills learned at home as preschoolers. While what I am about to write next continues to be debated by researchers, many parents and educators believe a phonics-based reading program provides the continuity these young minds need to build upon their pre-reading skills. Phonics teaches a child how to identify letters and groups of letters to form words. They then can master blending these sounds together to correctly enunciate words.
Reading cannot stop with recognizing words or their sounds. Children must learn the difference between words: identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives and understanding their role written text. (i.e. adjective describes a noun, verb shows action)
Big John hit the ball
(big=adjective, John=noun, hit=verb, ball=noun)
Outside the school, parents can reinforce what their child is learning by exposing them to different reading materials like the newspaper, the church bulletin, the community newsletter, articles of historical events and, of course, a weekly trip to the library to pick out the book of their choice. These reading activities not only help a child develop a love and passion for reading, but also provide background information that continues to build their comprehension. Additionally, parents should begin or continue activities such as trips to the museums, art galleries, and concerts and participation in community-based activities.
Our children are being left because they are not being taught to read; this must change. Parents are the driving force behind changing how reading is taught in the home and at school. Parents must first be committed to doing their part at home in preparing our children during their preschool years with the pre-reading skills required for reading success. Secondly, parents must hold school systems accountable to seeing that all children have access to Reading/Language Arts curriculum that embraces the reading domains previously mentioned. Lastly, school systems must acknowledge the need for change and even if they do not, parents must unite and forge ahead for this change.
In the end, parents have two options: they can continue to allow the mis-education of our children and watch them be left behind, or come together as a collective voice and say "no more."
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