I was quoted in a story from Parents Magazine
I was recently quoted in this article in Parents Magazine by Melissa Willets talking about how kids don’t read full books in school anymore. I started noticing this a few years ago, shortly after I left the classroom and Common Core came around. Go read the whole article. It was nicely done.
Meanwhile, teachers are struggling with the fortitude to push already-resistant kids to accomplish goals outside of the Common Core curriculum, which stresses a focus on excerpts that help them pass state tests, according to Jethro Jones, former middle school principal and author of the book How to be a Transformative Principal. “Because it is hard, and takes so much instructional time to read a whole book, it was easily dropped to support testing goals,” he says. Social media has a hand in this too In addition to the learning loss kids experienced during the pandemic, social media has trained today’s youth to absorb information quickly—or their attention spans will wane.1 “It is much more enjoyable to have our endorphins firing off because we are engaging with anything on the internet, then settling into a good book,” Jones says. Jay agrees, adding, “Reading is a form of extended concentration and many of our homes are wired for distraction.” Jones also points out, “This is not only a student issue, but also a teacher issue.”
I like seeing how the sausage is made, so here are some of my answers to the questions that didn’t make it into the story:
1. What is the first step in learning to read?
The first step in learning to read is reading to your child. Kids focus on what their parents focus on. Read books early and often!
2. What are the reading developmental milestones for:
- toddlers - interest in books
- preschool - interest in letters
- kindergarten - sounding out letters
- first or second grade - reading short books and practicing. Truly most kids should be reading at this point.
- second or third grade? Shift from learning to read to reading to learn - What does this look like? Kids go from struggling through words and sentences to reading fluidly and understanding what they are saying.
3. At what age should kids be reading or what is the average age most kids start reading? Most kids should be reading (sounding out words) by kindergarten. Most kids should be reading fluently without stumbling over words or sounding out most words by the end of third grade.
4. How can parents know if their child has a reading disability and when should they reach out for help? Parents should pay attention and reach out when they feel like something isn’t right. There are so many possibilities as to why they. might not be reading, the teacher’s instruction (3 cue method, i.e., guessing the next word) should never be the reason.
5. How can parents help teach/encourage reading at home and what are some resources to help?
Reading is Fundamental - RIF.org has a huge repository of skills, strategies, resources, and so much more.
6. U.S. Department of Education reading programs often say children should be reading by age 8, or third grade—why is that - 3rd grade is when it is developmentally appropriate for a student to be a fluent reader, although most students with good literacy-focused homes and good instruction will read earlier. If they aren’t reading by this time, there’s something wrong.
My oldest daughter, now 18, has down syndrome and was at great risk of not being able to read, but she was reading fluently by 8 years old because we focused and made it intentional to help her, using good reading instruction strategies. Hooked on Phonics really does work.
I also recommend checking out Irene Daria’s work as she literally wrote the book on this.
Have a Good Life.
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