Children of the Code: Dysteachia

Dysteachia

"Mastery of the Alphabetic Code is Essential"

In 2004, twenty-six Australian researchers, psychologists, linguists, and educators expressed their concern about the "whole language" approach, how it predominates in most schools systems, and how proponents claim that the debate between phonics and whole language is moot because they do incorporate phonics in literacy teaching (i.e. balanced or eclectic approach). The 26 put forth that "mastery of the alphabetic code is essential" and must be taught "directly," not implicitly through a "print-rich" environment. They stated that students who arrive at school from a "print-rich" background are better able to withstand the "whole language" approach primarily because their parents counteract the problem by teaching their children themselves or by hiring tutors.

Back in 1996 40 Massachusetts experts in linguistics and psychology were shocked to learn that whole-language proponents claimed that linguistics research supports their "constructing meaning" approach to teaching reading. In part as a result of these experts' efforts, Massachusetts revised its Language Arts framework to include direct, systematic instruction in phonics. References to using a variety of strategies to recognize unknown words were deleted.

Stanovich on Whole Language and Science

Eventually - perhaps not for a great while, but eventually - the weight of empirical evidence will fall on their [whole language proponents'] heads. That direct instruction in alphabetic coding facilitates early reading acquisition is one of the most well established conclusions in all of behavioral science (Adams, 1990; Anderson et al., 1985; Chall, 1983b, 1989; Perfetti, 1985; Stanovich, 1986b). Conversely, the idea that learning to read is just like learning to speak is accepted by no responsible linguist, psychologist, or cognitive scientist in the research community.

pp 399-400.

- Keith Stanovich, Progress in Understanding Reading: Scientific Foundations and New Frontiers. New York: The Guilford Press, 2000.

Letter-Sound Knowledge and Blending the Sounds

de Graaff, Saskia, Anna M.T. Bosman, Fred Hasselmann, and Ludo Verhoeven, "Benefits of Systematic Phonics Instruction" (2009); Scientific Studies of Reading; 13; 4 (318-333).

This study compared a systematic phonics approach with a non-systematic phonics approach.

It is interesting to note that children in both experimental groups progressed to the same extent on letter-sound knowledge. . . . Frequent exposure to graphemes and their corresponding sounds resulting in paired-associate learning, as was the case in both phonics programs, seems to be sufficient to make children learn grapheme-phoneme correspondences. However, to recognize and use letters in words is yet another skill. Reading requires the skill to blend letter-sounds or larger chunks into words.

Thus there are many children, taught phonics in an unsystematic way, who know many letter-sound correspondences, but then cannot read simple nonsense words such as "jat." Synthetic phonics teaches blending right from the start.

Phonics for the Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing?

Here are some intriguing links about an issue that deserves further research:

1. Dave Krupke: What Exactly is Visual Phonics?
- Judy Montgomery, Communications Disorders Quarterly (2008); 29; 177.

The written symbols strongly associate with the production of the sounds of English - what actually happens in the mouth. . . .
It has been my experience...that See the Sound/Visual Phonics provides the connecting piece, the link that bridges the gap between letters and sounds. . . .

Visual Phonics fits very well with the literacy principle that "letters represent sounds" versus a commonly accepted belief that "letters have sounds."

2. Intervention in Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- Jones-Oleson, Linda, Sarah Schreckhise, & Rebecca Plesko-DuBoise, Virginia School for the Deaf. Powerpoint Presentation, ASHA Convention (2007), Boston.

Visual Phonics is an instructional tool that has the potential to normalize the trajectory of literacy learning for many students who are D/HH.

(slide 4)

Deaf educators tend to believe that the inability to hear poses an insurmountable barrier to phonic-based reading instruction.

(slide 126)


3. DePaul Education Professor Devises Method to Help Deaf and Hearing Impaired Improve Their Reading Skills

Oh Yes, She/He/You Can.

"My dog can't/won't." Clicker train him. Read Don't Shoot the Dog! by Karen Pryor.

"My child has little musical talent." Find a well-trained Suzuki music teacher. They believe, and prove, that "Every Child Can."

"My child can't draw." Learn how to draw, right along side him/her. Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes and Audo-Visual Drawing Program by Bruce McIntyre

"My child never...." Shape his/her abilities with positive reinforcement of a very particular kind: Don't Shoot the Dog! by Karen Pryor.

My child doesn't read well. Teach him. See the resources listed in my May 12 post.

"I can't do this... or that...." Oh yes you can. Start with Talent is Overrated. by Geoff Colvin.

No more excuses.
My new motto: If something isn't going right, there is always a better way.

The 4th Grade Hump (or Slump): Discussion at Kitchentablemath Blog

Elizabeth B started a discussion on the 4th Grade Slump on the kitchentablemath blog, and the comments that follow hers make worthwhile reading. Palisadesk's are not to be missed.

A Good School Can and Should Teach All Children to Read.

Ruth Miskin’s definition of a good school is one that teaches all its children to read and I agree wholeheartedly with that definition. Unfortunately too many people in education don’t believe that this is possible.

- Jim Curran
- One of the many succinct and pointed comments made on the Reading Reform Foundation of the U.K. message board

It's hard to accomplish something when you don't believe it is possible.
People like Ruth Miskin have shown it is possible.
It's long past time to toss the excuses in the trash.

Cushing Academy Library Throws Its Books Out

The headline had previously stated: Cushing Academy Throws Out All Its Books
Say it isn't so.

Cushing Academy Embraces a Digital Future

Clarification, thanks to Anonymous' suggestion that I visit Cushing's website:
Ten thousand books have been removed from Cushing Academy's library. Some are now elsewhere on campus. The remaining 10,000 are there "this year," according to the Headmaster. The Boston Globe article indicates that the school decided to "discard all their books". It seems unclear what will happen to the remaining 10,000.

Core Knowledge Literacy Program Shows Early Gains

WNYC: Early Start for Reading and New York Post: High Marks for Lit Plan
The 3-year pilot Core Knowledge reading program, which is based on synthetic phonics and the teaching of background knowledge, has completed its first year, and the results are reportedly looking good. I have not, as yet, been able to locate the specific test data; perhaps it will be made available to the public soon.

"Chancellor Joel Klein says the results with kindergarteners are promising. They scored higher on tests of early reading skills than kindergarteners in comparable schools – which all had high concentrations of poor and minority students.

KLEIN: The really, the dominant gains or perhaps the only gains to speak of were in the Core Knowledge group. . . .

MARKS: These kids were on or above grade level. And to see a kindergartener coming out with an H, F level, that’s sort of first grade the end of first grade. So we’re hopeful it will turn our school around."

- WNYC, September 23, 2009.

"I absolutely love this program," said principal Katie Grady of PS 104 in Far Rockaway, Queens, who said that 95 percent of her kindergartners entered the first grade reading well above grade level.

"Their reading stats are through the roof and it's something that we haven't seen before," she added.

- New York Post, September 23, 2009.

Here is an interview with Matthew Davis from September 2008, in which Davis discusses the 3-year pilot program at 10 NYC schools.

"The Core Knowledge Reading Program is divided into two strands of instruction.

The first strand, the Skills Strand, aims to teach the mechanics of reading and writing. It uses a powerful scheme of phonics instruction known as synthetic phonics, which has been relatively little used in the U.S. but has produced strong results and is currently gaining traction in the U.K.

The second strand, the Listening and Learning Strand, is intended to build up vocabulary and background knowledge that will help the children make sense of what they read."

- EducationNews.org, September 9, 2008.