Module 5: Reading Reflection

Where does phonics instruction fit within a comprehensive literacy program? When and how would you teach phonics?

            Weaver states that “a comprehensive literacy program is more integrative, with skills and strategies taught and used in context, and with emphasis upon the guided and sustained reading and writing of whole, meaningful texts, an emphasis that is sorely needed to help children become both functionally and joyfully literate” (2002, p.279). Therefore, phonics instruction is something that should be taught throughout reading and writing, not in isolated skills. It is hard for adults to sound out each letter in a word and understand what word they are saying, so how are we expecting children who are just learning the English language to complete this task. “Phonemic segmentation Is not a natural task, nor one normally needed for reading, beyond the ability to separate an onset from a rime” (Weaver, 2002, p.307). As we have learned in this chapter and in previous chapters, children learn best when comparing unknown words to words they are familiar with in order to figure out its pronunciation. They are also more likely to read words in “chunks” through syllables, onset and rime. “The findings of Schatschneider, Francis, Foorman, Fletcher, &Mehta (1999) suggests the following developmental order, based on a continuum of easy to difficult tasks: (1) comparison of first sounds: identifying the names of pictures beginning with the same sound; (2) blending onset-rime nits into real words; (3) blending phonemes into real words; (4) deleting a phoneme and saying the word that remains; (5) segmenting words into phonemes; (6) blending a phonemes into nonwords” (Weaver, 2002, p.311). Through the various quotes I provided and further information in these chapters it seems obvious that simple step by step phonics instruction is not cognitively effective for any age readers.

            I have always been uncomfortable with the thought of teaching phonics, but it was partially because I had never adequate instruction as to how to do so effectively. I did not think I could remember all the rules because that’s not how I think when I read, and after reading Reading Process & Practice I understand why. Phonics needs to be something that is taught daily through reading and writing experiences in order to allow the students to see the letter patterns in real life context. Various aspects of reading workshops allow for the teaching and understanding of letter-sound relationships by “recognizing letters and letter clusters, developing letter-sound knowledge- particularly an ability to read common onsets and rimes, developing ability to use letter-sound knowledge along with prior knowledge and context to make reasonable predictions” (Weaver, 2002, p.283). However, it does not just stop at reading workshops, phonemic awareness is furthered through putting these patterns to use within their writing with spelling.  

References

             Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.