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There’s an elephant in the room ….. but, can he read?
Iowa Reading AssociationJune 2015
Kate Hornung & Cindy Waters
Kate & Cindy’s background
• Kate: Iowa Falls, Pineview Elementary
• Kindergarten instructor, 27 years• PreK-3 endorsement
• Cindy: Upper Iowa University
• Teacher Educator• Background in FCS, Child Development• 37 years in public & higher ed
What Elephant?! Consider……
• Public schools believe that children should learn to read in kindergarten.
• Teachers comply.
• However, is it right?
• Is it truly necessary that children read at age 5?
• Are we pressuring children to read when they are not developmentally ready?
Concerns
• Parents Stress of doing all the “right” things Doing little/nothing: “school’s responsibility”
• Teachers Students with huge skill range Are there unrealistic expectations? Developmentally inappropriate?
• Administrators Test scores!!
• Elephant No one likes this; everyone talks about it, but not
one is taking a stand & so… status quo
Grounds for concern
• Outdated views of literacy development and/or learning theories
• Demands that children try to read
• Early reading tests to be prepared by third-grade.
• The push to read when kids are too immature
• The principal and assistance team (erroneously) determine kids need of programming or retention when they are clearly just not ready
• Labeling kids as struggling can cause permanent emotional and academic damage
Consequences
• Teaching reading at an early age can lead to poor reading habits
• Alienates children from the enjoyment of reading.
• Reading becomes a chore & can embitter kids on not only reading, but school and learning in general
• No evidence to support the widespread belief that children must read in prekindergarten or kindergarten to become strong readers and achieve academic success
Right or wrong?
• Many can learn to read in kindergarten or earlier
• However…..plenty who aren’t ready
• Each child can and should learn to read on his/her own terms and pace
• As educators, we may support and encourage, but should not force reading
Climate of learning
• Many educators agree with the philosophy of less testing
• Yet, the prevailing school attitude (often set by legislators and administrators) is read soon and test
• Instead, provide more encouragement to promote reading
• Let the child set his/her own learning journey
Then …… & now
1988• Teach letters &
sounds
• Numbers 1-10
• Address, phone number
• Tie shoes
2015• Letters & sounds (if
needed)
• Segmenting/blending
• Nonsense words
• Sight words
• Reading!
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
• Preschool children can Enjoy listening to & discussing storybooks Understand that print carries a message Engage in reading & writing attempts Identify labels & signs in their environment Participate in rhyming games Identify some letters & make some sound
matches Use known letters to represent meaningful
language (NAEYC, 1998)
Recommended Teaching Practices
• Preschool Model reading behaviors Foster children’s interest in & enjoyment of
reading Print-rich environments Draw attention to specific letters & words Daily read aloud to individuals or small groups Discussion on what is read Strategies & experiences to develop phonemic
awareness, i.e., songs, fingerplays, games, poems, & stories, including rhyme & alliteration
Play that incorporates literacy tools Firsthand experiences that expand vocabulary
(NAEYC, 1998)
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
• Kindergartners can Enjoy being read to & retell simple narratives or
simple informational texts Use descriptive language to explain & explore Recognize letters & letter-sound matches Show familiarity with rhyming & beginning
sounds Understand left-to-right and top-to-bottom
orientation & familiar concepts of print Match spoken words with written ones Begin to write letters of the alphabet & some
high-frequency words (NAEYC, 1988)
Recommended Teaching Practices
• Kindergarten Daily read aloud Independent reading Systematic code instruction Meaningful reading & writing activities Opportunity to write many kinds of text Experiences to use nonconventional forms of
writing, moving to conventional forms Opportunities to work in small groups for
collaboration Engaging & challenging curriculum to expand
knowledge of world & vocabulary Differentiated instruction if child fails to make
expected progress or when literacy skills are advanced (NAEYC, 1998)
Common Core/Iowa Core • Standards 1-9 are DAP, involving retelling,
recognition, & vocabulary
• Standard 10: Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. Pushes young children & leads to poor results Develop coping mechanisms; not helpful later Some say this is misinterpretation of what standards require
(Iowa Dept. of Ed, 2015)
• Core standards describe range of skills
• Much of concern is about implementation Nothing precludes safe, warm, nurturing, play-based
classrooms (Pondisco, 2015)
• Difficult to teach standards in DAP when worried about standardized tests
Academic v Play based: Reading• Developmental progression of sensory-motor
skills needed before age 7
• Many K teachers have thrown out kitchens, blocks, napping rugs & dollhouses!
• Left v. right brain activity Left: analytical
• 7-9 years• Phonics• Stresses child’s mind & body
Right: intuitive, looks at whole• Child must guess w/o sounding out• Difficulty switching to left brain(Johnson, 2003)
• Play environment develops executive function
The educators who established early
childhood as a time for guided learning all
emphasized the dangers of introducing the world of symbols
too early in life. (Elkind,2001)
Is early reading necessary?
• Key question is it optimal to teach early reading?
• Introduced too early; learn more quickly & with less stress at 6 (Russell, 2015)
• Explicit & programmatic teaching; text reading & decoding—not recommended
• Early reading=early language skills
• Evidence doesn’t fully support the need (Suggate, 2013)
Reading Readiness
• Enthusiasm for reading diminishes if pressured
• Need to engage in wanting to read (Russell, 2015)
• Teaching reading & writing at 5 can dent interest in books
• Kiddos see themselves as inept (Katz, in Curtis, 2007)
• Have children’s brains evolved to a higher level? (AAP, in Bailey, 2014)
• Greatest barrier is standards & testing (Kohn, 2013)
AR
• 4 aspects: access to books– supported by research time for recreational reading– supported by research Tests rewards only affects short-term behavior
• Inconsistent evidence; gains were not present or small
• No lasting effect on comprehension, reading frequency, or enthusiasm
• Incentives do not promote additional reading
• May have long term harmful effects (Krashen, 2003).
Your 2 cents worth?
• How are you responding?
• Agree/disagree?
• What have you done? Could or will do?
• How do we bring this to the table as a serious discussion issue with admins, parents?
What promotes this “elephant”?• Teachers/schools
• Limited by mandates
• FAST testing
• Readiness for next grade
• Parental & societal pressure
• Ss who are sent, but not ready for school
• Ss with no literacy experience or preK
• Parents who are “too busy” to collaborate
Is there a solution? What to do?!• No simple solution, maybe not even a viable
one, but the conversation needs to arise
• Data/documentation
• Intentionality about literacy & language
• Don’t bombard or overwhelm kiddos
• Awareness– do parents, people in general really realize the problem & why it is a problem?
• Parents must band together; speak to administrators to find a happy medium
Be courageous
• Have we, as teachers, lost the capacity to be outraged at outrageous things?
• Question traditional practices/criteria
• Take responsibility
• Share power
• Be active & assertive (Kohn, 2013)
• Advocate for yourself, your classroom, your kids!
Questions?
What are YOU going to do about this Elephant in the room?!
Thank you for attending & your input
ReferencesBailey, N. (2014). Setting children up to hate reading. Nancy Bailey’s Education Website. Retrieved from http://nancybailey.com/2014/02/02/setting- children-up-to-hate-reading/Curtis, P. (2007). Under-sevens ‘too young to learn to read.’ The Guardian. Retrieved
from http://theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/22/earlyyearseducation.schoolsElkind, D. (2001). Young Einsteins. Education Matters. Retrieved from www.edmatters.orgJohnson, S. (2003). Teaching academics in preschool & kindergarten. You and Your
Child’s Health. Retrieved from www.youandyourchildshealth/articles/Kohn, A. (2013). Encouraging educator courage. Education Week. Retrieved from
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/09/18/04kohn.h33.html?tkn=OZXF TFySwn1LbKrashen, S. (2003). The experimental evidence supporting the use of Accelerated
Reader. Journal of Children’s Literature, 29, 16-30. http://www.google.com/url?sa= t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdkrashen.com%2Fcontent%2Farticles%2Fdoes _accelerated_reader_work.pdf&ei=ECp3VYm4NozWoATH24GAAg
&usg=AFQjCNFRyLIc2JztZTqyHnZI7GFAmeM0MwNational Association for the Education of Young Children.(1998).
Young Children, 53, 30–46. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/learning_readwrite
References, cont.
•Pondisco, R. (2015). Is Common Core too hard for kindergarten? Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Retrieved from http://edexcellence.net/articles/is-common-core-too-hard-for-kindergarten•Russell, F. (2014). Children must learn to love reading, not just learn to read. The
Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/
12/children-must-learn-to-love-reading•Schwartz, K. (2015). Does Common Core ask too much of kindergarten readers? KQED News. Retrieved from http://ww2.kqed.org/
mindshift/2015/04/27/does-common-core-ask-too-much-of-kindergarten-readers/
•Suggate, S. (2013). Does early reading instruction help reading in the long-term? A review of empirical evidence. Research on Steiner Education, 4,123-
131. Retrieved from www.rosejourn.com
Contact information
Ms. Kate HornungPineview Elementary 1510 Washington Ave. Iowa Falls, IA [email protected]
Dr. Cindy WatersUpper Iowa University605 WashingtonFayette, IA [email protected]