The Reading Wars
First, a bit of historical perspective. The best ways to teach reading
have been argued about for well over a hundred years. In their books,
well-known researchers like Adams, Chall, Goodman, and others discuss
the merits of various approaches.
Perhaps you learned to read Dick and Jane, look-say books. The look-say
method was a whole- language technique popular when Jeanne Chall wrote
her Learning to Read: The Great Debate. Chall related, in part, that
teaching methods to that time (c. 1967) had divided educators into two
camps; one whole-word and the other phonics, or a code emphasis.
As early as 1955, Rudolph Flesch initiated a campaign against children
being taught to read with look-say sight methods as he pushed for a
return to phonics. In look-say, children were taught to memorize whole
words through flash-card drills. Many phonics believers thought this
method was an educational disaster. The issue today is meaning-first
vs. phonics first.
For most of the last (20th) century, people argued that there are only
two ways to teach reading. Either you use whole-word, read for meaning
processes or you use phonics, the teaching of the alphabetic
code. Thus the continual pendulum swings, depending on one's
perspective, test scores, and politics of the time.
Learning to read is a complex process and, in my opinion, no one has
ever been able to describe the best method for teaching students (children or
adults) to read. There is a tremendous amount of research available but
so many factors are involved there is no one method or reading
program--nor can there be--that can teach all students with the same
success. So we must be flexible in our approach and take into account
the needs and interests of every emerging reader.
I do agree, however, with the recent National Reading Panel's
conclusion that there are five key areas which must be addressed in
learning to read. These include:
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary, and
- Comprehension
This closely relates to most state standards. The only place where I
differ is in the methodology; I think a balanced reading program with
skills and whole-language activities is optimum. The current narrow
focus on code may not be the best for every student.
What is reading, anyway? Reading is more than the ability to pronounce
words correctly. Four main components in the process include:
- Word perception
- Comprehension of the ideas represented by the words
- Reaction to those ideas, and
- Integration of those ideas with background or previous knowledge
The more experiences a student brings to the printed symbol, the better
the chances for reading improvement. It is necessary to know, and take
advantage of, the reader's background and relate it to the printed word.
