Literacy- how do we teach it?

Being a Learning Support Teacher has its challenges but this year will be particularly challenging as I support the most vulnerable students across Kindergarten to Year Four. I have had to think of how to best address the individual needs of the students I have been entrusted with. Having had training in both Reading Recovery and various phonics-based programs has put me at an advantage as I consider how to tailor a program that will prove successful.

This year, more than ever, I have had to think long and hard as I hear debates within schools and across schools, within governments and talk shows on TV, between the different approaches to teaching Literacy, particularly the Whole Language approach verses the Phonics approach. I see the advantages in both, which leaves me confused as to why the ongoing debate when clearly a balanced approach would be ideal. And where does Reading Recovery sit in all this?

It has been an amazing roller coaster ride having been in both camps and watching the pendulum swing from one approach to the other. I entered the Australian education system when the Reading Recovery Program was just being phased out to make way for phonics programs to lead the way. Approximately ten years later Reading Recovery is back in. Now we see the pendulum swing again as public schools are offered the choice to either absorb the cost into their Literacy budget or terminate the Reading Recovery Program entirely.

I believe the Reading Recovery Program has been mixed up in the debate between ‘whole language instruction’ and ‘phonics based instruction’ in that it is assumed that Reading Recovery equals Whole Language. Phonics explicitly teaches letter sound relationships before teaching the meaning of words. This can get confusing, as there are more sounds in the English language than there are letters. Whole Language focuses on the meaning of words and critical thinking is used to predict unfamiliar words in texts. The draw back is that students may not learn to spell correctly if phonics is not taught as well.

The Reading Recovery Program on the other hand is a specialised program designed to accelerate growth in reading and writing in ‘at-risk’ Year One students. On the surface it looks like a rigidly structured program with intense instruction working on individual strength, ensuring student engagement and includes a wide range of reading and writing experiences one on one for thirty minutes each day. Students are given the opportunity to develop phonemic awareness; use phonics and word attack skills and build the reciprocity in reading and writing, all of which provides a well-balanced approach. A deeper look at the program reveals ongoing professional development, collegial support and an endless amount of data collecting and reporting on every single child who has accessed the program, ensuring ongoing quality teaching based on research.

Reading Recovery is a tailored specific intervention designed for an individual student while Whole Language is an approach used in classroom instruction.  Reading Recovery is not Whole Language. Some of the prompts and procedures used in Reading Recovery lessons are filtered into classroom instruction.

So this year I am looking forward to the challenges my two most vulnerable students in Year Two and Year Three will offer me. After hours of pondering, I feel confident in a balanced approach I have decided to take using the Reading Recovery guidelines with the flexibility to focus intently on phonemic awareness and phonics when needed, while developing the critical thinking and problem solving skills that are characteristic of a successful reader and writer.

2 thoughts on “Literacy- how do we teach it?”

  1. I love this topic Helena! I have been doing much thinking and reading myself and it is interesting to see you’ve chosen this for your blog. I’d love to chat more. Angela

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