Struggling readers need support
Dec 16, 2008
Having Danny, our son has been one of the most fascinating experiences of our lives. He has always had interesting stories to share, with amazing milestones.
TEACHERS’ DESK
BY DEBORAH MBUGA
Having Danny, our son has been one of the most fascinating experiences of our lives. He has always had interesting stories to share, with amazing milestones.
It was such a joy to hear him sound out the letters. This gave us a degree of comfort that he had gained some level of phonemic awareness. However, as he grew older, at kindergarten level, he would pronounce the letters but say a differently word. For example, he would pronounce ‘c-a-t’ correctly but when asked to read it, he would come up with words like ‘frying pan’! Frustrating, I thought.
I started feeling nervous and would say to him: ‘Stop the game Danny!’, ‘What is wrong with you?’, ‘You cannot get any surprises!’ The look on his face depicted hard work and honesty but I thought otherwise. I was wrong!
One afternoon, I decided to change the approach after being trained on a user-friendly reading programme. I tried it with him and we loved the results. It is such a joy to see him read, spell simple words and make sense of it all now.
Parents and teachers need to know that an effective reading programme should be tailored to the child’s developmental needs. What works best for a four-year-old may not for an adult. As children grow, the support for their reading needs grows from just correcting the problem to having a friendly classroom environment.
There is also need to promote the child’s strengths. This will go a long way in developing the child’s self-esteem and their general sense of self-worth.
All children that struggle with reading need supportive parents, caretakers, and teachers who will be their advocates and cheer-leaders especially when things are not going so well.
Bringing evidence-based reading instruction to every child’s classroom needs to become a wide spread reality for struggling readers. Teachers and parents, too, should expect success from their children with reading-disabilities.
The writer is a teacher of children with special needs
BY DEBORAH MBUGA
Having Danny, our son has been one of the most fascinating experiences of our lives. He has always had interesting stories to share, with amazing milestones.
It was such a joy to hear him sound out the letters. This gave us a degree of comfort that he had gained some level of phonemic awareness. However, as he grew older, at kindergarten level, he would pronounce the letters but say a differently word. For example, he would pronounce ‘c-a-t’ correctly but when asked to read it, he would come up with words like ‘frying pan’! Frustrating, I thought.
I started feeling nervous and would say to him: ‘Stop the game Danny!’, ‘What is wrong with you?’, ‘You cannot get any surprises!’ The look on his face depicted hard work and honesty but I thought otherwise. I was wrong!
One afternoon, I decided to change the approach after being trained on a user-friendly reading programme. I tried it with him and we loved the results. It is such a joy to see him read, spell simple words and make sense of it all now.
Parents and teachers need to know that an effective reading programme should be tailored to the child’s developmental needs. What works best for a four-year-old may not for an adult. As children grow, the support for their reading needs grows from just correcting the problem to having a friendly classroom environment.
There is also need to promote the child’s strengths. This will go a long way in developing the child’s self-esteem and their general sense of self-worth.
All children that struggle with reading need supportive parents, caretakers, and teachers who will be their advocates and cheer-leaders especially when things are not going so well.
Bringing evidence-based reading instruction to every child’s classroom needs to become a wide spread reality for struggling readers. Teachers and parents, too, should expect success from their children with reading-disabilities.
The writer is a teacher of children with special needs