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THE
PHONICS
INSTITUTE tel: (340) 773-3322 fax: (340) 773-2566
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The five elements of reading with understanding
Before looking more closely at the meat of what The Phonics Institute proposes
to do, let’s look at the elements of reading with understanding. This is
what we want our children to do: read with understanding (and write well, too).
What knowledge does the understanding reader have? What are his (or her)
skills? What are his habits? Reading with understanding is composed, we might
say, of five elements:
The Five Elements of Reading with
Understanding 1. The ability to
“speak the written word.” 2. Vocabulary. 3. Grammar. 4. Clear thought
including logic. 5. Orientation. These are the elements of reading with understanding. How do they work together? The elements from a hierarchy. Why? Because vocabulary, grammar, clear thinking, and orientation all stand on the other element - the ability to speak the written work. If you can’t talk out loud the words on the page, your vocabulary, grammar, clear thinking, and orientation do not a reader make. A good vocabulary, and understanding of standard English grammar, the ability to think clearly, and a health orientation in life will all help a reader to catch the meaning of what he reads, but they all hang on the ability to carry the written words on the page into speech. If you can do that and build up your vocabulary, learn the grammar, think clearly, and have your feet on the ground; you can read anything with confidence. The
word “vocabulary” here means, first, word knowledge. If a child comes upon the
word “indecision” in his reading, he has to be able to say it aloud, but he also
needs to know what it means. Vocabulary-building is important. The Phonics
Institute favors direct, explicit, extensive vocabulary-building. Yet, “having
a good vocabulary” means more than just learning the definitions of many words.
It also means learning the facts that make up our shared cultural heritage, now
called cultural literacy. We
must aim to develop good grammar too. Out in the street, many use nonstandard
word order, plurals and possessives, and forms of verbs and pronouns. But our
schools should concentrate on making sure we learn the “proper” use of verbs,
plurals, possessives,
pronouns, and word order we must know
if we are to master reading, writing, and speaking standard English. The
Phonics Institute recommends direct, explicit, extensive instruction in standard
English grammar as
well.
And clear thinking; it is worth it to teach the students how thought works, from
the formal concepts of deductive and inductive logic; through the probing and
testing of “twenty questions;” through the self-awareness of our resonating with
an author we love, who “tells it like it is.” Sharpening thinking skills can be
an important part of this proposal.
Orientation is also critically important to reading with understanding. Here,
your orientation means your basic attitude towards life and your place in
it. If a person is the type of atheist or agnostic who believes morals the name
of the fame, his appreciation for everything he reads will be influenced by his
orientation. If, on the other hand, a person is a dedicated Christian who
believes we should each pick up our cross everyday, resist our sinful
tendencies, and work to do God’s will, everything he reads will be affected by
this orientation. The effects of our orientation on our understanding of what
we read, are profound. Orientation is not just a matter of clear thinking;
there is more to it than that.
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www.phonicsinstitute.com |
