Common Reading Mistakes to Avoid When Teaching Young Learners
Reading is one of the most important factors in a child’s learning process. It is with reading that a child learns new concepts and ideas and extends this information into other subjects such as math or science. Without the proper learning techniques, a child may be left confused and may find it difficult to move on to future steps in the learning process.
With the help of the right elementary reading programs, young learners can develop the essential reading skills, which in the future is important for comprehension, memorization, and application. And yes, teaching a child to learn can seem daunting at first but it’s not as difficult as it seems especially if you have access to right resources. That being said, there are still some mistakes that can be made. So, what are some of the most common mistakes teachers make when teaching reading? Let’s find out!
- Mistake #1 – Misunderstanding the roles of phonics instruction
Phonics instruction teaches the relationships between the letters of a written word and the sounds of spoken language, i.e., how letter-sound corresponds and their use in reading and spelling words. For example, phonics instructions begin with teaching how to take apart single-syllable words such as ‘cat’ into three letters. They are then asked to pronounce a phoneme for each letter /k, æ, t/, and then blend the phonemes together to form a word. Very often, teachers may skip out on providing explicit phonics instruction and move on to the next stage, however, research has proven time and again that explicit phonics instruction is the key to becoming a successful reader.
- Mistake #2 – Not connecting reading to purposeful learning or comprehension
Sometimes reading is taught for the sake of teaching especially when it is taught in isolation. This way we fail to connect a reading assignment with a learning objective or, more importantly, with something students find relevant and interesting.
- Mistake #3 – Reading about the same topic
While it is important for the child to read things that interest them, if the tutors only sticks to the topic the child is interested in, then it can get repetitive over time and the child may lose interest in the topic or the book. It is important to explore new topics that extend from the child’s current favourites. The most successful reading programs offer a wide range of topics to help maintain the child’s interest and thereby contribute to their reading and writing skills.
- Mistake #4 – Teaching the whole classroom
While whole group teaching is needed, we must realize that not all children have the same level of skills. By teaching in small, need-based groups we can accelerate our students’ learning process.
- Mistake #5 – Not taking regular assessments
We teach but do we know if the children learn? Well, there’s one way to find out. With the help of frequent testing, teachers can assess how students are doing on skills and strategies. With the help of this information, teachers can decide the course of learning for the next day or week. Based on results, teachers can then group students that need a differentiated lesson. Frequent assessment through reading programs for elementary students can make a significant difference in instruction and student success.
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