Knowledge is power and the majority of the time knowledge is gained through education. Education being of fundamental value has led to the ever-growing development of learning institutions around the globe. Though learning institutions seek to employ high-quality education, most of them offer different types of curriculums. The basic foundation of education is the ability to read, write, calculate and interpret the available material. The cognizance that uttered words includes small fractions of sound called phonemes. This is known as phonemic awareness. Letter formation is crucial in teaching as it enhances the writing of letters and words and should be correctly done. Focus is to be first directed on letter names, utilization of letter cards so that the children in question first learn the letters (Ellis & Lewis, 2006, p.6).
It has been proven that systematic explicit phonics instructions have had remarkable results on students who have used them. Children from different social groups and economic ranks have gained better help in reading than in non-systematic instructions. Instead of highlighting the factors that emerge in the text, it comprises the ideas of a designed course of phonics parts.
Multiple teaching and sequence of vocabulary words aids in vocabulary development. This is because rehearsals make it easier for the student to remember what they are taught. More growth has been noted from the use of spelling instructions in systematic phonics.
Arguments have been raised on whether using systematic phonics like syntax, as a means of educating children encourages children to guess but the advocates supporting the notion say that it has rather led to the expansion of the use of language and prior knowledge, logical deduction to make sense of a word and sentences (Becks, 2006, p.17).
Efficiency, ease, and fluency in reading are well developed by guided oral reading, for it provides feedback from the party listening when the student reads out loud. Guidance from parents and teachers has had a significant positive effect on oral reading. Writing has also been enhanced thanks to the systematic phonics curriculum.
Principles for Reading Success
Five instructional theories that guide professional growth and reading instructions have been set aside to best determine how reading success is achieved. These are:
- Focus on the desired outcomes of the instructions; this helps one to divert their full attention to the instructions. This is strategic and applies well to the desired outcomes as the individual or student approaching the question is not distracted.
- Create a safe environment for risk-taking; so that in case of incurred problems they can quickly rectify or be dealt with. This will help so that procrastination can be avoided and whatever subject that was being tackled may commence. This can be done in terms of having extra exam papers instead f the exact number of papers as the students present.
- Plan, yet be dynamic and flexible; a teacher should plan the work he or she intends to present to the student. To easily change might be needed in case a turn of unexpected events takes place, for example, time for the student to read particular material lapses. Flexibility is also crucial as the program may suddenly change or an issue might occur that may need to leave that matter at hand pending (Hayes & Stahl, 1997, p.156).
- Teach actively across the curriculum; so that you can cover most of the topics. Encouraging the students to be active and participate will enhance their reading skills, hence making them more confident in themselves and their work. A strong sense of self-esteem will consequently power their morale and determination to improve their reading capability.
- Encourage extensive reading and sharing; fostering students to read in voluminous amounts will help them gauge and easily adapt to reading habits. Ensuring that at the same time they tackle words that are intricate and may provide some hardship in reading. Sharing of reading material will inspire them to challenge one another while trying to outdo each other.
All these guidelines motivate the students and will foster consultations among the students, thus securing better reading skills.
Reference List
Becks, I. L. (2006). Making sense of phonics: the hows and whys. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Ellis, S. & Lewis, M. (2006). Phonics: practice, research and policy. London: SAGE.
Hayes, D. A. & Stahl, S. A. (1997). Instructional models in readings. Mahwah, New Jersey: Routledge.