Reading readiness

Reading readiness has been defined as the point in which a person is ready to read and the time over which a person transitions from a non-reader to a reader. Other terms for reading readiness include early literacy and emergent reading.

Reading skills begin right from the time the child is born as they listen to the speach around them. In order to read a child must have knowledge of the oral language. According to the Ontario Government (2003), the acquisition of language is natural while the process of learning to read is not. Reading must be taught to children. This belief contradicts the whole language philosophy which states that children learn to read while they learn to speak. The Ontario Government (2003) also believes that reading is the foundation for success and that those children who struggle with reading in grades 1-3 are at a disadvantage in terms of academic success, compared to those children who are not struggling. Fortunately, through the reading recovery program children who are struggling with reading are given extra support.

As a child's experience with literacy related activities is highly correlated to a child's success with reading, it is important to consider a child's developmental level when choosing appropriate activities and goals. Early enjoyable reading experiences set the stage for a child's desire to learn later in life. By creating developmentally appropriate activities (activities that are fun and challenging but not frustrating), the child will gain knowledge that will serve as the foundation for further learning as he or she enters the school system.

Reading Readiness is a highly individualistic. There is no "one size fits all" solution to teaching a child to read. A parent or educator may need to employ several techniques before finding the most appropriate method for an individual child. According to Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development a child can, through the help of an adult or more capable child, perform at a higher level than he or she can independently. The process of learning to read should thus be supported by a caring and supportive individual.

whole language Philosophy: With this model, reading is taught by keeping language whole and not segmented into fragments or skills. Within this philosophy, the child is expected to learn to read and write as he or she learns to talk. Reading, writing and oral language are considered to be intertwined. Some strategies according to the whole language model include encouraging the child to learn to read by "reading." This model also believes that adults should allow the child to witness reading behaviours (i.e. holding a book properly). It is also important for adults to model these behaviours in an environment that is free from criticism (Matthews, Klassen and Walter, 1999).

The phonics approach: This approach involves teaching grapheme (the relationship between letters) to phonemes (the sound).

It is suggested that by providing the children with the knowledge of spelling patterns (that is the combination of letters that are likely to occur within the English language) that spelling and reading will become much easier for the child. It is thought that once we (as adults) really look at the rules to the English language we use everyday and have internalized within ourselves, that it will become clear that there is some order and regular patterns that we follow. Once we are aware of these patterns, we can help children begin to understand these rules that we follow on a daily basis.

Some suggestions for reading skills

• Read to the child

• Have the child "read" to you. Allow the child to create their own story based on the picutres they see within the book

• Reread stories multiple times

• Omit words of a familiar story and allow the child to fill in the blank

• Allow the child to experiment with words

• Point to the words on the page as you read out loud to the child. This enables the child to gain an understanding that sentences consist of separate words.

The two most influential perspectives are the ‘growth-readiness’ view and the ‘environmentalist’ view. These two perspectives differ as the growth-readiness view focuses on the internal workings of the child in order to determine readiness while environmentalists focus on the external environment. Internal factors (such as genetics) and environmental aspects (such as school atmosphere) can influence a child’s readiness for reading.

The following is a list of books that are great for young readers as they have some vital elements such as repitition and bright colours. Many of these books encourage the child to use their imagination, to fill in the blank and to take an active role in the story.

Allan, Nicholas. (2000). You’re all animals. London: Random House Children’s Books

Benchley, Nathaniel. Ill. By Arnold Lobel. (1964). Red fox and his canoe. New York, NY: Scholastic Books Services.

Berry, Joy. Ill. By John Costanza. (1982). Let’s talk about being selfish. Danbury, CT: Grolier Enterprises Inc.

Berry, Joy. Ill. By John Costanza. (1982). Let’s talk about disobeying. Danbury, CT:Grolier Enterprises Inc.

Berry, Joy. Ill. By John Costanza. (1982). Let’s talk about teasing. Danbury, CT: Grolier Enterprises Inc.

Bertrand, Cecile. (1993). NONI sees. New York, NY: Western Publishing Inc.

Boynton, Sandra. (1982). But not the hippopotamus. NY: Little Simon Books

Bridwell, Norman. (1984). Clifford’s kitten. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Bruna, Dick. (1986). I am a Clown. NY: Methuen Children’s Books.

Bruna, Dick, (1986). When I’m Big. NY: Methuen Children’s Books.

Caple, Kathy. (2000). Well done, worm! Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.

Carle, Eric. (1994). The Very Hungry Caterpillar. NY: Philomel Books

Coats, Laura Jane. (1993). Alphabet garden. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company.

Coats, Lucy. (1992). One hungry baby. New York, NY: Crown Publishers Inc.

Cole, Joanna & Calmenson, Stephanie. Ill. By Alan Tiegreen. (1996). Bug in a rug. New York, NY: William Morrow & Company Inc.

Crews, Donald. (1999). Cloudy day, sunny day. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Inc.

Crump, Fred. (1970). Ringo the raccoon. US: Ideals Publishing Corporation.

Cushman, Jean. (1980). We help mommy. Wisconsin: Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Emberely, Ed. (1993). Go away big green monster. Toronto: Little Brown and Company.

Fox, Christyan and Diane. (2002). What shape is that Piggy Wiggy? NY: Handprint

Galdone, Paul. (1968). Henny Penny. NY: Clarion Books

Horban, Tana. (1983). I read Signs. NY: Greenwillow

Horban, Tana. (1974). Where is it? NY: MacMillan Publishing Co. Inc.

Isadora, Rachel. (1985). I see. NY: Greenwillow Books

Jonas, A. (1986). Now we can go. NY: Greenwillow Books

Karlin, Nurit. (1997). I See, You Saw. USA: Harper Trophy.

Katz, Bobbi. (1985). The runaway ball. Mexico: Intervisual Communications, Inc.

Lee, Dennis. Ill by Marie-Louise Gay. (1985). Lizzy’s Lion. NY: Stoddart Kids

Martin, Bill. (1967). Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? NY: Henry Holt and Company

Miller, Margaret. (1990). Who uses this? New York: Greenwillow Books.

Murray, W. Illustrated by: Martin Aitchison. (1977). I like to Write. Maine: Ladybird Books.

Numeroff, Laura Joffe. Ill by: Joe Mathieu. (1993). Dogs don’t wear Sneakers. NY: Simon & Schuster Books for young readers

Numeroff, Laura Joffe. Ill by: Felicia Bond. (1991). If you give a moose a muffin. NY: A Laura Geringer Book

Numeroff, Laura Joffe. Illustrated by: Felicia Bond. (1985). If you give a mouse a cookie? Toronto: Harper Collin Canada.

Numeroff, Laura Joffe. Ill by Lynn Munsinger. (1998). What mommies do best.

Raschka, Chris. (1993). Yo Yes? New York: Orchard Books.

Resnick, Jane and Susan Postcanser. A sunshine storybook: Fun time. New York: Modern Publishing.

Ryder, Stephanie. Illustrated by: Stephanie Ryder (1992). Bath time. England: Brimax Books.

Staw, Jenny. (1992). The house that Jack Built. NY: Dial books for young readers

Smith, Mavis. (1997). Mind your Manners, Ben Bunny. Toronto: Scholastic Inc.

Walsh, Ellen. Illustrated by: Ellen Walsh. (1989). Mouse Paint. New York: Harcourt Brace Children’s Book.

Werner, Jane. (1980). Alice in Wonderland meets the white rabbit.

Wisconsin: Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Wong, Janet S. Illustrated by: John Wallace. (2001). Grump. New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Yanase, Takashi. (1982). The world of fairy tales: Thumbelina. Tokyo: Froebel-kan co., Ltd.

Zemach, Kaethe. (1998). The Character in the book. US: Harper Collins Publisher

Help your child learn to read - A parents guide: Ontario Early Reading Strategies

Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum

Ontario grades 1-8 Language Curriculum

Reading Rainbow

Interactive Games

Between the Lions

Annotated Bibliograph (on Widget Wiki)

Ontario (2003). Early Reading Strategy: The Report of the Expert Panel on Early Reading in Ontario 2003. Retrieved October 22, 2004 from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/reading/index.html

Matthews, Klassen & Walter(1999). What is Reading Readiness? Retrieved November 4, 2004 from http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/ReferenceMaterials/GlossaryOfLiteracyTerms/WhatIsReadingReadiness.htm

Washington University in St. Louis (2003). Spelling Patterns Key to Helping Children Spell and Read. Retrieved October 28, 2004 from http://news-info.wustl.edu/tips/2003/culture-living/reading.html

Bower, D., (2001). Putting Knowledge to Work. Tips for Parents: Creating Reading Readiness. Retrieved October 24, 2004 from http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/PDF/CHFDE19-20%20ReadingReadiness.pdf

Weininger O., (1972). Ready or Not: Some Psychological Aspects of Readiness in Relation to Learning Effectiveness. Education (93) 2, 141-147. Retrieved October 30th, 2004 http://0-web19.epnet.com.innopac.lib.ryerson.ca/search.asp?tb=1&_ug=sid+C2E28765%2D2FAE%2D4D07%2D8C52%2DB174B066171E%40sessionmgr3+dbs+aph+cp+1+BF94&_us=hs+True+ss+SO+sm+ES+4B61&_uso=hd+False+db%5B0+%2Daph+1BEE&newsrch=1