Models for Teaching Reading

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‘Explain, with examples, the contrasting approaches to the teaching of reading that you have experienced whilst on school placement and throughout the module. How do speaking and listening support the development of literacy skills?’ ‘The ability to read is the key to educational achievement. Without a basic foundation in literacy, children cannot gain access to a rich and diverse curriculum. Poor literacy limits opportunities not only at school, but throughout life, both economically and in terms of a wider enjoyment and appreciation of the written word.’(Education and Skills Select Committee, 2005). Overtime there have been various theoretical models with contrasting ideas of the teaching of reading from the top down model, interactive-compensatory and bottom up approach. I experienced aspects of these approaches during my school placement. The Top down model (Smith,1971; Goodman, 1970) assumes that the process starts with whole texts and words are sounded out only when necessary. This is also known as the whole language approach, using the context to predict the upcoming words in a sentence. It believes that children should focus on the meaning of what they read rather than sounding out the individual words repeatedly. ‘A book often seems to be not so much a text in which every word needs to be read, but rather a map in which a route is permissible in the journey towards making meaning.’ (Harrison & Coles, 2001) This supports the idea of learning to read through reading to learn ‘Children will become literate if they are placed in an environment that is rich in print and are encouraged to explore it.’ (Aronoff &Rees-Miller, 2001).Teachers supporting this theory would focus on the meaning and purpose of print, I observed this during my placement through activities like reading the children stories on a daily basis and helping children to use the

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