Beyond Sounding It Out: Prompts to Build Strong Readers

“Sound it out” is perhaps the most commonly heard advice handed down from adult to new reader. As kids learn to read, they definitely need to know their letter sounds and how to blend sequences of sounds together to form words. No doubt about it, “sound it out” is a very good prompt for new readers who are faced with an unknown word such as c-a-t, u-p, or y-e-s.

But “sound it out” has its limits. Do you know what happens when you use this prompt for the word “right” or “one” or “people?” You are likely to hear a hopeless jumble of letter sounds that may sound something like “rig-hut” or “on-ee” or “pee-o-plee”…and that’s if you’re lucky. While the reader is busy decoding nonsense sounds, she will have completely lost track of what she was reading in the first place!

The purpose of reading is always to construct meaning, so we want to emphasize this even with the most beginning readers. Reading is much more than stringing sequences of sounds together; reading is a complex process of constructing meaning out of text through a variety of sources. We want readers who can decode AND comprehend.  We want to make sure our prompts support the development of a variety of problem-solving skills and reading strategies. That’s where the well-chosen prompt becomes very useful.

Good readers use three cuing systems: Visual, syntactic, and meaning. This means good readers are simultaneously making sense of a text through visual clues (letter sounds, sight words, word chunks, beginning-middle-end of words, pictures); syntax (how the text sounds); and meaning (what is the text saying?). Good readers have strategies to problem solve unknowns as they read using all three cuing systems. They monitor their own reading.  They know when something isn’t right (known as a “miscue”) because it doesn't make sense, look right, or sound right, and they have strategies to fix errors (self-correction).

I find the most useful first prompt for emerging readers at point of difficulty is: “Get ready with the first sound.” Often emerging readers can get the first letter sound of a word, such as “b” in balloon, even if they don’t have any idea what that word is! We always want to prompt readers to make the first sound of a word (and later the first chunk). By doing this, it eliminates possibilities that don’t make any visual sense. For instance, say we have the sentence “I like balloons,” and the reader is stuck at balloons. If she makes the “b” sound, she is not going to guess the word “cake”, even if there is a cake in the picture, too.

“Can the picture help you?” For very beginning readers, the first letter sound, combined with a picture clue can help the reader make a solid try at an unknown word. Say the reader uses the “b” sound and the picture, then “reads” the word “balloon.” The next prompt could encourage visual checking: “That makes sense. You read I like balloons. We know this word starts with “b.” What letter would you expect to see at the end of the word balloon?” Then, the child looks to the end of the word for another visual/sound clue to check the word.

The point is, there are a variety of prompts to help readers develop all three cuing systems. Here are some possible options developed by Marie Clay to consider when young readers hit a point of difficulty:

Prompts for meaning
Did that make sense?
Can the picture help you?
What do you think it might be?

Prompts for syntax (sound)
Did that word sound right?
How would we say that?

Prompts for Visual information
Does that look right?
What sound does the word start with?
What would you expect to see at the beginning, middle, and end?
Do you see a chunk you know in that word?
Are you looking carefully at the letters?

Prompts for self-monitoring
Try that again.
Check that word. Were you right?
How did you know that?

Prompts for self-correcting
Point to the tricky part. What do you know that can help you?
Are you right about ___________? Could it be __________?
Take a closer look at that word.
Did you check the middle of the word?
The word __________ would make sense, but look at __________.

There are many choices for prompting young readers. We want our prompts to open doors to allow independent problem solving and to support the construction of meaning. Because of this, I am always very sparing in my use of the “sound it out” prompt. In certain cases, it is the best possible thing to say. But in others, those three words can lead a child into a confusing string of incomprehensible letter sounds. It can be like falling into a well. It’s hard to get out of there.

References:

California Early Literacy Learning; Swartz & Shook, 1994; Swartz, Shook, & Klein, 1998.

Clay, Marie; Reading Recovery

The Cursive Controversy

The Cursive Controversy

Apparently while I wasn't looking cursive was pronounced obsolete.  I’d heard rumors for years, but assumed that educators would never allow such a reality to take hold for one overriding, undeniable reason:  Fluency.   Writing fluency is one of the most important keys to a child’s long-term school success.

Those who feel cursive has been rendered unnecessary argue that computer technology has replaced the need for cursive, and time in school can be better spent on other things.  Really?  Cursive is a free and accessible tool (unlike a laptop) which gives the writer the speed needed for increasing levels of academic work; the act of hand writing class notes is often used as a memorization tool; fluidity of handwriting allows thoughts to flow onto paper; and learning cursive is a rite of passage, which tells the young writer, “Your writing is growing up, just like you.  Now you are able to write in cursive.” Kids feel proud when they graduate to cursive. Little kids can't wait for it, and often proudly mimic cursive loops on their papers. Oh, and if they know how to sign their name in cursive they will definitely show you...many times. No doubt about it, there is joy in cursive.

Many students come to me because they don’t have writing fluency.  And guess what else they don’t have?  The ability to write in cursive.  More frequently than ever, kids are not learning cursive in school.  Even if they do, they are no longer required to use cursive as their standard classroom writing, so they continue to print.  I think computers and keyboarding are great tools for writing, but cursive is a skill our kids (and future adults) still very much need in their repertoire.

1.  Not all students or adults have laptops.  Cursive is a tool of independently fluent writers of all levels.  If you prefer writing on a laptop and you have one in class or in your business meeting, great!  But we want all students to grow up with the writing fluency skills to handle high school and college lectures, as well as work meetings, even if they don’t have access to a computer.  We’ve heard that education helps create a level playing field…well cursive helps create equity in skill to access that education.

2.  Cursive writing gives the fluency needed for academic mastery:  This summer I worked with an advanced student who is entering high school.  One of the tasks we were preparing her for was taking and organizing notes.  She told me she felt like she had a hard time keeping up with lecture note taking.  Her handwriting was beautiful, but I noticed she didn’t use cursive.  Although she learned it in school, her teachers never required her to use it, so it didn’t integrate.  Now she finds she doesn’t always have the writing speed she needs in the classroom.  How many kids find themselves unnecessarily put at this disadvantage?

3.  The fluidity of cursive helps the thought process flow:  We’ve all experienced feeling stuck in our writing.  Oftentimes the act of writing, even nonsense or repetition, helps free the writing process up.  Remember this:  “I don’t know what to write…I don’t know what to write…Peter hoped no one would ask him how the game went….”  Ah, there we go…unstuck.  It is my experience that the fluidity of creating cursive letters allows for fluidity of thinking.  For me, the loopier the handwriting, the more ease of thought.  The slower one writes, the harder it is to get unstuck.  It’s like being in a writing ditch with your tires rolling in the mud.  One of the reasons I love cursive is because intrinsically it brings fluidity, flow, and movement into the writing and thinking process.

I know not everyone is as enamored of cursive as I am, and that’s fine. And for kids with dysgraphia, keyboarding is the best possible mode to attain writing fluency. How we write is not as important as having what it takes to get the job done. And from what I see, cursive should still be a tool in the toolbox. 

As far as I’m concerned there is only one bright side to this whole cursive debacle.  I’ve always wanted to know a secret code, and now it turns out I do.  It’s just that I always imagined the code would look something like E#$% @@%$ *&+_!~ $#?>

as opposed to “I bet you can’t tell what I wrote.” 

Ode to Blogging: Confessions of a Writing Teacher

Confession #1: I learned to blog from a thirteen year old.

Okay, I admit it. I learned to blog from one of my thirteen-year-old students. This is ironic on many levels, and we’ll start with the fact that I am supposed to be the teacher. Also, it seems I take my IT advice from a student who, in the not-so-distant past, insisted on eschewing the computer and instead wrote her papers on an old-fashioned typewriter. One day, she even brought the forty-pound clunker to class. While I loved hearing the nostalgic click, click of the keys as she waxed poetic, if you’re old enough you may remember one has to press firmly when typing on a manual. Thus, as she typed, the table shook mercilessly. Needless to say, SHE was able to write that day, but no one else in the group got a thing done. That’s when I developed a new rule I didn’t know I needed: No typewriters at writing group. (Lesson: You can actually create writer’s block from being shaken. Who knew?)

Confession #2: I was wrong. Blogs do not belong in the category of virtual pets.

My overall opinion about electronic media is that it usually makes a writing teacher’s job harder. I remember when the biggest electronic “problems” I had to overcome were that students watched too much television and played video games. (“They have no imagination! They don’t know how to construct a plot!”) Oh, those were the days. Now children have cell phones, e-mail, virtual on-line pets they are very concerned with feeding, Facebook pages, My Space, texting, and Twitter. All of this translates to the literal rewiring of the brain for constant self-interruption and a dependence on technology for tasks I frankly believe the brain should be responsible for. And don’t get me started on the search and replace computer thesaurus…or the prevailing view that complete sentences are optional and misspellings are cute. U no?

But, ah, the blog is so refreshing. Real writing happens on blogs. Themes and opinions are developed on blogs. Creativity, a concern with presentation and audience, wordsmithing…oh, thank you, thank you. Finally, technology I can work with.

Confession #3: Blogs can make a teacher’s job easier.

Here are some of the benefits of using blogs as a potential tool when teaching writing:

1. Blogs allow for tremendous flexibility: Blogs can be used by individual writers or by groups of writers. I’ve assigned students to develop individual research blogs and, oh, the results! For group creative writing, a group blog became the container for a fictional world developed by five writers in five voices. The result? We have an 80-page collaborative manuscript. Group poetry blogs, personal journal blogs, informational blogs, opinion-related blogs…it’s an endless universe of blogosphere potential.

2. Blogs give teachers instant access: I no longer have to wait until a writer brings her notebook for me to read over; nor do I have to keep it to review. As a teacher or parent, blogs give one immediate access to kids’ writing work; I can check what my students have been working on at any time during the week.

3. Blogs allow for interactive feedback: The ability to comment on a blog is pure beauty! I assign each student to read their classmates' blogs and make an insightful comment to their peer. They also give feedback about what subtopic they would like the next writing installment to cover. Each writer not only gets a good pulse on their readers’ interests and questions, they understand their work is interactive and has an impact on others.

4. Blogs build audience awareness and purpose into writing: It can be hard to convince kids they actually have an audience or purpose for their work beyond the teacher. (Yes, I try to tell them how very important my opinion is, but for some reason they often don’t believe me.) A lack of purpose or sense of audience makes writing feel boring and meaningless. Blogs change that. When kids see their work appear on the computer screen, they have a deep sensory experience of the power and effect of their words. They experience writing in its most potent form -- as a way to communicate and define one’s self and ideas to an audience. I’m not talking three pieces of notebook paper stacked on a teacher’s desk type of audience. That’s old school. Potentially they could be heard globally. Wow, now that’s a lot to think about.

And so I end this piece with an Ode to Blogs…

Oh, blogs, you give me new hope.
Ideas and images dance across the screen
breathing new life
into dead space
ushering in the click, click, click of possibility.


And by the way, my young blogging instructor has now set up a blog on how to set up a blog. You can check it out at http://howtoblog-spot.blogspot.com/.

Giving Young Writers Feedback - Walking a Fine Line

Yes, it’s a fine line when working with young writers.  We want to encourage, support,  build enthusiasm and confidence, but we also want to see true growth and mastery.  Too much feedback, and you get an overwhelmed, cranky, shut-down little writer.  Not enough feedback, and kids miss the opportunity to grow, learn, and meet new writing challenges.  When done well, giving feedback with suggestions is one of the most powerful tools you can use to grow your child’s understanding of writing.  Done poorly, well, that’s when I receive 911 calls.  Luckily, there are a few secrets to the art of walking the fine line.

1.         Create a routine for giving feedback, so it becomes part of your child’s writing process.

2.         Don’t go overboard…choose “working” pieces and let the rest go.

3.         Writing is first and foremost about communication, so always, always respond to content first.  For example, “The scene where Thomas tries to sell his sister was really a funny addition to your story,” or “your essay made me see the issue in an entirely new way.”  You get the idea…but keep it authentic.

4.         Give positive feedback before suggestions.  Good writing feedback is not just about “criticism.”  Writers need to hear what they are doing right…. “Your description of the dragon was so vivid, especially the sound and smell details you wove in.”  Or, “I never thought of  researching the real-life attributes of mockingbirds when discussing symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird, great original thinking.” Acknowledging what has been done well builds confidence, solidifies the skill, encourages future willingness to take risks in writing, and builds trust so your child will also be able to hear your suggestions. 

5.         CHOOSE, yes, choose, ONE suggestion to make to the writer.  You want your feedback to be a focused pearl of wisdom…that which will make the biggest improvement in the writing at this moment in time.  If the story doesn’t make sense, I wouldn’t recommend giving feedback on adding adjectives.  You may say, “I couldn’t really follow why Peter left the house.  It didn’t make sense.   Can you tell me why he did that?”  Oh, believe me, your little writer will have a very involved, well-reasoned explanation about why Peter left the house, and will patiently tell you all the details.  That’s when you say, “Well, I think you would really have a fantastic story if you added those parts.  Can you put them in?”  For older writers, your pearl might sound something like: “Your two supporting points are really repeating the same information.  I think your essay would be stronger if you combined those two points….”

6.         Warning:  Kids don’t always take our feedback…even when you know you’ve just blessed them with such sage writing advice they should be kissing your feet.   Have a sense of humor, congratulate yourself on a job well done, and know that in spite of all appearances to the contrary, you have planted a seed that will grow.