Moats and Shaywitz are to sane and appropriate reading instruction as the fear mongers are to Obama's health plan. A list about reading comprehension such as Mosaic should be questioning the "research" of Moats and Shaywitz (I'm not as familiar with Torgeson) not supporting it.
I'd like to hear how people on this list are going to start their strategy instruction for the year. Elisa Elisa Waingort Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual Dalhousie Elementary Calgary, Canada The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. —Helen Keller Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ Donna, You are correct in that phonics is not as important to reading as it is to spelling. However, there is extensive research that links knowledge of phonics to reading for readers. Louisa Moats has been an advocate for many years of phonics instruction and has written several books on reading but specifically her "Speech to Print" makes direct connections between phonics and reading as does the work of Torgeson at Florida and Shaywitz at Yale. The ability to decode print, which is what phonics allows a child to do, affects their ability to read more difficult text. Some readers figure out the speech to print code on their own and other readers need explicit instruction to learn the code. At some point, phonics becomes more about language structure, specifically when it comes to learning about suffixes, prefixes, root words, all which influence meaning/comprehension. . Perhaps the best perspective is the one from the child who struggles with reading until a wise and well trained tutor guides him into the discovery of words and reading through phonics. For me, this is the only proof I need to validate phonics use in reading. Deidra Chandler MA Early Childhood Ed MA Reading MultiSensory Structured Language Intervention Tutor ----- Original Message ----- From: "Storti, Donna" <stori...@ssd.k12.pa.us> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org>; "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 5:03 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] phonics instruction--long > Hi, > Regarding phonics, I had an extremely wise professor (28 years ago!!) that > said, "Phonics has a place, but not in reading." > Donna > > ________________________________ > > From: mosaic-bounces+storidon=ssd.k12.pa...@literacyworkshop.org on behalf > of Stewart, L > Sent: Fri 7/31/2009 12:42 PM > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] phonics instruction--long > > > > Deirdre, > To make you feel better, I am one of those teachers who does not like to > teach phonics. I try my best, but for me it is difficult to make that > time in my classroom "fun" and I find myself continually letting the > direct instruction go in favor of editing writing in a one-on-one > conference. I think it does go back to the fact that I never received any > training (even though I have an English BS and an Elementary Ms in > education). Perhaps administrators assume it is an easy thing to teach > and figure we can all teach it well. I have been in the field for 15 > years and have had very little professional development other than our > district buys knew programs (Fountas and Pinnell Word Study/Buddy Study) > and assumes we will intrinsically be proficient at teaching it. Many of > us were never taught to read through explicit phonics instruction and we > have not been sufficiently educated ourselves. Sometimes just reading a > text on our own isn't enough. > > Leslie R.Stewart > Grade 3 Teacher > lstew...@branford.k12.ct.us > 203-481-5386, 203-483-0749 FAX > > To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, > ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of > poetry. ~ Gaston Bachelard ~ > ________________________________________ > From: mosaic-bounces+lstewart=branford.k12.ct...@literacyworkshop.org > [mosaic-bounces+lstewart=branford.k12.ct...@literacyworkshop.org] On > Behalf Of djchan [djc...@charter.net] > Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 8:27 AM > To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] phonics instruction--long > > Elisa, > I guess that sentence did imply that, but it was meant as a more generic > response to teachers who don't like teaching phonics because it's boring > or > they don't comprehend the importance of it. So many teachers on other > mailrings complain about teaching phonics because all they have is an > adopted reading series from which to gain information. I suppose that > would > cause anyone to hate teaching phonics. More and better teacher training is > one answer but that's also another story.:) > > Deidra Chandler > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Waingort Jimenez, Elisa" <elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca> > To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" > <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> > Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 2:25 AM > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] phonics instruction--long > > > Hi Deirdre, > It was this line in your first post that initiated my response: "Don't > abandon what the students need just because you don't like to teach it!" > Thanks for clarifying your thinking. > Elisa > > Elisa Waingort > Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual > Dalhousie Elementary > Calgary, Canada > > The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even > touched. They must be felt within the heart. > -Helen Keller > > Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. > http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ > > > Elisa, > I'm sorry you inferred from my ramblings that I think teachers on this > list > don't want to teach phonics. As someone posted earlier, I believe we all > agree that it needs to be taught, the vehicle for it's delivery is > different. I am a huge advocate for direct instruction for those who are > lagging behind. I also enjoy using guided discovery for those who are able > to identify patterns within words presented. I am a long time user of > Words > Their Way and have witnessed the increase in spelling and vocabulary from > this program. I am also trained in Multisensory Structured Language > Instruction which gives me a different perspective on phonics, spelling, > and > language. In my work with students in K-3 I have always provided a > balanced > literacy program. > > I am glad we can agree on the importance of phonics in our schools. > Perhaps > our definition of phonics should include spelling patterns and language > patterns as a natural extension of our phonics instruction. I have no > plans > to be contentious about this. I, like many others, am very passionate > about > this subject and hoped to interject some clarity into the postings. > Perhaps > I overdid it with the passion thing. My apologizes. > > Deidra Chandler > MA Early Childhood Ed > MA Reading > MultiSensory Structured Language Intervention Tutor > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Waingort Jimenez, Elisa" <elwaingor...@cbe.ab.ca> > To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" > <mosaic@literacyworkshop.org> > Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 6:10 PM > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] phonics instruction--long > > > Deirdre, > Where did you get the idea that teachers, especially on this list, don't > want to teach phonics?? If anything can be said about teachers on this > list, and other lists I belong to, is that we will do whatever we need to > do > in order to help our students not only improve as readers and writers but > also create an environment that allows them to develop the intrinsic > motivation to read and write. What I don't do is teach phonics to all my > students regardless of need or teach phonics out of context. Otherwise, > whatever I think my students need and want I will teach. > Elisa > > Elisa Waingort > Grade 2 Spanish Bilingual > Dalhousie Elementary > Calgary, Canada > > The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even > touched. They must be felt within the heart. > -Helen Keller > > Visit my blog, A Teacher's Ruminations, and post a message. > http://waingortgrade2spanishbilingual.blogspot.com/ > > Don't abandon what the students need > just because you don't like to teach it! Or worse, don't think that > because > the phonics is imbedded in the lesson all children will internalize the > information and transfer it to working knowledge. We do need to recognize > all children's learning needs are different and accommodate accordingly. > All > children in your classroom may not need the same intensity of phonics > instruction, but some children will. Isn't it our job as teachers to teach > to and for our students? > > Deidra Chandler > MA Early Childhood Ed > MA Reading > MultiSensory Structured Language Intervention Tutor > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> _______________________________________________ >> Mosaic mailing list >> Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >> _______________________________________________ >> Mosaic mailing list >> Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. >> >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. 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