Noticing Differences Between Teaching Reading and Teaching Children to Read

 

The holidays are almost here - the perfect opportunity 

to indulge in loving to read!

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In 2019 - 2020, every blog entry I wrote was about teaching children to read - exploring all the nuances related to reading and supporting children learning to read at home.  

These days I am exploring the personalization of learning in schools, based on 32 years of teaching children to learn to read.

When we teach reading, we use a series of lesson plans to teach specific skills and knowledge to children who are learning to read. In a perfect situation, every child would absorb those lessons, apply them and learn to read. Realistically, some children do learn to read by being taught arbitrary lessons - often these are children who have experiences with reading already and have previously at least begun to love reading.

When we teach children to read, we discover what they already know, where any learning misconceptions, delays or gaps in understanding exist, and then figure out how to best support and advance their understanding of reading until each child becomes a reader.

The real understanding of learning to read lies in the very succinct phrase coined by author Dav Pilkey at the beginning of this entry - 'reading is about love, not levels'. It is when a child learns to love reading, builds fluency and seeks out words to entertain, inform, find solace, laugh, cry, question, confirm, predict, clarify and explore, that a child becomes a true reader. Knowing patterns of letters, combinations and predictable arrangements generates a knowledge and awareness of reading but it does not necessarily create a reader.

Over the holidays, families have time and opportunity to foster a love of reading without the usual competing demands of extracurricular events and school.  Sharing stories, laughing, questioning, exploring, crying together over the adventures wrapped inside the words of beautiful texts offers tremendous opportunities for families to build traditions around communal experiences with texts.

My wish for every child this holiday season is that they fall in love with reading in every form - with being read to in person, listening to stories, reading stories together, reading stories independently, getting to know the genres of texts and choosing a favourite, identifying and finding favourite authors, illustrators, titles.  

That children will have conversations within families about favourite stories, stories they want to read, stories they want to write, to give, to share with each other.

This is what it means to teach a child to learn to love reading!

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and relaxing holiday celebrating special moments together this winter break!

Lorraine Kinsman, Principal

Eric Harvie School