Reading Problems
Meet Andy
Click the image to enlarge.
He is beginning 2nd grade. Last year his teacher was concerned about his lack of reading progress.
Before learning more about Andy, take a look at some of the components of reading to better understand Andy's difficulities in reading.
The 5 Big Ideas
The University of Oregon has created a web site to promote reading instruction breaking reading down into 5 essential components.
- Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words.
- Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words.
- Fluency with Text: The effortless, automatic ability to read words in connected text.
- Vocabulary: The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning.
- Comprehension: The complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between reader and text to convey meaning.
"The goal of all children reading proficiently and imaginatively at grade level by the end of third grade is well within our grasp. This web site is designed to provide information and technology to teachers, administrators, and parents across the country. With determination, vigor, and reliance on validated research, the goal of all children reading by the end of third grade will be reached."
-Big Ideas in Beginning Reading
How the Big Ideas Interact
All of the five components weave together to make up reading. Fluency wraps around the other 4 big ideas. It is important that a student's reading trajectory does not fall behind because research shows that catching up can be difficult.
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"The probability of remaining a poor reader at the end of fourth grade, given a child was a poor reader at the end of first grade, was .88 .... the probability of remaining an average reader in fourth grade, given an average reading ability in first grade, was .87."
(Juel, 1988)
