Thinking back to the early years of elementary school I can vividly remember my teacher telling me to "sound it out." In this article it states that a main way children learn to read and develop their reading system is through powerful interactions with teachers. A way that many successful teachers teach their children to read is through "Coaching." Coaching word recognition is when a teacher creates cues to prompt the reader to think on the edge of their knowledge while they attempt to familiarize themselves with unfamiliar words.
In the case study that was conducted it said that the teacher can give the child two types of cues, general and focused. General cues prompt thought while focused cues prompt the child to specific action. I really like the support the students are given through the cues because I feel like "Sound it out" can cause a student a lot of anxiety and gives them very little direction. I really liked when the teacher asked them to use the pictures for help and had them touch certain letters and say aloud the sounds. One suggestion that I really liked was involving other children. For example, while a child may be trying to sound out a word they are unfamiliar with the teacher can ask what everyone else thinks the word may be.
What helped you when it came to learning unfamiliar words? How will you use coaching in your classroom?
What can I say besides "Sound it out?": Coaching word recognition in begging reading. The Reading Teacher, 57, 440-449.
I couldn't agree more! Now the key is knowing when to make those general cues and specific cues which will probably vary depending on each students individual needs!
ReplyDeleteGreat points here. Love your reference at the end. And we will learn more about cueing systems tomorrow in class!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the 'sounding it out' strategy can be stressful for young readers, often leaving them taking random guesses. I think that the coaching style helps them learn specific steps to figure out new words, giving them confidence and resources.
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