Building Capacity for Strengthening ‘Reading with Meaning’

in the Early YearsPresented at the

National Conference on Early Learning : Status and the Way Forward

New Delhi, September 2013

Zakiya KurrienCentre for Learning Resources, Pune

Can children ‘read’, and yet not read?Yes, they can ‘decode’ words and sentences, but

many children do not understand what they read.

Reading is

deriving meaningfrom the

printed word

Teachers’ Understanding of ‘Teaching Reading’(Classroom observations and teacher interviews)

• Teach by breaking up each word, letter by letter, syllable by syllable

• Teacher reads aloud, students repeat in unison Meaning explained by teacher

• ‘Reading’ is only oral reading, never independent silent reading

• Teacher asks a question after passage is read; teacher states answer; several students asked to repeat the answer

Teachers’ Understanding of ‘Reading Comprehension’

Grounded in a transmission model of reading, i.e. meaning to be conveyed by teacher to studentvsStudents to interpret text by acquiring certain comprehension strategies

(Video clip)

Teacher development for teaching Reading with Meaning

• The skills involved in ‘reading with meaning’ go beyond visual recognition of printed words

• Meaning does not reside in the printed words Meaning is constructed by the reader

Helping teachers to understand that

• socio-cultural information• semantic information• syntactic information• grapho-phonic information

Meaning is constructed through

Sharing with teachers what Cognitive Psychology tells us about the reading process

A schema is the internally organised knowledge of the world that the reader brings to the reading process.Children develop ‘schemata’ – units of background knowledge – through everything they experience.The more limited a child’s experiences, the more likely she/he will have difficulty deriving meaning from what is read.Hence, the significance of cognitive stimulation and wealth of experiences in early childhood.

Importance of ‘Schema’

What Cognitive Neuroscience tells us about the reading processReading has a large biological component whose role is critical in the early stages of literacy acquisitionConcept of working memory : holds the information that one is currently thinking of Working memory is like a sponge – moving about 12 seconds behind people’s thoughts and wiping the slateThe verbal buffer can only hold about 7 items for about 12 secondsHence, to understand a sentence, the mind must read it fast enough to capture it within the time limit of the working memory. Children must read at least 45-60 words per minute to understand what is read.

Implications for policies and programmes

- Spread awareness amongst education departments, school principals and teachers, about existing ineffective classroom practices

- Provide a wide range of resources for a print-rich environment, in each classroom and in the community

- Reform assessment, to test reading achievement differently

Implications for policies and programmes

- Strengthen knowledge of teacher trainers regarding issues in ‘reading with meaning’, and sound pedagogy

- Include special focus on reading pedagogy in pre-service and inservice teacher training curricula – for both preschool and primary school teachers

Reading achievement in the context of RTE The case for effective teaching-learning at

preschool and primary level

Already good comprehenders

read more

Further spurt in comprehensionIncreases achievement differences between them and

their age-mates who have not learned to read with understanding

The Mathew Effect

The cognitive consequences of reading achievementEarly and efficient acquisition of reading with meaning yields faster rates of growth in cognitive skills, critical thinking

Rich-get-richer, poor-get-poorer effects embedded in the socio-developmental context of schooling

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1. 3 broad areas that influence ability to read with meaning :

- Background knowledge and experiences - Development of spoken language- Desire to read

2. Specific skillsPhonological awareness ; Phoneme awareness ; Letter-sound association ; Orientation to print ; etc.

3. Opportunities for meaning-making through a print-rich, visually rich classroom environment

Focus areas in CLR teacher training for reading readiness in preschool and Class 1

Classroom Library(Graded selection for Classes 1 & 2)

Picture books with 1 or 2

words per page

Text of 2-3 lines per page

with pictures

Story books with simple sentence structures

Story books & poetry for

reading aloud to children

Devising activities for reading with meaning

(Level : Class 2-3)

Matching

Examples of Items1.Sharad Kaka has a long

face, large ears and a beard

2.Pramod Kaka has a long face and he is wearing a cap

3.Ashok Kaka has a round face and he is wearing glasses

Etc.

Matching

Decide who is speaking each of the sentences given below1.“Oh dear, I dropped the

milk”2.“Come, I’ll help to wipe it

off”3.“Wow! Nice milk for me”Etc.

Understanding and drawing

Understanding sequence and re-writing

Read what Abhay does everyday. Then copy the sentences in correct order.

Cloze

ClassifyingHere are 10 children’s responses (numbers 1 – 10) when asked about pet dogs. Sort their answers by putting a (ü) in the correct box.

E.g. Child 1 : I love dogs. I would love to have a pet dogChild 2 : I am afraid of dogs. A dog bit me once.Child 3 : Keeping a pet dog costs a lot of money.

üü

Comparing If each pair of sentences has the same meaning, put a (ü). If the meaning is different, put a (l).

l

Deducing

Sunita has lost her chappals. Everyone is trying to help her to remember where they could be. Can you figure out where she left them?

Validating

Where is each object on the shelves? If the sentence is true, put a (ü). If it is false, put a (x). If you can’t say, put a (l).

E.g.1. The vase is on the

bottom shelf.2. The photo is on the top

shelf.3. The mobile phone is not

working.l

ü