Sound it Out

      Young children and their families often indicate that sounding it out is a prominent  and useful reading strategy. It is a "cultural model for reading that is repeatedly voiced by students and their parents"(Compton-Lilly, 2005, p. 449). Despite, society' focus on sounding in out and phonics, "it is essential that children develop multiple strategies for solving words in text" (Compton-Lilly, 2005, p. 450). In the classroom I work in during field experience, the teacher explicitly teach strategies for word solving. The strategies are added to the wall as they are taught.
       I have observed my cooperating teacher do two mini lessons where the subject was reading strategies such as skip the word and come back and use the picture to guess the word.  During the mini lesson, the teacher would model how to use the strategy and then the students would practice with the teacher. After the mini lesson, the students had daily five where where they read to self. My cooperating teacher and I walked around to listen to students read. When I sat with one boy, he got stuck on the word ocean. I suggested that he use the picture that showed a whale swimming underwater. He then was able to correctly figure out the word on his own.
       However, sometimes the first strategy tried doesn't work and another one is necessary. Although, the boy above was able to figure out the word ocean by using the picture, initially I suggested that he skip the word and come back. He wasn't successful using that strategy and needed to try something else. As Compton-Lilly asserted, children should develop multiple strategies because some will work better than others in different situations.

Reference:
Compton-Lilly, C. (2005). "Sounding it out": A pervasive cultural model of reading. Language Arts. 82(6).

Focusing On the Strengths

      When teaching reading or any subject, it is important for the teacher to focus on the strengths of a child rather than his or her weaknesses. All children develop skills at a different pace. When teachers focus on weaknesses, they are comparing the child to his or her peers in a negative way.
      Teachers need to assess the skills the child does possess and then decide how lessons can be structured to help the student progress in their education. In the text, the authors assert that "teaching is most effective (and learning is most likely to happen) when it takes place within the child's zone of proximal development" (Keier & Johnson, 2010, p. 31). Every child's zone will be unique to  their individual needs. To determine a child's zone of proximal development, the teacher must look at what the child can do and what they are ready for. The skills they cannot do are irrelevant and not as significant.
        It is especially important that teachers make an effort to make note of a child's strengths and document their skills Cusumano notes in her article that "most family and community members will notice the apparent mistakes before noticing the strengths of the piece" (2008, p. 11). Teachers are responsible for educating the families and the community about how to look at a child's work. Focusing on mistakes can damage a child's confidence and lead parents to believe that highly structured drill instruction is best.
       A child's strengths and skills informs instruction better than looking at weaknesses. By looking at what they can do, teachers can prepare appropriate lessons that readies them for the next step.

References:
Johnson, P. & Keier, K. (2010). Catching readers before they fall: Supporting students who struggle, K-4. Portland, MN: Stenhouse Publishers. 

Cusumano, K.F. (2008). Every mark on the page: educating family and community members about young children's writing. Language Arts. 86 (1).

Thinking About Early Concepts of Reading

        Typically, adults view reading instruction as learning the letters and sounds of each word. While they focus on phonics, they neglect the many other aspects of learning how to read and write. As students are learning how to read, they must master directionality, voice/print match, fluency, phonemic awareness, self-monitoring, and thinking strategies in addition to phonics and letter identification.
        Children in K-3 will easily pick up on some of the concepts such as directionality and phonemic awareness without much extra guidance (Keier & Johnson, 2010, p. 120). But students who are struggling may need one-on-one focused instruction. Assessments at the beginning of the year can reveal each child's individual strengths and weakness. Using that information, teachers can build upon what the students know and assign appropriate activities.
        The text, Catching Readers Before They Fall: Supporting Readers who Struggle, K-4, goes through each skill and suggest activities for struggling students and simple ways to embed the concepts into everyday instruction. For example, teachers can model fluency when reading books out loud to the class. Also, particular texts may support a skill while others don't. Fluency is easier to achieve in texts with "characters talking" (Keier & Johnson, 2010, p. 125) or "with sing-song patterns" (Keier & Johnson, 2010, p. 125). Teachers should consider their goals when they choose a book and analyze its presentation, its meaning, and its relevance to the class.

Refrences
Johnson, P. & Keier, K. (2010). Catching readers before they fall: Supporting students who struggle, K-4. Portland, MN: Stenhouse Publishers.