Jannah T.

Mambuay
BSN-2

Developing Strategic Readers

Children should be encouraged to think about what strategies they use while they
are reading. Poor readers tend to focus too heavily on visual cues (sounding out).
Reliance on visual cues forces the child to stop reading and focus attention on the part
of the sentence that is unknown. When time is spent focusing on the unknown,
comprehension suffers. When a child allows the cueing systems to interact, however,
attention is focused on the parts of the text that are known and this information is then
used to derive meaning.

Although it is tempting to intervene and supply the child with the correct
response, this action forces the reader to remain dependent on you (or other helpers).
Conversely, independent readers have learned how to apply self-monitoring and self-
correcting strategies to solve problems while reading. Parents and teachers can model
questions that foster strategic reading and lead children to think about the types of
strategies they use in the reading process.

Read patterned books. Books that have a repeating sentence, verse or pattern
are ideal for beginning readers. Repetition provides a scaffolding (Bruner, 1973) upon
which the reader can rely. The child is then free to focus attention on integrating the
three cueing systems for the limited parts of the text that are unfamiliar. It is appropriate
to begin a new book by looking at the pictures while you and your child discuss what is
likely to take place in the story. Next, as you read the book to the child, point to each
word. If the book is easy enough, the child may attempt to read or imitate your reading
of the book. Once this happens, the child generally loves to reread these familiar
stories. This activity should be strongly encouraged, for it helps the child build
confidence, strengthen phonetic skills, increase sight vocabulary, develop fluency and
integrate the cueing systems.

Insights:
Reading is a developmental task, the more children read, the more they will
improve. Children who are just beginning to read need encouragement and
support from the people around them, especially their parents. Parents should
feel comfortable in their attempts to teach reading skills at home and be able to
confidently participate in their child's development.
Faith Claire Caliao

BSN-2

Fostering Reading Strategies at Home

Learning to read is easier when the reader is presented with material containing
words easy to sound out. The stories in many beginning textbooks are written with a
specific teaching purpose or skill in mind. The vocabulary and sentence structures of
these stories are controlled by the publishers so that the stories can provide practice for
specific skills.

It was believed that children should not rely on picture cues while reading. Many
concerned adults worry when beginning readers rely heavily on picture cues. Gaining
information from pictures can be, however, an effective strategy for young readers.
Pictures help a reader 1) connect the ideas in the text with past experiences and
knowledge, 2) confirm the message being constructed from the print and 3) acquire new
information to enhance comprehension. It is natural for children to move from picture-
governed strategies to print-governed strategies as they become mature readers. As
Holdaway (1979) explains, "Gradually, the pictures on the page should be replaced by
the 'picture in your head'; i.e., personal imagery constructed as the story unfolds".

It was believed that children would develop poor reading habits if they pointed to
words as they read. It is now believed that pointing is an effective strategy for young
readers to use (Holdaway, 1979). When teachers and parents model (by pointing to
each word while reading with children), the child begins to understand that the printed
symbols represent spoken words. This modeling also demonstrates that print moves
systematically from the upper left-hand corner of the page to the bottom right-hand
corner. Children should be encouraged to imitate these same procedures. Once
children become aware of the conventions of print and develop self-confidence as
readers, their reliance on pointing diminishes.

Insights: