Reading Development

Amanda Bohlmann

Gender Differences

• On average, girls read better than boys• Girls are more likely to be enrolled in

advanced literature classes• Boys have less interest because there are

fewer books in school that hold their interests

Socioeconomic Differences• Low-income parents read to their children

regularly but they do not know how to promote literacy through activities

• On average, children from families with lower-income come to school with fewer literacy skills than children from middle and higher income families.

• As a result, those children from lower-income families fall behind

Ethnic & Cultural Differences

• Cultural backgrounds determine how a child interprets what they read.

• Educators must be sensitive to the childrens’ early literacy experiences and use them as a foundation for instruction for reading.

Cross-Linguistic Differences

• The more regular and predictable a language’s letter-sound relationships are, the easier children learn to read.

• English is less regular because some sounds cane be represented by two or more letters.

• In China, Taiwan and Japan, children are taught one or more alphabetic phonetic systems in writing before they are taught traditional characters which increases their phonological awareness.

Promoting Reading Development

General strategies for promoting reading development throughout childhood and

adolescence

Help Parents of Young Children Acquire Effective Storybook Reading Skills

• Parent has enthusiasm for the book when reading it to the child

• Uses content in book to review object labels• Children gain larger vocabularies and better

knowledge of written language• Children also have appreciation for literature

Mother: Do you wanna see the cow? Would you like to read with Mama? You ready for the cow? Where is he? [turns the page] Huh! The cow says…Baby: Mooo!Mother: What’s that? [points to something in the book]Baby: BoonMother: Balloon! We can count! One…Baby: Two.Mother: Two! [reading book] This is my nose. Where's’ your nose?Baby: [touches his nose]Mother: Nose! Where’s your toes?Baby: [grabs his toes]Mother: There’s your toes!

Use Meaningful and Engaging Activities to Teach Basic Reading Skills

• Children must know letter-sound relationships and recognition of common words to become effective readers

• Games of Twenty Questions can be used (I’m thinking of something in the room that starts with the letter B)

• Have children bring something in from home that starts with a certain letter

• Theorists urge that teachers strike a balance between whole-language activates and basic-skills exercises

Keep in Mind That Some Literacy Skills Transfer From One Language to Another

• English Language Learners read more quickly and successfully when they are taught to read in their native language

• As they get more proficient in English, they take on English reading materials

Identify and Address Reading Problems Early

• Children who struggle with reading tend to try to read as little as possible, limiting their opportunities to improve

• A gap between those who struggle and their peers widens over time as a result

• Children with early reading difficulties benefit from intensive letter recognition, phonological awareness, word identification and comprehension strategies

Use High-Interest Works of Fiction and Nonfiction

• Children do not like when reading is required because the books are not interesting to every child.

• Teachers and parents should choose reading materials that are likely to be relevant to young people’s own lives.

• They should also give children some choices about what to read.

Conduct Group Discussions About Stories and Novels

• Adults can form “book clubs” where children lead discussions about a book in small groups

• “Grand Conversations” where children are asked to share their responses with questions without right or wrong answers

• Children model effective reading by doing this

Have Children Use A Variety of Media to Capture Their Interpretations of What They read

• Perform skits• Write personal letters that one character

might send to another• Create works of art that illustrate the setting

or characters of the novel

Encourage Reading Outside School

• Reading during summer months• Providing books that children can take home

encourages outside reading• Visits to the local library