Reading Skills

Types of Reading Approaches:Basal Reading ApproachPhonics ApproachLinguistics ApproachLanguage ExperienceIndividualised Reading

*Basal Reading ApproachBasal readers are textbooks used to teach reading and associated skills to schoolchildren A collection of short stories designed to illustrate and develop specific skills, which are taught in a strict pre-determined sequencehelps children not only know how to read but also to become readers

*Advantages:It is pre-planned thus eases the load on teachers, particularly those who are inexperienced. Specific skills can be easily targeted, tested, and remediated. Those with very controlled vocabulary usage may ease difficulties for beginner or weak readers.

*Phonic ApproachThe phonics approach teaches word recognition through learning grapheme-phoneme (letter-sound) associations. The student learns vowels, consonants, and blends, and learns to sound out words by combining sounds and blending them into words. By associating speech sounds with letters the student learns to recognize new and unfamiliar words

*Phonic Approach Activities:Meaningful sound input for vocabularyPhonological awarenessLetter-sound correspondences

Linguistics Approach

*This method uses a "whole word" approach. Words are taught in word families, or similar spelling patterns, and only as whole words. The student is not directly taught the relationship between letters and sounds, but learns them through minimal word differences. As the child progresses, words that have irregular spellings are introduced as sight words

Language ExperienceIt is an approach to reading in which the childs own language and experiences is used to create reading material.It is not a new idea but the computer and digital camera or scanner make the creation of attractive individual books very feasible.

AdvantagesIt integrates the four language processes.It is child centered.brings new reader to the text rather than the other way around.Aids comprehension..the reader and composer are one and the same person. The child understands that text carries meaningIt is enjoyable and allows the child and his or her life to become known.

Individualised learningIndividualized reading is an effective way to stimulate students to read on their own--as an experience rather than as an exercise.Individualized reading is a teacher-guided program in the reading of fiction which allows the student to choose what he reads over a continuous period of time. Individual conferences are held periodically to discuss the books the student has read and to check his progress

Multisensory ApproachThis method assumes that some children learn best when content is presented in several ways.Multisensory approaches that use tracing, hearing, writing, and seeing of letters and words are often referred to as VAKT (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile) methods.Multisensory techniques can be used with both phonics and linguistic approaches