We started the year with something that is very close to our hearts. Last February 23, 2020, we had the wonderful opportunity to partner with Teacher Anne Marie Dimalanta of A Child’s D.R.E.A.M. Foundation and conducted reading assessments for their students. The activity was conducted at Maryknoll Ecological Sanctuary in Baguio City. The event started with a parents’ orientation which talked about how parents observe different types of reading behaviors. Here are some key takeaways from the orientation:
Sight Reading vs. Phonetic Reading
Simply put, sight reading is when kids read words based on their memory of these words. You may notice this when you frequently read a book together, and your child seems to naturally be able to read the book because the words have now become very familiar. Phonetic reading on the other hand is when your child attempts to read the word by sounding out the letters and blending them together to read the word.
So which one is better for early readers? To be a fluent reader, we actually need both types of reading . Sight words will allow the child to read the words so much faster but phonetic reading on the other hand provides the strategy for reading words accurately.
Fast, Slow, Very Slow Reader
Sometimes parents feel instinctively that their child may not be reading at par with peers. It can be quiet difficult to pinpoint exactly what the difficulty is but taking note of your child’s reading speed may help. Is your child reading confidently at a moderate speed? Does your child pause in between words or phrases which results in choppy reading? Does your child need to track the words with his or her finger or lose his place during reading? When the skill of reading words correctly is still not there yet, reading sentences then becomes more difficult. A good gauge for determining if your child has mastered reading the word is to count how many seconds it takes to read the word. It should not take more than two to three seconds.
I Read. I Forgot.
I’m sure a lot of parents can relate to this! It is important to note that there are three levels of comprehension- picture comprehension, listening comprehension and reading comprehension. Listening comprehension is when the child understands what was stated to him or her verbally, while reading comprehension is when the child understands what he or she has read. Some kids may be better with listening comprehension and vice-versa. As with kids of all ages, the ability to read with speed and accuracy affects reading comprehension. As more time and effort is spent on trying to read words, there is lesser time to understand what was read. There are some other instances however when comprehension is not affected by reading fluency but by the child’s grasp of language. In this case, a different approach may be needed.
We hope the takeaways help! We’ll keep you posted with more reading tips and strategies.