This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.”
I learned to love reading as a kid, spellbound by wizarding worlds and ghost stories. I wanted to share this love, so I became an intervention teacher, working with struggling readers and special education students.
Kids love reading. I don’t care what think pieces say about screen addiction, children still gravitate towards books. If they can’t read, they like looking at the pictures in “Dogman” or listening to Junie B.’s antics.
In my eight years of teaching in Philadelphia and its suburbs, I’ve worked with first through fifth graders from diverse racial and economic backgrounds. I’ve worked in both low-performing schools and higher-performing ones, and the same problem keeps cropping up: So many kids can’t read. I’ve seen first graders who don’t know what sound “a” makes and fifth graders who can’t read two-syllable words.
Why is this happening? People blame COVID, but the problem predates the pandemic.
As long as I’ve been teaching, I’ve seen students ushered grade to grade, even when they are several grade levels behind. And there’s pressure on teachers to move too quickly through content. Halfway through first grade, direct reading instruction may get phased out for standardized test skills, such as main idea and inferences. The content just keeps getting harder, especially as reading becomes a key part of all subjects, even math. If they can’t read by third grade, they have a much harder time catching up and are less likely to graduate from high school, research has shown.
- I didn’t learn how to teach reading in my teacher prep program - July 18, 2023
- 4 pieces of advice for aspiring tutors - July 18, 2023
- Effective SEL instruction isn’t possible without this key element - July 17, 2023