I
do think that some phonological awareness mentioned in the video is needed for
children to learn how to read. I don’t however think that it is the most
important strategy though. The nonsense word test I feel is completely absurd
and meaningless. I do not understand the point of reading words that have no
meaning at all. Understanding text is the purpose of reading. Reading nonsense words
is completely defeating the purpose.
A
reader needs many other strategies in order to become a proficient reader. A
proficient reader is defined as being effective and efficient. He or she needs
to be able to also understand the words that are read. A proficient reader uses
graphic cues, schema, syntax, semantics, and context to gain meaning from what
he or she is reading. The readings in the book have shown me that a student can
sound out many words and pronounce them correctly, but if he or she does not
understand the meaning of the word, then the child is not truly reading.
I also feel it is necessary for students to be exposed to phonological awareness activities just like the one in the video. I agree, and believe that phonological awareness is very predictive of students’ reading ability. “Cracking the code” takes many different forms, but in my opinion I believe reading must start with some form of phonological awareness in order for students to have a good understanding of letter sound relationships, but should not be the focus of reading. If we want our students to be proficient readers we must teach them to find meaning when they read. I also agree that the use of the nonsense test is meaningless. If we are teaching our students to find meaning, shouldn't we expect them to read words that are real rather than nonsense words with no meaning. To truely be able to read, you must be able to understand and find meanng in context.
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