There’s an elephant in the room ….. but, can he read?

Iowa Reading AssociationJune 2015

Kate Hornung & Cindy Waters

Kate & Cindy’s background

• Kate: Iowa Falls, Pineview Elementary

• Kindergarten instructor, 27 years• PreK-3 endorsement

• Cindy: Upper Iowa University

• Teacher Educator• Background in FCS, Child Development• 37 years in public & higher ed

What Elephant?! Consider……

• Public schools believe that children should learn to read in kindergarten.

• Teachers comply.

• However, is it right?

• Is it truly necessary that children read at age 5?

• Are we pressuring children to read when they are not developmentally ready?

Concerns

• Parents Stress of doing all the “right” things Doing little/nothing: “school’s responsibility”

• Teachers Students with huge skill range Are there unrealistic expectations? Developmentally inappropriate?

• Administrators Test scores!!

• Elephant No one likes this; everyone talks about it, but not

one is taking a stand & so… status quo

Grounds for concern

• Outdated views of literacy development and/or learning theories

• Demands that children try to read

• Early reading tests to be prepared by third-grade.

• The push to read when kids are too immature

• The principal and assistance team (erroneously) determine kids need of programming or retention when they are clearly just not ready

• Labeling kids as struggling can cause permanent emotional and academic damage 

Consequences

• Teaching reading at an early age can lead to poor reading habits

• Alienates children from the enjoyment of reading.

• Reading becomes a chore & can embitter kids on not only reading, but school and learning in general

• No evidence to support the widespread belief that children must read in prekindergarten or kindergarten to become strong readers and achieve academic success

Right or wrong?

• Many can learn to read in kindergarten or earlier

• However…..plenty who aren’t ready

• Each child can and should learn to read on his/her own terms and pace

• As educators, we may support and encourage, but should not force reading

Climate of learning

• Many educators agree with the philosophy of less testing

• Yet, the prevailing school attitude (often set by legislators and administrators) is read soon and test

• Instead, provide more encouragement to promote reading

• Let the child set his/her own learning journey

Then …… & now

1988• Teach letters &

sounds

• Numbers 1-10

• Address, phone number

• Tie shoes

2015• Letters & sounds (if

needed)

• Segmenting/blending

• Nonsense words

• Sight words

• Reading!

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

• Preschool children can Enjoy listening to & discussing storybooks Understand that print carries a message Engage in reading & writing attempts Identify labels & signs in their environment Participate in rhyming games Identify some letters & make some sound

matches Use known letters to represent meaningful

language (NAEYC, 1998)

Recommended Teaching Practices

• Preschool Model reading behaviors Foster children’s interest in & enjoyment of

reading Print-rich environments Draw attention to specific letters & words Daily read aloud to individuals or small groups Discussion on what is read Strategies & experiences to develop phonemic

awareness, i.e., songs, fingerplays, games, poems, & stories, including rhyme & alliteration

Play that incorporates literacy tools Firsthand experiences that expand vocabulary

(NAEYC, 1998)

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

• Kindergartners can Enjoy being read to & retell simple narratives or

simple informational texts Use descriptive language to explain & explore Recognize letters & letter-sound matches Show familiarity with rhyming & beginning

sounds Understand left-to-right and top-to-bottom

orientation & familiar concepts of print Match spoken words with written ones Begin to write letters of the alphabet & some

high-frequency words (NAEYC, 1988)

Recommended Teaching Practices

• Kindergarten Daily read aloud Independent reading Systematic code instruction Meaningful reading & writing activities Opportunity to write many kinds of text Experiences to use nonconventional forms of

writing, moving to conventional forms Opportunities to work in small groups for

collaboration Engaging & challenging curriculum to expand

knowledge of world & vocabulary Differentiated instruction if child fails to make

expected progress or when literacy skills are advanced (NAEYC, 1998)

Common Core/Iowa Core • Standards 1-9 are DAP, involving retelling,

recognition, & vocabulary

• Standard 10: Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding. Pushes young children & leads to poor results Develop coping mechanisms; not helpful later Some say this is misinterpretation of what standards require

(Iowa Dept. of Ed, 2015)

• Core standards describe range of skills

• Much of concern is about implementation Nothing precludes safe, warm, nurturing, play-based

classrooms (Pondisco, 2015)

• Difficult to teach standards in DAP when worried about standardized tests

Academic v Play based: Reading• Developmental progression of sensory-motor

skills needed before age 7

• Many K teachers have thrown out kitchens, blocks, napping rugs & dollhouses!

• Left v. right brain activity Left: analytical

• 7-9 years• Phonics• Stresses child’s mind & body

Right: intuitive, looks at whole• Child must guess w/o sounding out• Difficulty switching to left brain(Johnson, 2003)

• Play environment develops executive function

The educators who established early

childhood as a time for guided learning all

emphasized the dangers of introducing the world of symbols

too early in life. (Elkind,2001)

Is early reading necessary?

• Key question is it optimal to teach early reading?

• Introduced too early; learn more quickly & with less stress at 6 (Russell, 2015)

• Explicit & programmatic teaching; text reading & decoding—not recommended

• Early reading=early language skills

• Evidence doesn’t fully support the need (Suggate, 2013)

Reading Readiness

• Enthusiasm for reading diminishes if pressured

• Need to engage in wanting to read (Russell, 2015)

• Teaching reading & writing at 5 can dent interest in books

• Kiddos see themselves as inept (Katz, in Curtis, 2007)

• Have children’s brains evolved to a higher level? (AAP, in Bailey, 2014)

• Greatest barrier is standards & testing (Kohn, 2013)

AR

• 4 aspects: access to books– supported by research time for recreational reading– supported by research Tests rewards only affects short-term behavior

• Inconsistent evidence; gains were not present or small

• No lasting effect on comprehension, reading frequency, or enthusiasm

• Incentives do not promote additional reading

• May have long term harmful effects (Krashen, 2003).

Your 2 cents worth?

• How are you responding?

• Agree/disagree?

• What have you done? Could or will do?

• How do we bring this to the table as a serious discussion issue with admins, parents?

What promotes this “elephant”?• Teachers/schools

• Limited by mandates

• FAST testing

• Readiness for next grade

• Parental & societal pressure

• Ss who are sent, but not ready for school

• Ss with no literacy experience or preK

• Parents who are “too busy” to collaborate

Is there a solution? What to do?!• No simple solution, maybe not even a viable

one, but the conversation needs to arise

• Data/documentation

• Intentionality about literacy & language

• Don’t bombard or overwhelm kiddos

• Awareness– do parents, people in general really realize the problem & why it is a problem?

• Parents must band together; speak to administrators to find a happy medium

Be courageous

• Have we, as teachers, lost the capacity to be outraged at outrageous things?

• Question traditional practices/criteria

• Take responsibility

• Share power

• Be active & assertive (Kohn, 2013)

• Advocate for yourself, your classroom, your kids!

Questions?

What are YOU going to do about this Elephant in the room?!

Thank you for attending & your input

ReferencesBailey, N. (2014). Setting children up to hate reading. Nancy Bailey’s Education Website. Retrieved from http://nancybailey.com/2014/02/02/setting- children-up-to-hate-reading/Curtis, P. (2007). Under-sevens ‘too young to learn to read.’ The Guardian. Retrieved

from http://theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/22/earlyyearseducation.schoolsElkind, D. (2001). Young Einsteins. Education Matters. Retrieved from www.edmatters.orgJohnson, S. (2003). Teaching academics in preschool & kindergarten. You and Your

Child’s Health. Retrieved from www.youandyourchildshealth/articles/Kohn, A. (2013). Encouraging educator courage. Education Week. Retrieved from

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/09/18/04kohn.h33.html?tkn=OZXF TFySwn1LbKrashen, S. (2003). The experimental evidence supporting the use of Accelerated

Reader. Journal of Children’s Literature, 29, 16-30. http://www.google.com/url?sa= t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url= http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sdkrashen.com%2Fcontent%2Farticles%2Fdoes _accelerated_reader_work.pdf&ei=ECp3VYm4NozWoATH24GAAg

&usg=AFQjCNFRyLIc2JztZTqyHnZI7GFAmeM0MwNational Association for the Education of Young Children.(1998).

Young Children, 53, 30–46. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/learning_readwrite

References, cont.

•Pondisco, R. (2015). Is Common Core too hard for kindergarten? Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Retrieved from http://edexcellence.net/articles/is-common-core-too-hard-for-kindergarten•Russell, F. (2014). Children must learn to love reading, not just learn to read. The

Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/

12/children-must-learn-to-love-reading•Schwartz, K. (2015). Does Common Core ask too much of kindergarten readers? KQED News. Retrieved from http://ww2.kqed.org/

mindshift/2015/04/27/does-common-core-ask-too-much-of-kindergarten-readers/

•Suggate, S. (2013). Does early reading instruction help reading in the long-term? A review of empirical evidence. Research on Steiner Education, 4,123-

131. Retrieved from www.rosejourn.com

Contact information

Ms. Kate HornungPineview Elementary 1510 Washington Ave. Iowa Falls, IA 50126khornung@ifacadets.net

Dr. Cindy WatersUpper Iowa University605 WashingtonFayette, IA 52142watersc@uiu.edu