Re: Reading instruction

[Nancy Patterson <patter@VOYAGER.NET>]

Linda,

I wonder how we are defining "not reading well?"

I continue to believe that the best "test" for reading ability is Yetta
Goodman's (et al) miscue analysis.  A miscue is when a reader reads
something that is different that what has been written, or when a reader
stumbles or repeats, or reads something different and then goes back to read
the phrase or word again and getting it as written.  There are all kinds of
miscues that are good, which is why Goodman uses the term miscue rather than
misread or mistake.  Good readers often substitute a word that means the
same as the word that is written.  Good readers also may read something
different and then go back and re-read the text as written.  Not all good
readers read well aloud.  But good readers generally read efficiently and
are able to retell what they have read accurately.  An inefficient oral
reader may be a far more efficient silent reader.  And, though some teachers
may not think so, some good readers have to mouth the words as they read.  I
have to do this if I am reading dense text.

I don't think I was a particularly good reader at the age of 10.  I really
didn't come into my own as a reader until I was in 6th grade.  And it was at
the end of 6th grade.  I guess what I'm saying here is not to give up on
your son.  He may be a better reader than you think.  And he may become a
pleasure reader in a couple years.

Nancy

At 07:05 PM 2/1/02 -0700, you wrote:
>I totally agree with Monty. I learned to read on my own at 4 y/o. I might
>have agreed that this works, except for the fact that my son still cannot
>read well at age 10 - despite 2 wall units of books that are HIS, despite my
>reading to him every single night for all of his life, despite the fact that
>he uses an impressive vocabulary correctly, despite constant phonics AND
>whole language instruction.....
>Could it be the need for Vision Therapy since his eyes have been tested by a
>specialized process & they do not focus at a level capable of more than a
>1st grade reading ability? Could it be the existence of Learning
>Disabilities? The fact that his learning style is visual/kinesthetic & most
>teachers teach to logic-learners & do not know specialized techniques like
>Lindamood-Bell that work wonders with other learning styles? Could his
>inability to write perhaps be traced to problems with fine motor control
>rather than lack of motivation or writing skills?
>Sometimes I really think that academics who get so involved in debates like
>the phonics vs whole language "issue" because it's easier than identifying
>the real problems in the real world that the rest of us have to live in (&
>far easier than actually finding a solution for them - god forbid!).
>Linda
Nancy G. Patterson, PhD
Portland Middle School, English Dept. Chair
Portland, MI  48875

"To educate as the practice of freedom is a way of teaching that anyone can
learn."

--bell hooks

 patter@voyager.net
<http://www.msu.edu/user/patter90/opening.htm>
<http://www.npatterson.net>
<http://www.npatterson.net/standardizedtesting.html>

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