by AFT President Sandra Feldman
October, 2002

Teachers, no matter what grade level or subject they teach, know that nothing is more crucial (or rewarding) than helping a student become a better reader. In my work at the AFT, I can rely on the expertise and experience of many teachers and former teachers. One, a former middle school math teacher, was required to take an undergraduate course in how to teach reading. More concerned about fractions than phonics, he asked his professor why the reading course was mandatory for a future teacher of mathematics. The professor explained that math is a subject with a specialized vocabulary. He pointed out that even students with excellent calculating skills are often stumped by word problems, and the professor concluded by saying, "Every teacher is a teacher of reading." The undergraduate learned after only a few years in the classroom that the professor’s words rang true.

"The most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers." – Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science

The responsibility of teaching students to read is shared by every teacher – a third-grade instructor helping a struggling student sound out a word, a middle school science teacher strengthening a student’s vocabulary, or a teacher at a juvenile detention center helping older students discover the pleasure of reading. 

Even though educators, parents, and policymakers agree that reading is key to a good education, for many years there was no consensus about how to teach reading. Policymakers got caught up in the so-called reading wars – treating phonics and whole language as if they were mutually exclusive. Some teachers relied on intuition. Others used the same methods their own teachers had used a generation before.

Reading the Research

Five Research-Backed Strategies to help children in every classroom become competent readers (from Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science): -- Provide systematic and explicit instruction in phonics, decoding and literature appreciation; -- Provide daily exposure to a variety of texts, both fiction and non-fiction, and offering incentives for children to read independently and with others; -- Improve comprehension by teaching students to predict outcomes, summarize, question, and visualize; -- Teach vocabulary by emphasizing the relationships among words and among word structure, origin, and meaning; and -- Give students frequent opportunities to write.

Despite the contention, we have reached a consensus about how to teach reading. The National Reading Panel was asked by Congress to assess the different approaches used to teach children to read. In April 2000, the panel issued a report summarizing the results of the best research on reading instruction. The panel determined that effective reading instruction includes teaching children to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words (phonemic awareness), phonics, vocabulary, guided oral reading to improve fluency, and comprehension strategies.

The AFT also has analyzed research on reading instruction. In 1999, the AFT published Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science. The report revealed a troubling fact: The instructional strategies that are aligned with the research on effective reading instruction were not commonly used in classrooms. The good news is that 95 percent of children can be taught to read – if proven methods are used.

The "Reading First" Initiative

For years, policymakers have emphasized the importance of education and literacy, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 continues the effort to improve reading instruction. It includes Reading First, a new initiative designed to improve the training of prospective teachers, help provide current teachers with access to research-based professional development, and upgrade the quality of classroom materials. If used well, Reading First will support high-quality professional development in research-based reading instruction, and that in turn could make a significant difference in classroom practice and student achievement across the country.

If you are interested in learning more about the research or would like to let us know about your experiences in the classroom, please visit www.aft.org.

Sandra Feldman
President, American Federation of Teachers

Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Early Years, Inc.
From the October, 2002 issue of Teaching K-8 Magazine, Norwalk, CT 06854

RESOURCES:

• Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science: What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able To Do
  Thanks to new scientific research--plus a long-awaited scientific and political consensus around reading research--the knowledge exists to teach all but a handful of severely disabled children to read well. This report discusses the current state of teacher preparation in reading. It reviews the relevant research and describes the knowledge base that is essential for teacher candidates and practicing teachers to master if they are to be successful in teaching all children to read well.  
• U.S. Department of Education - Education Resources: Reading and Language Arts