Right now, being an educator in Aotearoa feels like balancing on a tightrope, juggling plates, attempting to ride a unicycle—all while smiling through it and fearing that everything might come crashing down at any moment. Instead of offering a helping hand, those standing nearby just keep throwing more plates at you, raising the height of the tightrope, and increasing the distance you have to cycle.
Concerns with the Focus on Decoding
Amidst everything, there is one thing that has been worrying me most lately: our ardent focus on decoding over everything else. There is a celebration of the supposed positive data from the phonics check (a pattern not observed at our place) and a curriculum that expects a child at the end of their first year at school to be reading at stage 7.1 towards the end of the decodable stages.
I read comment after comment on teachers' Facebook pages, asking questions about the expectation, with ongoing affirmation from those in the know, that āe, our youngest learners need to be reading at this stage. We must focus on getting them there for fear that by not doing so, we are seemingly dooming children to failure, missing those children who will otherwise slip through the net.
A Journey, Not a Race
Don't get me wrong, I have been on this structured literacy journey for almost eight years now. I believe in the explicit teaching of reading (and by reading, I do not just mean decoding). While I understand the 'Science of Reading' and the Principles of Teaching and Learning, my journey has not shown me that children need to reach this magical stage after their first year. In fact, it has shown me the exact opposite. Rather than accelerating and pushing children ahead at the expense of all the other skills that an expert reader will eventually have under their belt, my journey has revealed to me that slow and steady does indeed win the race.
Over the last six or seven years, I have only taught one child who has achieved the magical 7.1 stage at the end of their first year, yet reading results at our school are very good for the majority of our Year 6 children who started their schooling with us.
Observations and Patterns
I am absolutely certain the children starting with us are not unique, and I am sure everyone is seeing the same pattern. Children enter with very low oral language, struggle with executive functioning skills (crucial for later learning), and seem a lot 'younger' than they did even six years ago.
If my wonderful new entrant teachers are to strive for this magical 7.1 stage, it will come at the expense of the development of our children. Absolutely, phonics is important, but it is no more important than a child's physical, emotional, and social development. How many children will be put off reading if they are pushed too far ahead? How many children will miss the point that reading is a joyous process of making meaning? Perhaps even worse than that, how many decoding robots will we create? Robots with the ability to decode, but with absolutely no fluency—and if they have no fluency, forget about comprehension. If we push ahead with decoding, will this be at the expense of spelling? Are we making it clear enough that reading and spelling should go hand in hand?
The Importance of a Holistic Approach
What time will there be to talk, to play, to listen to fantastically engaging texts, to respond creatively, to express themselves, to develop a fantastic vocabulary, and to build a wonderful schema of knowledge due to the rich environments they are in?
In my experience over the last almost eight years of 'structured literacy' learning, it is our teacher understanding that makes the difference. Understanding the theory behind the shift in pedagogy is important. This understanding allows us to identify those children who need targeted teaching and increased support from the beginning. Teachers with a good understanding of how children learn to read can all identify children who will need extra support without waiting to see if they will reach some magical milestone. Teachers with great understanding won’t let children slip through the net, they will be well aware who it is that needs that extra help.
Creating Fluent Readers
At our place, we have happy zones, stages that we are content for children to reach, knowing from experience that these children will be okay on their reading journey. I am delighted if my Year 2 children come to me reading at stage 2 or 3, as I know they will also be able to spell and will be fluent at this stage. I am really happy if my Year 2 children are reaching the end of decodable books, but if they are working on Stage 5 or 6, I'm not worried. I am not worried because I am also focused on their spelling and writing, and very focused on fluency. I do not want to create decoding robots; I want fluent readers. I want children to have accuracy, to read at an appropriate rate, and with expression, because just because children can decode the words does not make them readers.
If I am not fluent, I can read the text, but by the time I am through the sentence, I can probably barely remember it. If you cannot read at the speed of sight (fluently), then working memory will focus on reading the words rather than comprehending the text deeply. How will a child be able to think about the text, if all they are focused on is decoding the words?
"If you are not a fluent reader, you can't be a deep reader." — Doug Lemov
We are not wrong to want to focus on reading. Of course, we want children to be able to read, but this is a journey. It is not a race to get as far as you can by the end of a child's first year. I have heard many a reader decode a text at the end of the decodable stages, but without fluency, are they able to read for meaning? I often find that I need to go back at least three or four stages if a child has been pushed through the stages to find their fluent stage.
"Fluent reading when it includes prosody is meaning made audible." — Doug Lemov
Not only that, but the first year of school should also be as much about the development of the child socially, emotionally, and physically, with a focus on executive functioning skills.
What will our children miss out on if we become obsessed with academic acceleration?
I loved this podcast with Doug Lemov about fluency; it is a really great listen.
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