Reading Woes

Is reading becoming obsolete - along with newspapers , magazines, and yes - books ? The recent release of the NECAP scores caused consternation at Bartlett School. Of particular concern was student performance in reading and writing. As reading specialist, I was able to take a closer look at the reading of students who were not proficient on this test. I found that most of them were very proficient at decoding, and were fluent readers. Their comprehension, on the other hand, was weaker. The assessment that I did was an oral reading assessment, and it was done one on one. The NECAP involves a lot of independent reading and writing. It is easy to understand how these students might have struggled with the task. They can read the words, but catching the meaning, and being able to respond to questions in writing is a different story.
The good news is that we are doing an excellent job teaching our students to decode words - hard words, multisyllabic words, words that have little or no meaning for these readers. It is not good news that these children see reading as an activity that takes a back seat, a way-back seat to computers, video games, and TV watching. Even in school, I sometimes see reading(and writing) real stories taking a back seat to phonics, spelling and grammar lessons. My first grade students shook their heads when I asked if they knew the Little Red Hen Story - they had never heard of the troll in Little Billy Goats Gruff.
What to do? I advocate, as I always have, for more time for read- alouds, more time for guided reading and independent reading. As a school, we are promoting a One School, One Book reading program. We are buying a copy of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo for all of our families and staff, and this spring we will ask families to read aloud a chapter or two every night. Each day, Principal Bousquet will ask a trivia question about the book and classes can spend a few minutes talking about their reading. Who knows - if families get excited about Winn-Dixie, they may continue on with DiCamillo's other wonderful books for children. Those of us who love reading need to do all we can to pass on that love to the next generation, and at Bartlett School, that is what we will do.