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Giving Our "All" to Reading!

We all know that teaching students to read is one of the most important skills a school can provide a child. What should teachers and parents do when they realize a student is struggling with reading?

Perhaps the answers lie in the research around the Science of Reading. When a person is sick, they will visit a doctor that may run a variety of  “assessments” to determine the exact illness and the root cause of the illness. Based on data analysis, the doctor will determine a plan of action to improve the patient’s overall health.

Similarly, to the poor outcomes of patients who have not received the appropriate care, Science of Reading researchers and authors name the grim implications of not supporting struggling readers. One author writes, 

“The economic and social consequences for learners with reading difficulties who do not receive an appropriate education is often catastrophic. The cost of private tutoring or schools can be well in excess of $10,000 per year per student. This is still significantly less than the long-term losses in income from limited career options as well as the mental health problems and increased incarceration rates for people with dyslexia whose whole world is impacted when they grow up illiterate.” (Brookes & Mather, 2019, pg. 56)

Brookes claims, “If more people understood the importance of teaching phonics to all children, how people with reading challenges learn, and the importance of decodable books, a lot more children and adults would have greater success in learning to read.” (Brookes & Mather, 2019, pg. 70). The author asserts that while some children will learn to read just by being read to, most children need systematic, explicit, and repetitive instruction to learn how to read. Children are better prepared to read text that includes letters and sounds that they know when they are more familiar with the connections between letters and sounds (Brookes &Mather, 2019, pg. 67).

Capstone Education Group’s goal is to produce strong readers. Therefore, CEG trains their teachers in the science of reading, equipping them to implement a scientifically proven method, the sounds first approach, to help students. These highly trained and skilled teachers can then lead students to enjoy the beauty of reading.

Article written by Evidane B. Slaughter, Principal at Cornerstone Prep Lester