NRRF - The Emperor Has No Clothes

The Emperor Has No Clothes

PHONICS TALK: Volume 35
by Dolores G. Hiskes
May 2009

In Hans Christian Anderson's folk tale "The Emperor Has No Clothes" two weavers con a gullible emperor by selling him expensive cloth they claim is so exquisite only the very wise can see it. The emperor parades before his cowed subjects in his imaginary finery, until an astute child calls out, "But the emperor has no clothes on!" So it is with reading comprehension.

READING PROGRAMS FOUND INEFFECTIVE

A federal study intended to provide insight on the effectiveness of programs for reading comprehension has found that three such programs had no positive impact on student achievement, while a fourth actually had a negative effect (www.edweek.org, 5-5-09, "Reading Programs Found Ineffective," Mary Ann Zehr.)

The programs studied were Project CRISS, ReadAbout, Read for Real, and Reading for Knowledge. The study was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research Inc., of Princeton, N.J. for the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

DIGGING DEEPER . . .

Thomas L. Friedman's excellent editorial in the New York Times, "Swimming Without a Suit"(4-22-09) reflects these findings by reporting on another new study called "The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools" by the consulting firm McKinsey.

McKinsey noted that up to fourth grade American students compare well on global tests, but the longer American children are in school the worse they perform compared to their international peers. By high school students lag far behind.

What are we missing?

A CLUE

In "The Fourth Grade Slump" (www.edweek.org 9-12-07) we also discover that while early reading scores soar, by 4th grade comprehension begins a downhill slide. This phenomenon is so widespread educators call it "The Fourth-Grade Slump." And therein lies a clue!

Most classroom reading programs today use implicit phonics, whereby students are taught words as a whole along with letter sounds. Beginning and ending letters of a word are sometimes given to help them guess at the word. Students are also encouraged to use sentence context clues to determine the meaning of a word, or find a word that seems to have a similar meaning. It's OK to read "horse" for "pony." Additionally, most practice reading is only 50% decodable at most. These features set in motion an unfortunate chain of events:

In first and second grades, the stories are simple, with pictures on every page offering precise clues to meaning.

In fourth grade, however, instruction shifts from decoding and word recognition to fluency and comprehension. But now stories are more complex, and there are few picture clues. And the more complex the reading, the more frequent, wild, and inaccurate the guessing. Thus-the fourth-grade slump!

EXAMPLES

Try reading this phrase that's only 50% decodable:

CHOCOLATE X X X X X X X

(Hmmm. . . seven letters. Could it be "caramel? Or "peanuts"?)

Now try reading it again, with beginning and ending letter clues:

CHOCOLATE B X X X X X S

(Ah! I know. It begins with "b" and ends with "s" and has seven letters. It must be "bananas!")

...Unfortunately, the word is not "bananas!"

When students are trained to guess and/or substitute words they are putting meaning into rather than extracting meaning from the story. They are confined within the boundaries of their current vocabularies and thoughts, interpreting things only from within their own shallow perspectives. Even misreading only one or two words can change the entire meaning of the story.

For example, The New York Times featured a front-page article (6-3-99) about how epidemic numbers of pharmacists are misreading prescriptions, frequently confusing words like chlorpromazine (an antipsychotic) with chlorpropramine (lowers blood sugar) with sometimes fatal results. These words begin and end with the same letters, and have the same general shape. Clearly, a myriad of different problems can arise resulting from a misunderstanding or misapplication of what "phonics" really is. The emperor has no clothes on, indeed!

THE SOLUTION

Explicit phonics is by far the best way to teach children how to read. Letter sounds are learned first, blended into syllables, and slowly, systematically, and accurately built into words. Explicit phonics moves from the smallest parts to the whole.

Try reading this phrase once more, this time using explicit phonics:

C H O C O L A T E B U N N I E S

("Bunnies" also begins with a "b" and ends with an "s" and has seven letters, but "bunnies" is the only correct word!)

Only by knowing all of the letter sounds can this, or any text, ever be accurately read. As Mark Twain said, "The difference between reading and almost reading is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug."

Fortunately this situation can be easily and inexpensively remedied by merely supplementing current classroom reading programs with a good explicit phonics text. With minimum adjustments and little time and money, any reading program can be enhanced to produce truly gratifying results.

One first-grade public school teacher in California supplements her regular reading program with a simple explicit phonics text, and her first-graders read in only three months. She then has a literature evening for parents, and all thirty-two students, including ELL and dyslexic, who get up on the stage and read selections from William Bennett's "Book of Virtues."

A Reading Teacher tried it with all District Title One students, and concluded:

"Explicit phonics does not teach comprehension, but it unlocks the secrets of sound/symbol relationships, allowing comprehension to become the focus. Students, now able to read words, can meet reading at its most vital level -- they can read for meaning!"

We live in uncertain times, and discretionary spending is for many of us almost non-existant. Fortunately, with just a few free or inexpensive enhancements to your current reading program you, too, can experience the unique joy and fulfillment that results from seeing 100% happy faces and starry eyes -- all busy reading!

Blessings and Peace, Dolores

Dolores G. Hiskes, President - Dorbooks, Inc.- Phonics Pathways
Six national 1st-place awards - "Best Phonics Program in Country"
http://www.dorbooks.com - (925) 449-6983 - dor@dorbooks.com
P.O.Box 2588, Livermore, California, 94551 - fax (925) 447-6983

Dorbooks, Inc. - P.O.Box 2588 - Livermore, CA 94551 - USA - dor@dorbooks.com

The National Right to Read Foundation
P.O. Box 560
Strasburg, VA 22657

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