The Right Way To Read

One morning last week, Miranda Tan, who just turned 5, worked with her teacher, Norma Bell, on her "phonics writing book." In it, she practices what is often called invented spelling--writing down words as they sound rather than as they are actually spelled. Early-reading proponents say it would be more accurate to describe this practice as "phonics writing," to get across the message that it's an exercise in phonemics (the way letters represent sounds) rather than true spelling. Miranda's book is titled "My Big Sister," and the first page offers a drawing of a girl with a blue face, pink hair and a brown dress. Underneath, written in shaky print, is "c e s my sistr kli." Bell reads it back to her and then writes, "This is my sister Kelly" underneath Miranda's sentence.

Early-literacy advocates say this kind of detailed instruction is especially important for the kids in the poorest neighborhoods who have the least exposure to books and sophisticated use of language. In one study, researchers found that children of poverty start school with a vocabulary of only about 10,000 words, compared with 40,000 for kids from middle-class homes. Bush has said that statistics like these prompted him to target poor kids, especially Head Start participants. As the governor and First Lady of Texas, Bush and his wife, Laura, were impressed by the success of the preliteracy curriculum at the Margaret Cone Head Start Center in Dallas. Until a few years ago, more than a quarter of the children coming into the program at the age of 4 scored in the bottom 1 percent of a national preschool test. Even more troubling, the same group had even lower scores after a year at the Cone Center, despite special funding from Texas Instruments that gave them access to high-quality health care, often cited as a factor in school success.

All that changed when the Cone Center adopted a curriculum developed at Southern Methodist University. Every child now wears a name tag, a visual and personal reminder of their link to the world of print around them. Teachers spend time with kids in small groups talking about word sounds and letter names. Children are encouraged to talk in sentences, use new words and stick to proper English. When the new curriculum was introduced, some Cone teachers were dubious. "I didn't think it would go over," says Vina Dawson, a Head Start teacher for more than 13 years. The emphasis on literacy was the exact opposite of all the child-development training she has received. But, Dawson says, "the test scores prove it works." By the end of third grade, 55 percent of the children who attended both Cone and a local elementary with a strong literacy emphasis were reading at grade level, compared with 5 percent in the control group.

Results like that are dramatic, but early-reading advocates say that literacy training can work just as well on kids who aren't poor. Many researchers believe that significant numbers of middle-class children could avoid being labeled learning-disabled if they got early help with language and letters. Teachers are already being encouraged to seek consultations with speech therapists for kids who are slow to talk, since language problems can be a precursor to reading difficulties. Following the example of Texas, a number of states are also considering screening preschoolers and kindergartners for early signs of dyslexia so problems can be treated early. That could save districts money and give more resources to kids with severe learning problems that aren't so easily remedied.

The new literacy-rich curriculum could use projects to teach kids multiple skills. That's the central concept at the Early Childhood Education Center in Oglesby, Ill., two hours southwest of downtown Chicago. A typical project gives 3- to 5-year-olds the task of researching pizza. They begin by asking questions posted on the classroom walls. What is the crust made of? What is the shovel for putting the pizza in the oven? Are there other ways to get pizza besides from a pizza place? They get answers by visiting local pizza parlors and making and decorating their own pies. In the process, they measure ingredients, chart their progress and write about their experiences. "We aren't 'teaching reading'," says Sallee Beneke, the director, "but we are teaching the precursors to reading by encouraging children to understand that things we draw and write about can be useful for communication."

The fight over what's best for the pizza makers and the finger painters won't be resolved quickly. But some major change seems inevitable. Even Bos is always looking for creative ways to use language. One morning last week she played the autoharp in the indoor play area as youngsters hopped around and made up their own lyrics. Then she read them a book one mother had brought in, "Piggie Pie," with no clear ending. Bos encouraged the kids to pick their own conclusion. Would the witch eat the wolf for lunch or just make him a burger? As usual, there were no easy answers.

© 2002