Activity A

Basics of reading

Depending on the interest and abilities of your tutors and your own comfort with the concepts presented, you may touch on this subject lightly or go more in-depth. Lead the discussion in the way that best suits your abilities and the interests of your tutors.

Use of handout, discussion

Materials and equipment

Handout 6.2: Basics of Reading

Preparation

Copy handout.
Do some background reading.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

  1. Ask tutors to name what they think are the most important skills in learning to read.
  2. Pass out the handout Basics of Reading. Discuss:
    • the difference between phonemic awareness and phonics
    • the importance of developing vocabulary
    • the need to learn phonemic awareness and fluency and to develop vocabulary simultaneously. (Have tutors think back to the symbol story. Point out that they didn’t need to learn each symbol individually in order to read the story. Therefore, reading doesn’t require learning phonemic awareness, then developing fluency and then increasing vocabulary to build comprehension. Rather, the basics interact and reinforce one another. They often develop together. With this in mind, tutors should include all aspects in a tutoring session.)
  3. Explain to tutors that later on in the workshop they will learn how to use strategies to teach the different components of reading.