I think that
phonemic awareness, or hearing sounds within words, is an important thing for
students to know. While I don’t think
that this is the only thing students need to know in order to read, I do see
its value, especially with the youngest readers. The video, however focused also on nonsense
words, and it stated that research shows it is a good indicator of reading
success. Although I’m sure that there is evidence that has at some point proven
this in particular studies, I disagree.
I’m not sure how reading words that don’t hold meaning helps
readers.
If we are
teaching our students that the point of reading is to gain meaning, then we
shouldn’t be giving them tasks like reading nonsense words. When we give them nonsense words, there is no
context for the word. It is presented in
the form of lists. How can a student
gain meaning from a nonsense word among many in a list? If we are going to be consistent teachers, we
need to practice what we preach. We need
to show students that nonsense words are literally meaningless, and really don’t
help us become stronger readers.
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