Becoming Readers and Writers

 Becoming Readers and Writers

Literacy and writing are the basis of education. Students must master these skills in order to move on with their education. Therefore, it is very important for children to learn how to read and write effectively and efficiently. One of the most important aspects of teaching young students how to read and write is to infuse them with a love for reading and writing. With this love for reading and writing students will have the correct motivation to continue learning. Without a strong literacy foundation children may have a very difficult time learning in the future. Another aspect educators must take into account is that many young children are not completely fluent in the English language therefore; it is the job of these educators to ensure that each child receives the necessary help that they need to effectively master their literacy skills.

Children who are taught in a thought out and methodical way gain immensely from their lessons. Children do very well with structure and by using structured lessons children can learn in the most effective and efficient way. Sheila Owen's a kindergarten teacher in Beaumont, California describes how she sees her students as readers and writers from day one. By using this approach each child is given a chance to actually become the best readers and writers that they can be. She describes how she uses a series of reading and writing methods to successfully get her students to learn how to independently read and write.

To successfully get her students to read independently she uses a “gradual release of responsibility approach”. Sheila starts every lesson in the following way: she starts with “read aloud” where she reads aloud to her students literature which is too difficult to read on their own yet they hope to master with time. She then continues with shared reading where she reads aloud together with her students subsequently releasing some of her responsibility to her students. Then she continues with guided reading where her students read along with her guidance thereby releasing even more of the reading responsibility on her students until finally the students can independently read on their own. This method of reading helps ease the children into independent reading efficiently and effectively.

Writing in Sheila’s classroom is performed in a similar way where at first they class writes together under the guidance of their teacher and only once they understand the concepts can they successfully write on their own.

All these methods are in place to successfully enable students to be able to read and write independently. These skills must be mastered successfully since it is the foundation of their education and it is these skills that will enable them to further continue learning.