The Great Debate: How to Teach a Child to Read by Marilyn Rockett | HOMESCHOOLING TODAY Magazine

For years, the debate between intense phonics instruction (part-to-whole) and a book-centered approach (whole-to-part) has raged between equally passionate groups who seem to miss the strengths of the opposing view. Homeschoolers caught in the crossfire are often enticed to buy this or that curriculum because they want the “best” for their children. Authors Mark B. Thogmartin, Ph.D., and Mary Gallagher, M.S. Ed., present a combined approach based on current scientific research on how the brain works and how children learn to read. Could it be that the Great Debate is over or, at least, that the opposing sides could call a truce?

The authors have collaborated to extensively revise the original book that Thogmartin wrote in 1996, Teach a Child to Read with Children’s Books. The fourth edition (New Learning Concepts, Inc., 2009) draws on their many years’ combined experience and expertise in the education and reading fields, tutoring, literary coaching, research, and experiences with their own children. But don’t let their credentials fool you—they are not stuffed-shirt educators. They express heart and passion for helping parents teach their children to read and, equally important, to love reading as lifelong learners.

In this new edition, the coauthors share “a way to teach reading that is balanced and doable”—concepts important to homeschoolers. They have used this approach with success, “even with children who have been identified as having difficulty learning to read.” (See the book review in “Bookshelf and Beyond” in this issue.)

Q: What is your greatest desire and goal in writing/revising this book?

Thogmartin: I am passionate about the idea that learning to read can be a very similar process to how parents teach their children to talk. In a loving home where parents are involved and responsive to their children, it is amazing how quickly children learn to talk. They are hardwired with the capability to learn language. Using similar instinctive methodologies, a child can learn to read. I want to convince parents they have what it takes to teach their children to read.

Gallagher: My greatest goal was to take all the reading research and practices I knew and boil them down to practical and meaningful solutions for parents who want to ensure their child’s success and love for reading. I wanted to impart to parents that they make the greatest difference in their child’s life, reading success, and ultimately lifelong success.

Q: You say in your book that this is not a step-by-step program. Can any parent use this method even if he or she has never taught a child to read?

Gallagher: Absolutely! This is more an approach and not a program. The parent is reflecting, responding, and reacting to the child using teachable moments. In a classroom this isn’t possible, so the parent has a big advantage. Parents use the book as a guideline and not a scripted program. The parent incorporates the child’s needs into the next day’s lessons.

Q: If a parent has already purchased a program that uses other methods, what can they do to get the best advantage from what they have purchased?

Gallagher: If parents grasp the concepts in our book, they can still use their material as one component of their comprehensive reading program. They can continue to build basic phonics and decoding skills but can make it more meaningful by adding rich children’s literature to their reading time. Taking time to pick out the skills in their phonics program and matching them with a children’s book that builds on those skills will help the child bridge the gap from part to whole. If the program is boring, frustrating, and is causing more harm than good, it would be better to abandon it.

Thogmartin: Parents should not feel so urgent about using an intense phonics approach. Most methods now help children recognize “patterns” rather than memorizing “rules” since many of the rules of phonics are only true less than 50 percent of the time. Very few rules have close to 100 percent utility and most are under 75 percent. It is helpful to talk about phonics generalizations as they come up in the child’s daily encounters with books rather than learning rules in a production line, lockstep fashion. Our book teaches parents how to do this strategically, yet in a more natural manner, as they enjoy books together.

Q: How do you judge a child’s readiness to read? Should parents be concerned if their child is not interested in reading by age six or seven, and how can they encourage the child to read?

Thogmartin: “Readiness” is a dated concept. A more accurate notion is that of emergent literacy. All children are learning concepts around print and language as they progress through the stages of literacy development. They just move at different paces. A child is not a nonreader one day and a reader the next day. Thoughtful parents focus on the positive things their children are learning rather than correcting their childish uses of language in a way that discourages them. If other indications (eyesight, motor skills, and so forth) are developing normally, don’t be overly alarmed if a child is slower to read. Just keep your eyes open for all signals of growth. Use a child’s interests to encourage reading. My boys preferred nonfiction books rather than fiction books, so I let them read what interested them. A parent uses this approach beginning with very young children to help the child begin the process of becoming literate, which is more than just learning to pronounce words.

Gallagher: Children who are ready to read are typically showing signs of engagement with the book beyond the pictures, pointing out individual letters or words while the parent reads, finding words around them, and asking about them. The child may be “memorizing” easy readers or their favorite books, even using intonation and expression as they read, just as they have heard the parents do. A parent should be concerned if the child has a negative attitude about reading or is expressing some unusual difficulty with the printed word, such as headaches, eyes burning, blurring words, or if the child expresses strong negative emotion about reading such as, “I hate reading” or “Reading is stupid.” Don’t show anxiety, never give up, and continue to read to a child. Once a child gets in his head he is not a good reader, it is hard to get that out.

Q: You encourage parents to read aloud to their children. How important is this in their later ability to read? Is it helpful to read books of various levels of difficulty to your children?

Gallagher: It is critical! In fact, research supports that it is the single most important activity that parents can engage in to help their child become a successful reader (see chapter 3). The most important reason is developing a lifelong love for reading and giving the child positive and rewarding associations with reading and books. Parents who skip this critical part of their child’s reading support are undermining all other reading activities they do with their child. That is how important it is. Yes, parents should choose books that are above their child’s reading ability but yet are within the range of a child’s understanding. Picture books and nonfiction texts with lots of pictures and photographs are also great choices for read-alouds because they help build the child’s bank of vocabulary.

Thogmartin:  I agree. Reading aloud to your children is the single most important thing you can do. It is important to read above their reading level, but as Jim Trelease says, be careful about reading above their emotional level.

Q: At what age or stage do you recommend grammar study? Do you recommend spelling tests?

Thogmartin:  I wouldn’t start formal grammar instruction until third grade or later. Random spelling word lists not connected to anything (patterns, Greek or Latin roots, unit studies) are not helpful. It is important that as the child learns about letter-sound relationships he use this knowledge for real literary purposes.

Gallagher: Wait until they have a firm grasp of reading. Spelling must make sense. Focus on words they encounter often. Comparing and contrasting is the number one strategy for getting results rather than memorizing.

Q: What encouragement would you give to parents who are reluctant to use anything except a “canned” or heavily structured reading program because they are concerned they will not do an adequate job without those materials?

Gallagher: Parents need to remember that they are the child’s first and lifelong teacher, and they know their child’s needs better than anyone or any program. They can trust themselves and take time to build the foundation for their child. If the program is unbalanced in that it is not instilling a love for reading in the child and is stifling or frustrating the parent, then the parent must make decisions about which part of the curriculum they will or will not use.

Thogmartin: I would ask a parent, “What program did you use with your child when you taught him to talk?” I want parents to understand that they did a wonderful job helping their child learn to use spoken language. Learning to read should be viewed as an extension of the same processes you and the child used when he learned to talk. Parents should trust themselves. Our Creator made us with a heart, brain, and mind to be lifelong learners. Children love to learn, and parents are gifted with the ability to teach their children to love language.

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