'American Educator' Magazine Offers Promising Hypothesis for Making Students Better Readers

5/6/2003

From: John See of the American Federation of Teachers, 202-434-4694, jsee@aft.org

WASHINGTON, May 6 -- The latest edition of AFT's award-winning "American Educator" magazine features prominent education reformer E. D. Hirsch Jr. and other scholars working to meet the fundamental challenge facing America's schools: helping students become better readers. The authors recommend specific changes in reading instruction and early childhood education that they believe could have a dramatic impact on students' reading ability.

Reading problems are often hidden until fourth grade, when coursework and testing become more rigorous, according to Hirsch's article, "Reading Comprehension Requires Knowledge -- of Words and the World." To combat the fourth-grade slump, Hirsch argues that children need not only fluency and a strong vocabulary, but also "domain knowledge," which gives students a context for their reading and a deeper understanding of the material.

Hirsch also makes specific recommendations for changing the language arts curriculum. He suggests that teachers limit time spent on formal comprehension skills and place greater emphasis on immersing children in language and exposing them to broader ideas. Hirsch says that many schools allot up to 2.5 hours daily for language arts instruction, giving ample time for children to receive thorough instruction in decoding, which is a prerequisite for learning to read, and to acquire the vocabulary and background information they will need to comprehend more advanced texts.

Hirsch sees a strong connection between word knowledge and world knowledge. To take advantage of that connection, he recommends that teachers choose interesting, thought-provoking texts to read aloud to the class. The practice of teacher read-alouds, according to research Hirsch cites, is effective not just in the early grades, but even through the eighth grade. He also notes that many reading textbooks include "trivial literature" and empty fiction, which by definition fail to build vocabulary or world knowledge.

Other articles in "American Educator's" spring issue also address the causes and cures of reading difficulties. In "The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Gap," researchers Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley write that vocabulary deficits start early. Average 4-year-olds in families whose parents are professionals are exposed to 32 million more words than their counterparts whose parents receive public assistance, according to Hart and Risley. The article underscores the importance of early childhood experiences, finding that vocabulary use at age 3 is an accurate predictor of language skill at ages 9 and 10.

In the article "Basal Readers: The Lost Opportunity To Build the Knowledge that Propels Comprehension," a review of the five most widely used K-3 reading textbooks, author Kate Walsh finds them to be far from adequate. Walsh cites several examples of lessons she considers trivial or pointless. She contends that none of the programs helps avert the fourth-grade slump and blames their ineffectiveness partly on the "mostly incoherent, banal themes" that do not teach children about the world.

To improve reading comprehension, Walsh prescribes content-rich stories and essays, teacher read-alouds that are two grade levels above the students' level, and less time devoted to acquiring formal comprehension skills that do not transfer to real-world reading.

The magazine also features "Filling the Nonfiction Void," which recommends using more and better nonfiction in the early grades, and "Taking Delight in Words," which calls for teachers to read aloud to their students to build vocabulary and instill a love of reading.

"American Educator," the quarterly professional journal of the American Federation of Teachers, delves into the most current and thought-provoking issues in education. Its more than 750,000 readers include classroom teachers, leaders in the field of education, policymakers and other education personnel from preschool through university level.

"American Educator" is available online at http://www.aft.org/american_educator/index.html. To receive a copy or to arrange an interview with any of the authors, contact the AFT public affairs department at 202-879-4458.

------ The AFT represents more than 1.2 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers, paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel, higher education faculty, nurses, healthcare workers, and federal, state and local government employees.