Children's authors

It is clear that the most popular children's authors are those such as J.K Rowling, Roald Dahl, C.S Lewis and Beatrix Potter. I believe that these authors have been successful because they use tools such as imagery and humor in their novels to keep children engaged. The use of drawings and images in the novels make reading more fun for children who may not want to read, and humor and rhyme are other tools that these authors use frequently to make their stories more entertaining, so that the children really want to read them. One book I remember from my childhood is “Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s dairy” by Lynley Dodd. I believe that this book was particularly memorable to me due to the use of engaging illustrations and rhyme throughout the whole story. The rhyme and layout of the novel allowed it to be read almost as a song either to or by the child, this means that it would be more fun for the child and would encourage them to read more often.

Teaching children to read

The most popular method of teaching children to read is through the use of synthetic phonics. This is where the teacher breaks words down into the sounds they make – for example, ‘dog’ would be broken down into ‘d’, ‘o’ and ‘g’ and then the sounds are blended to make ‘dog’. This technique can then be transferred to learning to read and write as the sounds in words can be converted into letters onto paper. However, there are some arguments against this method which suggest that synthetic phonics cannot be used to teach children to read everything, for example words such as ‘friend’ are more difficult to decode and cannot be broken down into sounds. This could mean that another method of teaching would have to be suggested in order for the child to fully develop their reading. Although there are some criticisms, it could be said that the method of using sounds to teach children could be more simple for children to understand and it has been found that children who are taught to learn with phonics are up to 2 years ahead of those who used other methods,

Another method of teaching would be using reading schemes. The most popular reading schemes are Oxford Reading Tree, Collins Big Cat and Rigby Star. These reading schemes are developed in conjunction with literacy experts. The Oxford Reading Tree for example, is supported by Debbie Hepplewhite, who developed the synthetic phonics method. Most schemes begin in the Foundation Stage and progressively become more difficult. For example, Key Stage 1 books are written with a mix of high-frequency and decodable words to develop a range of reading strategies in the children, while Key Stage 2 books cover a wide range of genres and subjects, linking to the curriculum. This would develop their reading further and expand their vocabulary. When a child is ready to progress to ‘normal’ reading, most discover their own books they would like to read and do this freely. However, some critics believe that the books that are used in reading schemes have bland content and a uniform appearance, which could even delay children's access to the real world.

The Miscues

Correction:
A common sign of a competent reader, a correction is a miscue that the student corrects in order to make sense of the word in the sentence.

Insertion:
An insertion is a word or words added by the child that are not in the text.

Omission:
During oral reading, the student omits a word that changes the meaning of the sentence.

Repetition:
The student repeats a word or portion of the text.

Reversal:
A child will reverse the order of the print or the word. (from instead of form, etc.)

Substitution:
Instead of reading the word in the text, a child substitutes a word which may or may not make sense of the passage.