Reading Strategies: Beyond"Sound it Out"

       "Word-solving strategies are some of the earliest strategies that students take control of as they begin to build a reading process system." This is why it is so important to teach them good reading strategies as soon as possible. It is important so that don't fall behind. It is important to teach a large amount of different strategies that have varying techniques as to reach as many students as possible. 

       The old idea was that the only strategy readers could use was sounding out the word when they were stuck. That isn't the case any more. The main strategies used today are a combination of meaning, structure, visual sources of information. Beginning readers struggle with using all three strategies so it is important for teachers to help those struggling and get them back on track. It is important for teachers to show them how to use a combination of the three, give them times were it is easy and appropriate for them to use all three, and most importantly to "reinforce their efforts".

   It is important for teachers to model these sources of information during the school day so students become comfortable with using them themselves. It is important for teachers to model what they want their students to do so the students know how to do it correctly. This goes with anything they want their students to do in the classroom. 

      Teaching students to use different sources of information when struggling with reading is a good way for them to become independent readers. If they have multiple ways of figuring out a solution when they are struggling they are more likely to have success when reading independently.