Reply to Reading Pedagogy at DCPS Elementary?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lord, every parent listened to that podcast and now deems themself a reading specialist. [/quote]

Agree! It’s comical. They’ve “done their own research” and now are experts.[/quote]

Sadly the parents who’ve listened to the Sold a Story podcast are more educated than most curriculum decision makers.

-OG tutor who does know the research and cleans up damage from poorly-informed schools[/quote]

Not the OP. I don't get the hype about PK3 reading, really even K reading. Some might read in PK, K, or even 1st and 2nd and it can come out fine. DC1 didn't really read till end of first and is a super strong student. DC2 read fairly early and in depth by start of first - a thoughtful student, especially in humanities, but not super strong.

Reading is so critical, but doing it early isn't necessarily a predictor of anything.[/quote]

that’s nice - does that country have the same socio-economic disparities as DC? do they have an evidence based curriculum that goes through elementary? do they remove all SN from mainstream as a rule? do they put kids on a vocational track at 5th grade?

I’m not saying DCPS is perfect. Lord knows it is not. But one thing DCPS truly excels in is K-1st literacy. The parents who are distressed at “pushing academics” in K are the same ones moaning about “lack of differentiation” in middle school.

This.  If you read and talk to your kids during the early years, then it’s fine as long as your schools reading curriculum has a phonics component.

DS school taught phonics but also had writers workshop to encourage creative thoughts and writing.  It doesn’t have to be either/or.

Kids with above foundations learn to read at their own pace.  DS was just starting to read CVC words in the spring of K.  Then a bulb just went off and his reading skyrocketed. Towards the end of summer (we did encourage reading daily over the summer), DS was reading late 1st grade and when school started in 1st he was reading at 2nd grade level.  Now in 3rd, he is reading/comprehending at 5th grade level.

Some kids read early because they are pushed by their parents.  Some kids read later.  By 3rd grade, late kids catch up and it evens out.[/quote]

I agree it isn’t essential to push for early reading. And I think formal instruction should wait until 1st grade. But it is really important for teachers and parents to be really clear about the typical developmental sequence of reading skills.  Things like phonemic awareness and phonics are important steps on the path to being a skilled reader.

It is also possible to identify the 1 in 5 kids who are dyslexic by the end of K if you are monitoring these skills. Waiting until the 3rd grade to try to figure out why reading hasn’t “clicked” virtually guarantees most of those kids will never catch up.[/quote]

Why wait until 1st grade? DCPS would be really negligent if they did that. They have a lot of kids who can’t waste a year of formal instruction. [/quote]

DCPS pushes academics way too early in ECE, especially at the title 1 and lower performing schools.  It is not developmentally appropriate at all.  At these younger ages, talking, plating, building curiosity, exploring, etc….is what is needed.  It’s not phonics or worksheets.

Studies have shown no long term gains of pushing academics early. [/quote]

My niece goes to school overseas in a country in the top 5 academically. They have low-cost half-day preschool starting at age 3 with no academic component whatsoever. They do things like make paper dolls and pretend to sell them at a pretend store. This goes on until first grade when academics begin and they start full-day school. They don't even think about learning to read until first grade.[/quote][/quote]

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