Literacy For The 21st Century: A Balanced Approach

943 Words4 Pages

Reading is fundamental to today’s society because of numerous of things; it matures the mind of readers, develops imagination, and improves spelling. “Most importantly reading is the building block of life”. According to Tompkins in Literacy for the 21st century: A Balanced Approach reading is a complex process for understanding written text (Tompkins, 2014). The National Reading Panel states “a high quality reading program must include six instructional content based on the six components of reading; oral language, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension in an instructional design that establishes reading development” ("National Reading Panel," n.d.).
Oral Language First, oral language is an acquired …show more content…

According to the text, after instruction in this component students have the ability to; pronounce words, use invented spelling, and divide words into syllables (Tompkins, 2014, p. 13). Tompkins states “the phonological system is important for written and oral language therefore when students develop phonological awareness they learn that words are made up of small words defined as phonemes” (Tompkins, 2014, p. 13). Phonological awareness is the foundation for phonics when students have the ability to comprehend that sounds and print are connected. Phonemic awareness is also outlined in this component because it primarily deals with the manipulation sounds phoneme-genomes (“The Development of Phonological Skills | Reading Rockets,” n.d.). Students who show they are able to identify sounds, blend sounds to make new words, or change sounds to make new words have shown to improve student’s comprehension and spelling (Tompkins, 2014, p. 13). This is a key contributor to reading developments for students.
Phonics
According to pbs.org, phonics is the simple relationships between languages and sounds. Phonics is important because of the improved spelling and helping students learn to read ("Phonics Basics Education. PBS Parents | PBS," n.d.). Students who learn phonics and can apply …show more content…

According to the text, students with a large vocabulary are proficient readers and utilize more strategies to find meaning of an unknown word (Tompkins, 2014, p. 218). Students learn a plethora of vocabulary words through indirect ways; engage in oral language daily, listen to adults read and independent reading if students are unfamiliar with a particular word they are advised to use context clues, root words, affixes to determine the meaning of an unknown word. Vocabulary is important primarily for comprehension understanding the dynamics of the text allow students the opportunity to familiarize with new words although they are not words that they may use every