On February 16, 2018, Dr. Shari Robertson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the current president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), presented about language and literacy development at the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) 2018 Spring Conference. First, she spoke about the language and literacy hierarchy, along with strategies for strong oral and language skills. Towards the end, Dr. Robertson presented about programs where parents can participate and learn about new, stress free, and fun reading strategies. Dr. Robertson began by listing the five components of the language and literacy hierarchy: listening, talking, reading, writing, …show more content…
Robertson transitioned into strategies for strong oral and language skills. She explained that children with strong oral and language skills tend to develop strong reading skills because of the daily exposure and practice. As Dr. Robertson began listing different reading strategies, two out of the seven reading strategies stuck out to me because of their engagement aspect. The first strategy was called echo reading and is beneficial for children understanding and matching oral language to one another. Dr. Robertson mentioned to pick out an engaging story line and cue the child to repeat a phrase in the book. Repeating simple words or phrases aloud, fosters the child’s vocabulary and increases his or her reading development. The second reading strategy was called reader’s theatre and utilizes the child’s natural interests, so the book can come alive through dramatic play. Dr. Robertson explained that a child will participate more voluntarily if the reading is fun and stress free. This strategy is great for acting out the storyline and explaining each component of the book. As a future speech-language pathologist, these two reading strategies would be the most utilized and useful for my practice, so children can view reading as fun rather than exhausting and