Big boost in teaching kids to read

Julie Oliver with her children Samuel, 5, and Ada, 3. Photo / Christine Cornege

Combined method helps pupils catch up within 12 weeks.

Reading big books to schoolchildren while also sounding out words in the story has been labelled a "breakthrough" to improving literacy.

Newly published research from Massey University and Auckland University found children who were read the big books with enlarged words in the classroom and taught phonics by singling out words in the stories achieved astonishing results and brought their reading up to an average level within 12 weeks.

The study was carried out on a group of 6-year-olds at three lower-decile schools - Clendon Park School, Flat Bush School and Rangomai School - over a 12-week period in 2011. The children were split into four groups to test each of four methods.

The combined method of being read big books and taught phonics together was compared with just being read big books or just being taught phonics, which are the most common ways of teaching reading and literacy in the classroom. The fourth, a control group, was taught maths instead of literacy.

Professor Tom Nicholson of Massey University, who co-authored the study, said the reading level of children particularly in lower-decile schools could be dramatically improved by simply tweaking the current methods.

While the children's reading level remained unchanged for big book reading compared with combining big book reading and phonics, there was notable improvement in their comprehension, spelling and basic skills.

"It's a breakthrough study really. We have shown that rather than teaching these things separately, if you put them together we can get just about every child reading and spelling up to their chronological age."

He believed the success of the integrated approach was making the learning relevant to the children.

The results were measured by giving the 96 children a range of assessments, including reading different passages and asking them questions to test their comprehension.

The researchers are now seeking funding to extend the study to more schools and either show teachers how to use the combined method or offer it in addition to the other practices.

However New Zealand Principals' Federation president Philip Harding said there was no model of teaching reading that just relied on big books and often the methods needed to be tailored to suit individual children.

The Paparoa Street Primary School principal welcomed the new research on improving literacy. "There are no silver bullets. This is hard graft finding the pathway that is going to work for the learner."

Sounding out part of ritual

Julie Oliver will be making sure she sounds out even more words when she reads her 5-year-old son Samuel some of the family's favourites, including Dr Seuss at bedtime.

Since her older son Jack was diagnosed with dyslexia, the Hamilton mother of three said she was "a bit ultra-paranoid about her children's learning" so always looked into research and tried to apply it at home when she could.

On top of the ritual of reading books at home as a family, Samuel also has to read for 10 minutes a night and hunt out certain words in the books as part of his homework.

Mrs Oliver said the 5-year-old Rototuna Primary student's reading was at an average level like any other child his age and she was aware of Samuel being read big books as a group, as well as being taught phonics in a separate lesson. During morning mat time the children played a phonic song where they had to point to each sound as they went through.

However, she welcomed the new research if it would improve literacy and reading in children.

"Nothing new surprises me these days when it comes to learning and children and what they are researching and coming up with."