|
Whole-Word Memorization Some of you may be working with children who seem to have only recently developed trouble reading texts. They are able to read lower-level books without any difficulty; yet, when they are presented with grade-level material, they seem to struggle over words. It may be that these children have learned how to read by memorizing those words that frequently occur in children's texts and have subsequently used pictures to provide contextual clues to fill in their word gaps (Wise, 2005; Hiebert, 1998). The use of contextual clues to identify words is sometimes encouraged, but it should not be a child's primary means of learning to read (Gould, 1998). As their texts become increasingly difficult, these children find it more and more difficult to memorize increasingly complicated words. Such special readers as these have not yet mastered the fundamentals of phonics and phonemics that are crucial to learning to read new words. You may want to read with your child to facilitate his or her understanding that words are made up of letters and that sentences are made up of words. Special readers can follow along with story texts in the same manner that they would with their index finger under words in a hand-held book. In fact, if you are reading one of this website's story with a child, you may want to encourage the child to place his or her finger just over the screen to follow along.
|
| Home | Background Research | Activities | Resources | Works Cited | About Us |