To Principals and Curriculum Leaders of K-5 Schools
If you are involved in making reading curriculum decisions, please read the ASCD article that I have shared at the end of my comments.
The term “Reading Wars” has reared its ugly head again. In my four decades in
education, this term seems to jump up about every ten years. This term leads you to
believe that everything you have been doing in reading is all wrong. It usually suggests
that you throw out all of your current reading materials and buy new ones.
The article above that I strongly recommend that you read uses the terms “code-
focused” and “meaning-focused” to identify the two factions in this “Reading War.” In
my career, I have seen bookrooms filled with thousands of dollars of “code-focused”
books completely cleared of those books and replaced with “meaning-focused.” It
required thousands of dollars and several years to refill that bookroom before all of the
students in that school had access to “meaning-focused” books. About the time that the
bookroom was fully functioning again, another “Reading War” occurred, and that
bookroom was cleared once again – replaced with the “code-focused“ books that had
formerly been shunned. How much money have we wasted?
I am currently reading the book A Fresh Look at Phonics by Wiley Blevins, and
in December I had the opportunity to attend his presentation. Below you will find a copy of
one of his slides.
His quality decodable texts are referred to in the ASCD article as “code-focused”
and his just right books are the “meaning-focused” books. I have included two quotes
from his book.
- “A variety of texts is needed in early reading instruction, each with a specific
purpose. One type of text cannot meet all the reading demands of our early
readers.”
- “These books (authentic texts) and decodables texts are equally as critical to the
skills students need to develop.”
I know that this is a highly contested subject at this point in time, but I have lived
and taught through too many of these wars. I taught using “code-focused” books and
when they were thrown out, I taught using “meaning-focused” books. I have trained
teachers how to teach reading based on the type of book that is the flavor of the day.
What I have learned through all these changes is that there is not one way to teach
reading. Different children require different types of instruction with different types
of materials.
Read this article about the differing perspectives from the sciences of reading.
Choose the best parts from each side in this current “Reading War.” Choose the parts
that are the best for your school and the age of your students. When we choose sides
in these “Reading Wars” the only losers are our students.
This ASCD article is long, but it is well worth your time if you are involved in the
teaching of reading in your school or system.
Please read. The Sciences of Reading Instruction
Darlene Watson
Growing Readers Specialist
