Wondering what are the best ways to teach young children how to read?
You need to take note of this article from the ABC on Structured Literacy - An evidence-based approach to teaching reading that involves a combination of phonics (sounding out words) and explicit teacher-led instruction.
It is based on a "landmark international study that examined 10,000 pieces of research going back to 1966 to distill six big ideas behind the science of reading.
Reading the article was music to our ears. It affirmed that writing our debut children's book series, Willow the Wonderer, in verse with perfect rhymes - was absolutely the right one.
Here's why.
First thing to note - Learning to read isn't easy
It seems a belief that has been plaguing our education system is that learning to read is a natural process and therefore, easy.
I am sure there are a cohort of young children for whom this holds true. But for a lot more, it can be a struggle, and that is even before you factor any learning difficulties that they may have.
As the ABC article put it:
"First up, it's worth pointing out structured literacy has at its core the idea that reading isn't easy and requires two to three years of explicit teaching in the classroom. So start by cutting yourself and your kids a bit of slack and recognise learning this foundational skill will take some time."
The first pillar of the science of reading - developing phonemic awareness
According to the study there are six pillars to the science of reading (on which structured literacy is based). The first is developing Phonemic awareness.
What this simply means is developing an awareness of the sounds that make up a word.
As it happens, works written in verse can be invaluable at developing such an awareness.
After all, the whole idea of writing in verse, is to structure and play with the individual sounds that make up words.
Where we end sentences with similar sounds, we create rhymes and where we repeat certain sounds, we create alliterations.
Both of these 'tools' - rhyme and alliterations - are seen and used in structured literacy to help develop this very first pillar of read - phonemic awareness.
The second pillar of reading - Phonics
Rhymes are also recommended as a way to teach the second pillar of reading - Phonics.
This simply means understanding or decoding the sounds that letters and combination of letters create.
As they begin to receive instruction here, they very quickly learn to recognise the predicable patterns that we have in language - and once again rhymes, can help them recognise these.
Here's an example of learning a simple "ay" letter/sound combination from the first stanza of Willow the Wonderer:
" Willow the wonderer
Woke up one day
Wondering about happiness
And where it lay. "
The remaining four pillars of teaching children how to read
The four other pillars of structured literacy are:
Reading fluency - ability to read accurately and quickly
Vocabulary Instruction - words we need to know to communicate effectively
Text comprehension instruction - understanding the meaning of a text
Oral languge - being able to use the vocabulary to construct sentences and communicate
Whilst the remaining four pillars are intuitive enough, I'd recommend reading the ABC article in its entirety as it contains useful pointers from Professor Rauno Parrila, Director of the the Australian Catholic University's Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, and Tess Marlen, a senior policy analyst at the Australian Education Research Organisation, on what parents and grandparents can do to help their little ones around each.
The pieces that stood out to me - and once again affrimed that we are absolutely on the right path with our Willow the Wonderer books were:
Studies have shown children exposed to a larger number of words at home will do better as they progress through school.
A good way to do this is explaining the meaning of words when you're reading your child a story. It's best to focus on words your child doesn't already know the meaning of, such as "remorse". Words like "mum" and "dad" they will have in their oral vocabulary.
In writing Willow the Wonderer books, I always opt for words that best tells the story we are trying to tell - even if they may not be deemed by authorities as being "age appropriate"...
I've always believed that the more words children are exposed to, the more they will learn and the better they will be able to communicate. Sure each books contains new words they probably have never seen before - but that is where adults come in - its our job to help them learn the new words, what it means and how they too can use it in their everyday lives.
Whilst it may mean our readers may need to work a little harder ... all the studies and experts seems to agree that it is better for children in the long run.
Create a space where your child can ask you what a particular sentence means.
"You can ask the child about the motives, 'why do you think she did that?' Things like that, so the children become conscious of the thinking processes that go into reading comprehension," Professor Parilla said.
"Oral language is understanding and using vocabulary to produce sentences. That develops in the early years, preschool and earlier. Children who are exposed to rich language early tend to do better," she said.
The best stories I believe are ones that raise many questions for the little ones to discuss with the grown-ups. With Willow the Wonderer stories referencing the many big philosophical dilemmas of life and living .... I hope it provides plenty of opportunity to do this!
Such conversations will not only expose them to new ideas that they may not encounter in the mainstream and but also pique their curiosity to learn more. More importantly, they will grow up not only aware of nuances, but also able to it - a skills that is sorely missing in our current discourse ...
Going against the grain in children's publishing
Since starting in children's publishing, one of the things that has confounded me is the general snobbery that most Children's Editors and established publishers have towards rhyming. I've written about this in the past.
Indeed, most publishers no longer accept manuscripts written in verse/rhyme - referring to the stacks of manuscript they've had to review over the years that are "riddled with bad rhymes".
Whilst I can see how that can be torturous... most simply do not like the format.
As one Children's Editor from notable publisher put it to us, rhymes comes across as "twee".
(Plus it is harder to sell the foreign language rights ...)
The modern and literary sensibilities of grown adults aside ... I think its time we reference the science in our work:
Rhymes help children to learn to read - and that should be the most important consideration when publishing stories for the little ones. To rob an entire generation of contemporary tales told in rhyme is quite frankly, a crime.
The anecdotal feedback I've received from some of our earliest readers - mothers who have been using our books with their children from when they were as young as 6 months old - also supports this.
They've found that rhyming helps their young children to, very naturally, learn and remember new words, phrases and ideas. They may return to our books after several month, and find that their little toddlers still remember most of the words.
So next time you are picking books for the little ones, give books written in rhyme a go.
Take the time out to read these out aloud to your little ones - and when you do, exaggerate the sounds and hit all the alliterations. Sound out the new words and share its meaning. And at the end of storytime, indulge them in a conversation to see what they and you made of it.
Not only will this help your little ones to learn a foundational skill but also make many memories to cherish.