Misconceptions
#1- A common misconception about literacy is that the United States does not have a huge reading problem, because the literacy rate is around 99%. According to Jennings, Caldwell & Lerner (2014), "national longitudinal studies show that more than 17.5% of the nation's schoolchildren, or about 1 million children, will encounter reading problems in the crucial first 3 years of their schooling" (p.4). These reading problems can be anywhere from, but not limited to, general vision problems, dyslexia, lack of fluency, and processing disorders. Studies show that children in the United States are not mastering reading skills, and this might be because of reading problems these children may encounter. Jennings et al. also mention, "NEAP (2011) results show that more than 67% of fourth-grade students performed below proficient reading levels" (p.4). This number is shocking, and these high percentages of students performing below proficiency levels are consistent across grade levels. The United States does in fact have a reading problem, even though the overall literacy rate is high. With Common Core State Standards, No Child Left Behind, and other policies, the hope is that the United States' reading problem will diminish. Below are some more shocking statistics regarding literacy in the United States, and these can be found in Reading Problems: Assessment and Teaching Strategies.
#2- A second common misconception regarding literacy is that learning to read is a natural process. Sebastian Wren (n.d.), an author for Reading Rockets, mentioned that, "simply put, learning to read is not only unnatural, it is just about the most unnatural thing humans do". Many people believe that when children are read to and when they are around people who read, they will naturally learn to read themselves. The exact opposite is true. Children learn to understand spoken words when they are babies. However, reading takes years of learning and practice. A child cannot learn how to read by simply listening to his or her parents read to them. Children need direct instruction in literacy. Yes, reading to children might help them learn how to read, but that is not the only thing that makes children read. Wern also stated that "clearly, if reading was natural, everybody would be doing it, and we would not have to worry so much about dealing with a literacy crisis or a literacy gap".
#3- A third common misconception regarding literacy is that because a child can read fluently, they are able to comprehend what they are reading. Comprehension is known as the "reason for reading", but it can be very difficult for some students to do. It takes a lot of practice, and students need to learn various strategies to be effective in comprehending. A student might be able to fluently read grade level texts, but are unable to comprehend what the text is about. Jennings, Caldwell & Lerner (2014) state, "at times, youngsters do not actively construct meaning but simply read to pronounce words or answer questions; thus, they are not reading to comprehend" (p.96). There are two different types of comprehension: literal and higher-level. In literal comprehension students understand exactly what is in the text. In higher-level comprehension, students might need to use their prior knowledge, make inferences,and think critically about what is being read. Comprehension issues can occur all the way through adulthood. Many adults have to reread a text several times until they are able to understand it, even though they can read the text fluently.
#4- A fourth misconception relating to literacy, is that low reading ability leads to low intelligence. Reading develops students knowledge of the world. Those who struggle with reading are then considered 'less-abled'. People often link poor reading, with poor writing and spelling as well. Again, labeling these students who struggle with reading, writing, and spelling as less-abled. However, this is not the case. Effective teachers need to determine the students strengths, and use that in effective teaching instruction to help all students succeed. Measuring intelligence tests can be given in reading assessments, through teachers, or through psychologists. For reading assessment, teachers can assess a students potential, cognitive abilities, and observe the students behavior during the testing. According to Jennings, Caldwell, and Lerner (2014 p. 81), "Intelligence is more than a single general factor. The current theory of intelligence is that intelligence comprises many separate abilities." IQ tests can measure different functions that help the teacher determine the students strengths and weaknesses (Jennings, Caldwell, & Learner, 2014, p. 81). In other words, just because a student is a struggling reader, does not mean they have low intelligence. Intelligence is more than just their reading; it is many other factors.
#5- A fifth misconception related to reading, is that eventually students will learn to read at their own pace given enough time (Reading Rockets, n.d.). People think that with time, students will eventually 'figure it out' on their own, but this is not the case. Teachers should give students instruction to help develop each of their individual needs, and allow students time to become proficient in these areas with supports from the teacher. According to Sebastian Wren, an author for Reading Rockets (n.d.), teacher should always address instruction to each students Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), we should not simply wait for children to develop reading skills in their own time. In other words, teacher should provide students with the supports they need to be proficient. We should not let students learn to read at their own pace because they are not learning any strategies or skills to help them improve. According to Wren (Reading Rockets, n.d.), effective teachers can help struggling readers with poor literacy skills become successful readers with rich literacy skills. If students needs are not met then it will be very hard for them to catch up to reading at grade level by fourth grade, which causes the students to lose motivation (Reading Rockets, n.d.).
#6- A sixth misconception related to reading interventions, is that off-the-shelf reading programs are successful. Some examples of off-the-shelf reading programs are, ClickN KIDS, TNT reading, Red Apple Reading, Reading Kingdom, and much more. These reading programs are online programs for schools and parents to purchase to help their students with reading. These programs are meant to help students increase their reading skills. However, according to an article written by Sebastian Wren (Reading Rockets), these programs are designed to address a single part of the overall reading curriculum. Parents and teachers can purchase these programs to help support low readers achieve their goals. They can also help increase schools scores.
The misconception is that people think the reason schools scores are increasing is because of these programs. However, this is not the case. "Nothing could ever take the place of a knowledgeable and talented teacher," Sebastian states. I couldn't agree more! A huge part of teaching is getting to know each students unique backgrounds, and how they learn best. Online reading programs do not have the background knowledge of students, and cannot accommodate to each of their needs. Also, teachers are able to provide students with multiple strategies to help them learn to read. Computer programs typically focus on one part of the curriculum. Teachers are lifelong learner who go to school to learn how to effectively teach their students; not to just sit back and let computer programs teacher their students.
#7- A seventh misconception regarding reading according to Sebastian Wren (n.d.) is, "skilled reading involves using syntactic and semantic clues to "guess" words, and good readers make many "mistakes" as they read authentic text" (Reading Rockets).
#8- An eighth misconception when it comes to reading as stated in Ten Myths About Learning To Read is, "we used to do a better job of teaching children to read" (Sebastian Wren, Reading Rockets, n.d.).
#9- A ninth common misconception related to reading is, "phoneme awareness is a consequence (not a cause) of reading acquisition" (Sebastian Wren, Reading Rockets, n.d.).
#10- A tenth misconception related to reading interventions is, "short-term tutoring for struggling readers can get them caught up with their peers, and the gains will be sustained" (Sebastian Wren, Reading Rockets, n.d.).
- 75% of adult prison inmates are illiterate
- U.S. Companies lose nearly $40 billion annually because of illiteracy
- 85% of delinquent children are illiterate
- The cost of taxpayers of adult illiteracy is $224 billion a year in terms of welfare payments, crime, job incompetence, lost taxes, and remedial education
#2- A second common misconception regarding literacy is that learning to read is a natural process. Sebastian Wren (n.d.), an author for Reading Rockets, mentioned that, "simply put, learning to read is not only unnatural, it is just about the most unnatural thing humans do". Many people believe that when children are read to and when they are around people who read, they will naturally learn to read themselves. The exact opposite is true. Children learn to understand spoken words when they are babies. However, reading takes years of learning and practice. A child cannot learn how to read by simply listening to his or her parents read to them. Children need direct instruction in literacy. Yes, reading to children might help them learn how to read, but that is not the only thing that makes children read. Wern also stated that "clearly, if reading was natural, everybody would be doing it, and we would not have to worry so much about dealing with a literacy crisis or a literacy gap".
#3- A third common misconception regarding literacy is that because a child can read fluently, they are able to comprehend what they are reading. Comprehension is known as the "reason for reading", but it can be very difficult for some students to do. It takes a lot of practice, and students need to learn various strategies to be effective in comprehending. A student might be able to fluently read grade level texts, but are unable to comprehend what the text is about. Jennings, Caldwell & Lerner (2014) state, "at times, youngsters do not actively construct meaning but simply read to pronounce words or answer questions; thus, they are not reading to comprehend" (p.96). There are two different types of comprehension: literal and higher-level. In literal comprehension students understand exactly what is in the text. In higher-level comprehension, students might need to use their prior knowledge, make inferences,and think critically about what is being read. Comprehension issues can occur all the way through adulthood. Many adults have to reread a text several times until they are able to understand it, even though they can read the text fluently.
#4- A fourth misconception relating to literacy, is that low reading ability leads to low intelligence. Reading develops students knowledge of the world. Those who struggle with reading are then considered 'less-abled'. People often link poor reading, with poor writing and spelling as well. Again, labeling these students who struggle with reading, writing, and spelling as less-abled. However, this is not the case. Effective teachers need to determine the students strengths, and use that in effective teaching instruction to help all students succeed. Measuring intelligence tests can be given in reading assessments, through teachers, or through psychologists. For reading assessment, teachers can assess a students potential, cognitive abilities, and observe the students behavior during the testing. According to Jennings, Caldwell, and Lerner (2014 p. 81), "Intelligence is more than a single general factor. The current theory of intelligence is that intelligence comprises many separate abilities." IQ tests can measure different functions that help the teacher determine the students strengths and weaknesses (Jennings, Caldwell, & Learner, 2014, p. 81). In other words, just because a student is a struggling reader, does not mean they have low intelligence. Intelligence is more than just their reading; it is many other factors.
#5- A fifth misconception related to reading, is that eventually students will learn to read at their own pace given enough time (Reading Rockets, n.d.). People think that with time, students will eventually 'figure it out' on their own, but this is not the case. Teachers should give students instruction to help develop each of their individual needs, and allow students time to become proficient in these areas with supports from the teacher. According to Sebastian Wren, an author for Reading Rockets (n.d.), teacher should always address instruction to each students Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), we should not simply wait for children to develop reading skills in their own time. In other words, teacher should provide students with the supports they need to be proficient. We should not let students learn to read at their own pace because they are not learning any strategies or skills to help them improve. According to Wren (Reading Rockets, n.d.), effective teachers can help struggling readers with poor literacy skills become successful readers with rich literacy skills. If students needs are not met then it will be very hard for them to catch up to reading at grade level by fourth grade, which causes the students to lose motivation (Reading Rockets, n.d.).
#6- A sixth misconception related to reading interventions, is that off-the-shelf reading programs are successful. Some examples of off-the-shelf reading programs are, ClickN KIDS, TNT reading, Red Apple Reading, Reading Kingdom, and much more. These reading programs are online programs for schools and parents to purchase to help their students with reading. These programs are meant to help students increase their reading skills. However, according to an article written by Sebastian Wren (Reading Rockets), these programs are designed to address a single part of the overall reading curriculum. Parents and teachers can purchase these programs to help support low readers achieve their goals. They can also help increase schools scores.
The misconception is that people think the reason schools scores are increasing is because of these programs. However, this is not the case. "Nothing could ever take the place of a knowledgeable and talented teacher," Sebastian states. I couldn't agree more! A huge part of teaching is getting to know each students unique backgrounds, and how they learn best. Online reading programs do not have the background knowledge of students, and cannot accommodate to each of their needs. Also, teachers are able to provide students with multiple strategies to help them learn to read. Computer programs typically focus on one part of the curriculum. Teachers are lifelong learner who go to school to learn how to effectively teach their students; not to just sit back and let computer programs teacher their students.
#7- A seventh misconception regarding reading according to Sebastian Wren (n.d.) is, "skilled reading involves using syntactic and semantic clues to "guess" words, and good readers make many "mistakes" as they read authentic text" (Reading Rockets).
#8- An eighth misconception when it comes to reading as stated in Ten Myths About Learning To Read is, "we used to do a better job of teaching children to read" (Sebastian Wren, Reading Rockets, n.d.).
#9- A ninth common misconception related to reading is, "phoneme awareness is a consequence (not a cause) of reading acquisition" (Sebastian Wren, Reading Rockets, n.d.).
#10- A tenth misconception related to reading interventions is, "short-term tutoring for struggling readers can get them caught up with their peers, and the gains will be sustained" (Sebastian Wren, Reading Rockets, n.d.).