|
 What Does It Mean To Be A Primary Learning
Support/Reading Specialist
MY GOAL:
To diagnostically identify each
child’s struggle in language and to prescribe the appropriate
strategy of instruction that will ensure a successful experience in
understanding how to read.
A
primary cause of decoding, reading and spelling problems is
difficulty in judging sounds within words. The auditory ability to
register, discriminate, differentiate, and compare the sequence of
sounds within spoken words is called phonological awareness. A
weakness in phonological awareness results in miscues such as the
omission, substitution and reversal of sounds and letters within
words. The phonological structure of oral language is represented
in the English language alphabetic writing system. Well developed
phonological awareness is associated with ease in the reading
process.
What can a student with average to above
visual and auditory processing skills do? They can: discriminate the
letters of the language with minimal exposure, learn to write by
copying letters from the board or worksheet, intuit the sounds from
the whole words sound unit because of phonemic awareness, blend
individual sounds into a word, deal with many patterns of the
language simultaneously, proceed to break the code with relatively
little difficulty and are decoding with increasing speed and flow by
the end of grade 1, and most students are fluent readers by the end
of grade 2.
What
Happens IF the student is not the average reader in grade 1 or grade
2?
This
is where I come into the picture. A classroom teacher may need to
collaborate with a diagnostic prescriptive teacher. I like to
consider myself the “slicer”. I focus on very specific
skills. To be diagnostic, I make it my job to observe the students
confusion with the English Language and the cause of the confusion
e.g. letters, sound/symbol associations, sequencing, etc. I proceed
to determine the level of “language learning” the student is in and
I assess what elements of language that need most of the attention
within their level.
Understanding key components of language
processing and production is critical for optimal learning in
school. I focus on the phonological level (language of sounds), for
“at-risk” primary students, intervention or instruction in
processing sounds, composing words from sounds, associating sounds
with symbols for reading and spelling are essential pre-requisite
skills to learning how to read and write. I either review a
concept that is causing the confusion (I make sure I can help
eliminate the student’s specific uncertainty), or directly teach the
language concept that is interfering with the learning process. To
be diagnostic means to identify a child’s skill first. To be
prescriptive, I need to know what teaching steps to prescribe and
how to implement those steps into an appropriate instructional
plan. It is important for my students to feel successful. I make
sure the MSL reading methods I use prescribe to the specific needs
of each child I support.
WHAT
IS MSL APPROACH?
(Multi-sensory Structured Language Education Approach)
1.
Therapeutic approach for those with visual and processing
difficulties
2.
Alphabet taught to mastery.
3.
Phonetic information of language taught to mastery.
4.
Information taught in MSL strategies with intensive individualized
instruction.
5.
Vocabulary- limited to letters/sounds and patterns of language
presented and selected sight words.
Below are some
of the MSL models used for instruction:
http://www.greatleaps.com/
JOY KOLLER
Primary Reading Resource Teacher
Singapore American School |
