Reading difficulties: teaching approaches
A balanced approach
Recent and continuing debates on the early teaching of reading have focused almost exclusively on approaches to teaching phonics. The necessity for phonics teaching is not disputed but there is a need for phonics to be placed in the context of meaningful experiences of reading, writing and talking, particularly for children with literacy difficulties and/or developmental SEN. In considering the teaching and learning of children with literacy difficulties, whatever the origin of the difficulty, it is important for teachers to adopt a balanced approach:
- to raise motivation and confidence, and enjoyment of reading
- to help children to develop knowledge and understanding of ‘the small shapes’ of reading – knowledge and experience of written language, sound/letter relationships, knowledge of ‘sight’ words, letter strings and patterns
- to help children to develop knowledge and understanding of ‘the big shapes’ of reading –patterns, language, meanings, themes, characters, text types
- to help children to draw on a range of cues to support their reading.
Generic teaching approaches
While there are no universal prescriptions for children with literacy difficulties, there are generic teaching approaches which form a helpful basis for planning a programme of support. There need to be structured and frequent opportunities for:
- reading with an adult
- reading with a partner
- practising reading through re-reading known texts
- teaching about letter-sound relationships linked to the child’s individual learning needs
- the linking of reading with writing through the child’s own dictated and/or written texts, supported by an adult, on paper and on screen
- frequent formative assessments to monitor progress.
In general, children with reading difficulties do not choose to read and need to be encouraged to do so. For this reason it is essential to consider the quality of the texts provided. They should:
- contain strong language patterns language and rhymes
- have high quality illustrations which complement the text
- be humorous and multi-layered
- merit frequent re-readings
- offer possibilities for developing a range of teaching activities, including talk and writing
Teaching approaches for children who are slow to begin reading:
- getting to know a core of books well – books with rhyme, repetition, strong patterns, and supportive illustrations
- opportunities to re-read favourite books
- making simple books based on favourite repetitive books, the child tells the text, the adult scribes
- use of shared writing in groups to create texts, as above
- use of songs, poems and rhymes for individual and group reading
- modelling of reading by an adult
- phonics games and activities linked to texts and child’s level of knowledge
- book-based reading games
- use of interactive, digital texts which encourage frequent repetition and re-readings
Other approaches may need to take into account whether children are failing to attend to the print, needing their
References
- O’Sullivan, O. (1990), ‘Children with reading difficulties’, in Barrs, M. and Thomas, A. (eds), The Reading Book, CLPE
 
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