Developmental Reading Stages

By: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning

The Stages of Reading Development is a continuum that explains how students

progress as readers. These stages are based on the students' experience and not
their age or grade level. Knowing these stages is helpful when developing
materials for specific types of readers.

Emergent readers need enriching and enjoyable experiences with books, especially
picture books. Students can become comfortable with books even before they can
read independently—recognizing letters and words and even language patterns.
They are able to work with concepts of print and are at the beginning stages of
developing the ability to focus attention on letter-sound relationships. Sharing
books over and over, extending stories, relating experiences to both print and
pictures, and guiding students to "read," helps children begin to make
predictions about what they are reading.

Early readers are able to use several strategies to predict a word, often using
pictures to confirm predictions. They can discuss the background of the story to
better understand the actions in the story and the message the story carries. It
is this time in the reader's development that the cueing systems are called upon
significantly, so they must pay close attention to the visual cues and language
patterns, and read for meaning. It is a time when reading habits of risk-taking,
and of predicting and confirming words while keeping the meaning in mind are
established.

Transitional readers often like to read books in a series as a comprehension

strategy; the shared characters, settings, and events support their reading
development. They read at a good pace; reading rate is one sign of a child's
over-all comprehension. At this stage, children generally have strategies to
figure out most words but continue to need help with understanding increasingly
more difficult text.

Fluent readers are confident in their understandings of text and how text works,
and they are reading independently. The teacher focuses on students' competence
in using strategies to integrate the cueing systems. Students are maintaining
meaning through longer and more complex stretches of language. An effective
reader has come to understand text as something that influences people's ideas
The Reading Pyramid: Understanding the Process of Building Strong Literacy Skills

There are five critical components that develop a strong reader: 1) phonemic
awareness, 2) phonics, 3) fluency, 4) vocabulary, and 5) comprehension.

Research done in 1997 by the National Reading Panel, which labeled these
critical components as The Five Pillars of Reading, found that when all five
components were effectively taught, learners had the highest chances for
success. As a consequence of the research's findings, the five pillars have
figured prominently in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). These core reading
components have been known about for some time, yet their incorporation in
instruction has not proven to be an easy task.
In order to understand how these reading components should be taught, let's look
at them as the building blocks of a pyramid.
In order to construct the top level of the pyramid, a good foundation must first
be laid. In this case, the building of a reading pyramid starts with a foundation
of phonemic awareness (the ability to notice, think about, and work with the
individual sounds in spoken words). This ability is something that many of us
take for granted, but if we did not have it, we would find reading difficult. The
second and third levels of the pyramid, phonics and fluency, make up a large
portion of what we learn in grades one through four, and the last two levels of
the pyramid, vocabulary and comprehension, are continually being built upon so
the learner can reach higher and higher levels of reading.
How to Motivate Students to read?

1. Read! Sounds simple and is simple. If we're going to encourage kids to read,
then we need to do it too. Read for pleasure, information, instructions,
connecting with others and so on. Just read. And read a little more than you've
been reading lately.

2. Fill your room with books. Kids who grow up with books all around them learn
to think of books as friends and allies in their pursuit of adventure and
learning.

3. Be a good reading "role model" for your students. Let them see you reading,
and how much you enjoy reading books and magazines. Share your reading
experiences with colleagues, friends and students. Tell them what you've been
reading, what you've gained or learned from these texts, what you recommend.

4. Encourage your students to find new books on their own to read. While showing
your students books is a good way to build their interest level, a child who
finds new books on their own can benefit from an increased sense of independence.
Give students a choice in what they want to read. Children are more likely to
read when their interests are taken into account and they have control of how and
what to read.

5. Invite students to socialize around reading. Set up book clubs, reading

groups, literature circles. Many students need to interact with each other around
texts. It greatly enhances their comprehension and makes literacy in the
classroom so much more enjoyable.
6. Take a field trip. Make reading social and exciting. Visit your local library,
a university library or a bookstore. It's not about checking out or buying books-
it's about being surrounded by thousands of books, seeing the world of
possibility in print, salivating over what there is to know and explore.

7. Listen to audio books. Invite students to listen to them; play short passages.
While you're not developing decoding or fluency skills, you are acquiring
vocabulary, applying comprehension strategies, and enjoying stories or accruing
information.

8. Invite authors to speak. Kids can be greatly impacted from hearing an author,
especially one from a similar background to theirs, speak about reading and
writing.

9. Encourage creativity: Reading a book doesn't have to be where the story ends.
Kids can have fun creatively expressing what they've read. Provide your students
the opportunity to creatively express their thoughts on books they've read-think
acting out scenes, dressing up as their favourite story character or making up a
different ending to a favorite story.

10. Provide a safe, comfortable place to read. Safe, comfortable reading spaces
encourage visitors. Create a space that provides comfortable seating, proper
lighting and a variety of books. Something as small as a bean bag chair and rug
can make for a safe and comfortable environment for students to use throughout
the day to help develop and foster their love for reading.
Maps for Reading Comprehension

Today, anyone who wants to read an article or a book can do so quickly. Most
can search for reading materials at the click of a mouse or on library/classroom
shelves.
But even engaged readers sometimes face information overload. For example,
young or beginning readers may have trouble remembering the important elements of
a story.
If youre a teacher, you understand this dilemma and likely use multiple
resources to help your students understand what they read.
A story map is just one resource that helps young learners with reading
comprehension.

How Story Maps Benefit Students

Any teacher knows that no two students are exactly alike in their learning
styles, subject preferences, and skill levels.
Because story maps are graphic organizers, they allow students to tap into
visual learning and organize multiple literary elements. Heres how they work:
Teacher introduces simple story concepts (e.g., characters, setting, plot and/or
problems to be solved).
Teacher gives each student a blank story map.
Students look for story concepts/elements and write them in the blank spaces
on the map.
Students discuss their responses with the teacher.
So, exactly how do story maps benefit students?

Organization Students can organize information into smaller categories.

Summaries Listing important elements helps students summarize the story.

Main Theme Main themes are easier to spot in a passage or an entire story.

Writing Students build writing skills and mental organization skills.

Broad Use Story maps work well for both fictional stories and non-fiction
articles.

Learning Styles Story maps reinforce kinesthetic, visual, and even auditory
learning styles (if reading aloud).

Which Story Map Should I Use?

Depending on your students needs and reading levels, you may want to start
with the basics..
If you teach older students, feel free to add other elements, such as major
and minor characters, historical period, the moral of the story, and other key
points.
 Older students may also enjoy creating their own story map. Offer several
ideas for templates they might use, and then set them free to create!