John, something about this post just made my heart happy and I can't exactly tell you what it is. Maybe it's that I enjoy learning about the history of words as well or maybe it's about teaching kids to read. I must have had a pretty progressive reading teacher as a 3rd grader - she did teach us to build up words and to think about the sounds that were in them. The skills she taught were ones that I think about and still use today. Thank you for sharing this!!
Jane, thank you. What a wonderful remembrance of your teacher! My mother was my first teacher about phonics. In first and second grade, Ms. Lightner and Ms. Scott—”not Scoot,“ she told us—were using the Manassas LEA’s look-say curriculum. My mother gave me intellectual-logical lessons about reading; though it wasn’t systematic or explicit, she explained the ideas in the living room on West Street. Sadly, it took me years to figure it out. However, the importance of the alphabetic principle became really clear to me when I have to teach children to read.
Thank you for this wonderful post, Dr. Lloyd! As an ELL, I really resonated with your story about "Charlie" and the word "watch". It reminded me of how I used to pronounce "daughter" with a hard "g," people thought I was saying "doctor"! I didn’t understand the confusion until someone kindly pointed it out. Your post made me reflect on how I was taught English growing up. We rarely explored word structure and mostly memorized pronunciation. It wasn’t until I worked with UFLI during my dissertation that I truly appreciated the value of structured word analysis. I wish I had learned more about how and why words sound the way they do. :)
Fang, your comment is very rich. Thanks! Not only does ir emphasize the value of learning about words' spelling, but it also points out an interesting phenomenon. Teaching some skill often improves one's understanding of the skill. As I recall, the UFLI folks had college athletes tutoring decoding with little children who were having early difficulties in decoding. They observed that the tutors became better readers. I think people at U. Texas (Connie Juel?) had similar experiences a few years earlier.
If I ran teacher education, I would have prospective teachers tutor early literacy (even if the teacher ed students were focused on secondary science education) so they could watch a child actually become competent as a result of their teaching. Paige Pullen used to require such a practicum for special education students when she taught at UVA...yay!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response, Dr. Lloyd! It’s encouraging to know my experience connects with broader research and practice. I really love the idea that all teacher candidates should engage in early literacy tutoring. I’ve personally benefited from UFLI training and from observing tutors apply strategies in real settings. Your mention of Dr. Paige Pullen and UFLI has me thinking more seriously about integrating literacy intervention into my own coursework.
In my special ed endorsement program, student teachers explore different ways to engage with words and reading, such as reading with children and using the UFLI toolbox depending on district preferences. While we currently have a general literacy class, but there’s a clear gap between gen ed literacy and special ed literacy instruction. I agree it would be valuable to involve student teachers in applied experiences and discussions using real-world scenarios and targeted tutoring strategies. :)
John, something about this post just made my heart happy and I can't exactly tell you what it is. Maybe it's that I enjoy learning about the history of words as well or maybe it's about teaching kids to read. I must have had a pretty progressive reading teacher as a 3rd grader - she did teach us to build up words and to think about the sounds that were in them. The skills she taught were ones that I think about and still use today. Thank you for sharing this!!
Jane, thank you. What a wonderful remembrance of your teacher! My mother was my first teacher about phonics. In first and second grade, Ms. Lightner and Ms. Scott—”not Scoot,“ she told us—were using the Manassas LEA’s look-say curriculum. My mother gave me intellectual-logical lessons about reading; though it wasn’t systematic or explicit, she explained the ideas in the living room on West Street. Sadly, it took me years to figure it out. However, the importance of the alphabetic principle became really clear to me when I have to teach children to read.
Thank you for this wonderful post, Dr. Lloyd! As an ELL, I really resonated with your story about "Charlie" and the word "watch". It reminded me of how I used to pronounce "daughter" with a hard "g," people thought I was saying "doctor"! I didn’t understand the confusion until someone kindly pointed it out. Your post made me reflect on how I was taught English growing up. We rarely explored word structure and mostly memorized pronunciation. It wasn’t until I worked with UFLI during my dissertation that I truly appreciated the value of structured word analysis. I wish I had learned more about how and why words sound the way they do. :)
Fang, your comment is very rich. Thanks! Not only does ir emphasize the value of learning about words' spelling, but it also points out an interesting phenomenon. Teaching some skill often improves one's understanding of the skill. As I recall, the UFLI folks had college athletes tutoring decoding with little children who were having early difficulties in decoding. They observed that the tutors became better readers. I think people at U. Texas (Connie Juel?) had similar experiences a few years earlier.
If I ran teacher education, I would have prospective teachers tutor early literacy (even if the teacher ed students were focused on secondary science education) so they could watch a child actually become competent as a result of their teaching. Paige Pullen used to require such a practicum for special education students when she taught at UVA...yay!
So, thanks for the reminder!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful response, Dr. Lloyd! It’s encouraging to know my experience connects with broader research and practice. I really love the idea that all teacher candidates should engage in early literacy tutoring. I’ve personally benefited from UFLI training and from observing tutors apply strategies in real settings. Your mention of Dr. Paige Pullen and UFLI has me thinking more seriously about integrating literacy intervention into my own coursework.
In my special ed endorsement program, student teachers explore different ways to engage with words and reading, such as reading with children and using the UFLI toolbox depending on district preferences. While we currently have a general literacy class, but there’s a clear gap between gen ed literacy and special ed literacy instruction. I agree it would be valuable to involve student teachers in applied experiences and discussions using real-world scenarios and targeted tutoring strategies. :)