by Elfrieda (Freddy) H. Hiebert
Why texts for foundational skills can also build knowledge
What comes to mind when we think about texts designed to develop automaticity in reading? Often, we think of short passages with carefully selected words, familiar spelling patterns, and repeated opportunities to practice decoding. These features matter. But there’s another question worth asking: What do children learn about the world as they read these texts?
The answer: A lot! At TextProject, we’ve developed collections of free texts intended to increase students’ opportunities to read accurately, efficiently, and with understanding. The collections range from texts for children taking their first steps in reading to texts for adolescents who are still developing automaticity
Consider a collection of texts about bats. These texts are accessible to developing readers, but they also offer information that children can organize and remember. After reading, students might create a semantic map connecting ideas from the texts.
This possibility extends to older students. A collection about comics and cartoons introduces different forms of visual communication. A text set about A Long Walk to Water introduces adolescent readers to issues of survival, displacement, perseverance, and access to clean water.
These are different texts for different readers, but they share an important characteristic: Reading practice is also an opportunity to learn something.
Automaticity and meaning are partners
The Simple View of Reading reminds us that reading comprehension depends on decoding and language comprehension. Instruction must attend to both, but that doesn’t mean they must always be addressed through entirely separate materials.
Students need repeated opportunities to apply their knowledge of the alphabetic system. They also need encounters with meaningful vocabulary, ideas, and information. Well-designed accessible texts can contribute to both purposes.
Certainly, not every text can accomplish every instructional goal equally well. A beginning reader practicing short vowels will encounter different vocabulary and ideas than a fifth grader reading about engineering. Nor should we expect a brief phonics reader to provide the depth of a substantial informational book. The point is not that all texts do the same job. Developing automaticity does not require abandoning meaningful content.
Making knowledge visible
A simple classroom routine can help children recognize what they’ve learned. After reading several related texts, ask students what they now know about the topic. Record their ideas in a semantic map using words, phrases, and illustrations.
These maps will look different across grades. Young children might draw and label features of an animal. Middle school students might organize information into categories and show relationships. Older students might connect events, causes, consequences, and themes.
In each case, the map helps organize knowledge while giving teachers a window into students’ understanding.
The instructional opportunity
As teachers select texts for reading practice, two questions deserve attention: Will this text strengthen students’ word recognition? And what might students learn from reading it?
We don’t need to choose between automaticity and knowledge. Thoughtfully selected texts can give students opportunities to develop both.
Next post in theReading More, Learning More series: When Texts Build on Each Other—From Isolated Reading Experiences to Cumulative Knowledge.