Dorothy Watson calls them phonicators. I guess this means that phonication is widespread. All humor aside, I agree with Beverly. Pronouncing is not reading. I generally explain that my blind parent has a sort of scanner that converts typed text to voice and, over the years, the sound quality has improved and although it is still somewhat mechanical, it is more fluent and expressive than I ever I thought a machine could be. No one out there would define what this machine does as reading, in the sense that we educators define reading. My father is the one pondering, questioning, synthesizing this information. He does the same when listening to audiobooks. I am not suggesting that children without a precluding disability should not learn to be their own pronouncers of text (my father read Braille fluently until he lost sensation in his fingertips), but when reading becomes a process more associated with a machine than a mind, we are in serious trouble.
Lori ----- Original message ----- From: Beverlee Paul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group <[email protected]> Date: 2008, 11, Monday Of February 20:10 Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Comprehension strategies and Harcourt > The real nubbin of the problem, in my opinion, is reflected on this listserv > with just one day's posts. It starts and ends with a definition of reading. > When what is actually decoding is called "reading," it makes a difference in > everything that's done. We are creating readers, all right--well, at least > DIBELers and fluent somethings--why do we whine when we get exactly what we > have taught? Decoders. > > > Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:19:41 -0800> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: > > [email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Comprehension strategies > > and Harcourt> > > ---- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > I teach gifted 5th > > graders, but have taught regular 3rd through 5th as well > > as gifted 3rd > > through 5th. Having my reading endorsement, I too am surprised > > by the > > word callers at the beginning of the year. This year I was > > especially > > surprised because my class did not seem to think that comprehension was > > > > important. Can you imagine? > > It is my theory (totally unproven) that the > > trend toward testing and basals has hurried our students into fluent > > reading (ie word calling) at the expense of comprehension. The problem of > > students who can sound out, read smoothly, and have no clue what it means, > > has grown in recent years at the upper grades. I look forward to a return > > to balance...> > :)Bonita> > > > _______________________________________________> Mosaic mailing list> > > [email protected]> To unsubscribe or modify your membership > > please go to> > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.> > > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _________________________________________________________________ > Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star > power. > http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_jan > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
