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JUNE 2007

VOICES OF BANK STREET
One Size Reading Instruction Does Not Fit All


By Peggy McNamara
Graduate School Faculty,
Bank Street College of Education


“How can you say there isn’t ONE best way to teach reading?” asked my interviewer.

“Because children learn in many different ways,” I replied. A good teacher tailors her teaching to the particular needs and abilities of the students in her class. I wanted my interviewer to know that the “one size fits all” instruction I’ve observed in some public and private schools gravely concerns me as a Literacy Teacher Educator. The “one size” approach dictates a single program for all students without considering which students benefit, which benefit somewhat, and which benefit not at all. 

What gave me pause was that my interviewer was a college educator; my response had alarmed her.  

With the pressure of the federal government’s “No Child Left Behind” mandate that teachers adopt scientifically proven programs, this interviewer had expected I would tell her the exact programs that worked best.

Instead, I spent some time informing her of what teachers needed to know about literacy and what they had to do so that their students became successful readers and writers. To be effective, I said, teachers need to carefully observe the speaking, listening, reading, and writing practices their students bring with them. Armed with this knowledge of individual students’ skills and strategies, a teacher can then design reading programs that meet these students’ needs: a program for the whole group, others for small groups and for individual students. Richard Allington, a literacy educator and researcher, University of Tennessee, noted at Bank Street’s latest John Niemeyer lecture, “Doing only whole class instruction is the least effective way to teach.” Usually, such an approach ensures that the curriculum is over the heads of 80 percent of the students. He added that personalized side-by-side and individualized teaching works with more than 60 percent of classes. Small groups also foster collaboration, as students help each other.

The teacher must also assess what students know about the processes involved in reading, and then model ways they can develop more productive strategies. After thoughtful observation, the teacher determines how best to teach students to figure out unknown words. This process involves an instruction style that uses knowledge of phonics, visual cues, and contextual cues. A teacher might also demonstrate how readers can activate their background knowledge to predict and prepare before they start to read a text. Or a teacher can instruct students to monitor their reading ability by asking themselves questions as they read. Also helpful to a teacher is to watch how readers discuss with others a text they have just read.   

At the start of the graduate reading course I teach, I caution teachers that they won’t learn any “magic method” of teaching. Rather, they will learn to observe students’ literacy practices while they examine methods that work with specific children. The best teaching tool is a knowledgeable and thoughtful teacher who observes students and matches his/her instruction to their needs.

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