Step #10 Hurray! You have completed the Teach All to Read Tutorial!

Now you can go for extra credit and may even consider enrolling in a formal reading education program.

Estimated time to complete this step: 2 minutes plus the time needed to read the article, listen to the podcasts, and watch the video

Extra Credit, please explore the history of reading instruction and the “Reading Wars.”

The story of the “reading wars” and how problems with reading in the English-speaking world came to be is an interesting but cautionary tale. Holding onto ideas which are not working but which also become tinged with politics, can lead to negative outcomes. Though it is obvious now that phonics and phonemic awareness are not only apolitical but crucial to children successfully learning how to read, these concepts had been unfairly labeled as conservative or mainly for children requiring special education. This made them appear unattractive to many professors of education and teachers for use in regular classrooms.

The Science of Reading, which is the body of neurocognitive research concerned with reading collected over the past fifty years, continues to evolve with new discoveries. We should be willing to change our educational practices accordingly but in a thoughtful discerning apolitical manner. Literacy legislation became necessary because most American school systems were not moving to evidence-based instruction and too many children were becoming instructional casualties. Are we experiencing a similar problem with math? science? history? Hopefully, in the future, schools of education and school systems will choose to promote the most effective instructional methods from experience combined with learning science, making this type of prescriptive legislation unnecessary.

Audio Documentaries

Please consider listening to all of Emily Hanford’s fantastic expository APM podcasts starting with Hard Words, or skip to Emily Hanford’s and Christopher Peak’s most recent blockbuster six-part podcast, Sold a Story:

Reading:
Emily Hanford and Christopher Peak

Listen to the Podcasts and Read the Articles

The History of Reading Instruction

Read this very detailed article from Parker Phonics. It’s great but not so “brief.”

Article: 
A Brief History of Reading Instruction
Stephen Parker (December 23, 2021)

View Article

For the Complete Picture: Early Literacy Summit

Watch this recording of the excellent Early Literacy Summit from the Thompson Center of the University of Wisconsin. Even though it centers on literacy issues in our state, the information is applicable elsewhere in the United States and in much of the English-speaking world. It’s well worth the three hour plus time investment. Go get some popcorn and pull up a chair. These four speakers are tops. What a powerhouse line-up!

Video:
Early Literacy Summit
Mark Seidenberg, Emily Hanford, Kymyona Burk, and Donna Hejtmanek, Monona Terrace (February 8, 2023)

Watch Video

Get Serious About More Education

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial for reading teachers and tutors and recommend it to others and/or send comments. If you are serious about improving your tutoring or teaching skills, please consider taking a formal course in reading instruction based on the Science of Reading and evidence-based practices. You have already been introduced to several educators whose live or online courses and workshops I have personally attended: Marnie Ginsberg of Reading Simplified, Denise Eide (through Kim Feller-Janus) of The Logic of English, Nora Chabhazi of EBLI, and Steve Tattum of LearnUp. I have completed an Orton-Gillingham Level One Workshop. I keep my UFLI manual close at hand. As you can see, I am very committed to learning all I can to become a more effective volunteer reading tutor.

All these training programs could make you a more confident reading tutor/teacher and a much better speller. They are similar in that they are all based on sound and speech but differ in terms of the sequence of phoneme/grapheme introduction, time commitment and cost. Please peruse their individual websites, compare the pros and cons of each, watch some of the free course material online, and consider diving in. You should look at the UFLI site too and consider purchasing a manual. If you can start tutoring or teaching students soon after you have initiated your selected course, you will have an opportunity to practice the techniques as you are learning them. You have to prep for your sessions with students. Being organized with an individualized lesson plan and materials will keep your students engaged and your sessions moving along. Often courses will have worthwhile online “live” Q & A sessions with the course creators to give participants a chance to interact and ask questions.

The more, the merrier! I was very fortunate to discover a tutor buddy, Patty Schenk. We took Reading Simplified at the same time so that we could practice with each other and work out the best way to organize our materials. Patty and I also spent some time together volunteering and observing at Feller School where The Logic of English is used very successfully to teach dyslexic children how to read and write. We encouraged each other to purchase  UFLI manuals and together sought advice from other experienced tutors and teachers on how to best contribute to a fledgling tutoring program at a local elementary school.

Patty and I both found value in having someone with whom to share our tutoring successes and failures. Yes, sometimes things go sideways. As a beginner, it is ideal to be able to work with one or several tutors as a team, ideally under the supervision of an experienced educator, to support and share ideas. You might be tempted to enroll in more than one reading education program simultaneously but please avoid that temptation as it can cause confusion. Build your confidence in one method and stick with it for a while before enrolling in another course. There are myriad organizations with websites containing great free information in early literacy. Some of my favorites are The Reading League, Reading Rockets, Cox Campus/Rollins Center, Barksdale Reading Institute, Edutopia, Five from Five, ExcelinEd, and Nessy. Organizations such as the International Dyslexia Association, Decoding Dyslexia, WI-Reads, and The Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College have a lot of credible information too. Podcasts on the Science of Reading such as Melissa and Lori Love Literacy, Reading Meetings with Mark and Molly, and Amplify with Susan Lambert are a good way to increase your knowledge.

I have no personal or familial financial interest in any instructor or educational program. Any information on this site does not constitute medical advice. I cannot guarantee that you will be happy with the training you receive as your needs and expectations may diverge from mine. The courses may have changed since I took them myself. There are undoubtedly other programs out there that you may like better. Buyer beware! Please do your homework!

Let me know how things go and if you have any comments about this tutorial so that I can improve it. Please continue on this adventure and become a teacher or tutor yourself. Together, we really can change the world, one child at a time!

Thanks much,
Judith E. “Judy” FitzGerald, MD
Retired Ophthalmologist, Reading Advocate, Volunteer Tutor

Step #1: The Big Picture

Step #2: Understand How Reading Works

Step #3: Toddlers and Reading

Step #4: Learning About Speech to Print

Step #5: Decodable Text

Step #6: What NOT to Do for Initial Reading Instruction

Step #7: Handwriting & Reading

Step #8: How English Works

Step #9: English Language Varieties

Step #10: For Extra Credit

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