1. What is the strange fact about not learning to read?
The majority of children who have difficulty in reading are poor or come from minority groups.
2. Why is this fact so strange?
It shouldn't have anything to do with learning to read in school.
3. What is it about school that manages to transform children who at good at learning things like Pokeman into children who are not good a learning?
Schools focus more on drill and practice of basic skills instead of paying attention to students interests and what they might "want" to read.
4. What is the differences between a traditionalists approach to learning to read and more progressive educators?
Traditionalist believe that we need to teach basic skills in steps and phonics skills are the most important. The think that learning to read requires over instruction, while more progressive educators stress meaning-making.
5. Is learning to read a natural process like learning to speak a language?
Believers in the whole language approach believe that learning to read is a natural process while taditionalists believe that reading cannot come naturally to a person.
6. What is the differences between natural, instructed and cultural processes and which process should reading be classified under?
Natural processes are biological and come to a person naturally. Everyone suceeds and suceeds well at natural processes. Instructed processes are taught and people acquire knowledge. Cultural processes are taught by "masters". They are things that people have to learn in cutures and learn them through others who succeed. Reading should be classified under a cultural process.
7. How do humans learn best? Through instructional processes or through cultural processes? How is reading taught in school?
Humans learn best through cultural processes , but in schools reading is taught as an instructional process.
8. According to the author, what is the reason for the "fourth grad slump."
Students can read but can't read in the sense of understanding.
9. What is a better predictor of reading success than phonemic awareness?
Children interacting with adults and more advanced peers and experience challenging talk and text in different environments.
10. What is the difference between "vernacular" and "specialist" varieties of language? Give an example of two sentences, one written in the vernacular and one written in a "a specialized variety", about a topic in your content area.
Vernacular varieties of language are used for everyday purposes such as face-to face conversation. These are connected to peoples' family and community. Specialist varieties of language are used for special purposes or activites. An example of a vernacular lanuguage sentence could be, " Last year, I took a trip to Washington, D.C. to see the monuments." An example of a specialist sentence is, "In the year 2012, I visited Washington, D.C. to experiece the history at each monument."
11. What is "early language ability" and how is it developed?
Early language abilities are prototypes of academic language. They are developed at home.
12. According to the author why and how does the traditionalist approach to teaching children to read fail?
According to the author, teaching children to read does not begin early enough and schools do not think about each student having different abilities and experiences.
13. Are parents of poor children to blame for their children's inexperience with specialized varieties of language before coming to school?
I believe that every child, rich or poor, can gain reading experiences before school. If parents take the time to work with students at home and encourage them to read and write they should gain knowledge and experiences. I don't think money is an issue.
14. Did you struggle with reading this text? Why? Are you a poor reader or are you unfamiliar with this variety of specialized language?
I did not struggle in reading this article. The sentence structure and vocabulary used were understandable and the author gave many examples and good explainations of what he was talking about.
