Why do we need to teach reading?

Reading is an important skill that needs to be developed in children. Not only is it necessary for survival in the world of schools and (later on) universities, but in adult life as well. The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything from health problems and consumer protection to more academic research into science or the arts depends on the ability to read. Futurologists used to predict the death of the printed word but, ironically, Internet has made reading more and more a part of people's daily lives. The paperless society is a myth. The computer's ability to process and analyze data means that endless variations on reports and other types of documents can be and are generated. Internet, itself an enormous new source of information and recreation, is based on the humble written word. To effectively utilize the web and judge the authenticity and value of what is found there, both reading and critical thinking skills are of prime importance.


The more children read, the better they become at reading. It's as simple as that. The more enjoyable the things they read are, the more they'll stick with them and develop the reading skills that they'll need for full access to information in their adult lives. Reading should be viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information. The more young children read to, the greater their interest in mastering reading. Reading out loud exposes children to proper grammar and phrasing. It enhances the development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally.
Reading, by way of books, magazines or websites, exposes kids to new vocabulary. Even when they don't understand every new word, they absorb something from the context that may deepen their understanding of it the next time the word is encountered. When parents read aloud to children, the children also hear correct pronunciation as they see the words on the page, even if they can't yet read the words on their own.
As mentioned above, reading opens doors - doors to factual information about any subject on earth, practical or theoretical. Given the wealth of available resources such as Internet, libraries, schools and bookstores, if children can read well and if they see reading as a source of information, then for the rest of their lives they will have access to all of the accumulated knowledge of mankind, access to all of the great minds and ideas of the past and present. It truly is magic!. Through books, children can also learn about people and places from other parts of the world, improving their understanding of and concern for all of humanity. This, in turn, contributes towards our sense that we truly live in a "global village" and may help us bring about a more peaceful future for everyone. This can happen through nonfiction but, perhaps even more importantly, reading novels that are set in other places and time periods can give children a deeper understanding of others through identification with individual characters and their plights.
Through stories and novels children can vicariously try out new experiences and test new ideas, with no negative consequences in their real lives. They can meet characters who they'll enjoy returning to for comforting and satisfying visits when they reread a cherished book or discover a sequel. Books also give kids the opportunity to flex their critical thinking skills in such areas as problem solving, the concepts of cause and effect, conflict resolution, and acceptance of responsibility for one's actions. Mysteries allow children to follow clues to their logical conclusions and to try to outguess the author. Even for very young children, a simple story with a repetitive refrain or a simple mystery to solve gives a confidence boost. Children can predict the patterns and successfully solve the riddles. Children are influenced by and imitate the world around them. While a steady diet of violent cartoons may have a detrimental effect on children's development, carefully chosen stories and books can have a positive influence on children, sensitizing them to the needs of others. For example, books can encourage children to be more cooperative, to share with others, to be kind to animals, or to respect the natural environment.
Reading Techniques
Throughout your career as a Curtin student you will be required to read a variety of texts and to gather material from them for assignments. Here are some guidelines for effective reading.

Reading Techniques
1. Preview
2. Question
3. Take notes
4. Summarize
5. Review and reflect
1. Preview
Preview the text to be read by skimming it. Skimming is the technique of allowing your eyes to travel rapidly over a page, stopping here and there to register the main idea. When skimming, you should follow the procedure below, adapting it to your purpose
• Read the title.
• Note the writer's name.
• Note the date and place of publication.
• Read the first paragraph completely.
• Read sub-headings and first sentences of remaining paragraphs.
As you read, pick up main ideas, key words (words that tell you who, what, when, where, how many, and how much), and transition markers (words like 'however', 'alternatively', 'additionally', and so on), which suggest the direction of ideas in the text.

2. Question
Effective reading is active reading. To turn reading from a passive into an active exercise, always ask questions. To do this, you must be clear about the purpose of your reading. If you are reading a text which you will be critiquing in detail, your questions will be different from those you would ask if you were reading a number of texts for background information. If you are gathering material for an essay, formulate some tentative ideas about the approaches you might take, modifying them as you accumulate material.
During the preview, note as many questions as you can about the content. For instance, turn headings into questions and try to anticipate possible answers the writer may offer. Always actively look for connections and relationships. Look at the ways ideas are structured and developed.
The object of the preview and questioning steps is to determine the writer's thesis, that is, her/his main idea and purpose in writing. As you read, list all the words about which you are uncertain; look them up in the dictionary and write down their definitions.

3. Take notes
Some reasons for taking notes are:
• to maintain attentiveness as you read,
• to focus your attention,
• To familiarize yourself with primary and secondary material on a given subject,
• To analyze the assumptions and rhetorical strategies of the writer,
• To provide you with a summary of the material.
Some hints for taking notes:
• Always record bibliographical details of the text from which you are taking notes.
• Write on one side of the paper only.
• Leave a wide margin for comments and cross-references.
• Use headings, subheadings, and diagrams.
• Keep notes brief but full enough to still make sense to you in six months' time. Make sure they're legible.

4. Summarize
A summary is a collation of your notes, recording the main points the writer makes. Making a summary from your notes has two main benefits.
• It allows you to test yourself on your understanding of the material you have been reading - sometimes it is only when you try to put the writer's ideas into your own words that you uncover difficulties.
• It provides you with a compact account of the text for further reference.

5. Review and reflect
To capitalize fully on the time you've spent reading an article or chapter, it's important to review and reflect upon what you've read. This enhances your understanding and helps you to commit important facts and ideas to your long-term memory.
Here are some review and reflection exercises you may find useful:
• Test your understanding of the material by trying to answer your preview questions without referring to your notes.
• Write down the meaning and usefulness the material has for understanding other concepts and principles. Indicate what other ideas the material substantiates, contradicts, or amplifies.
• Evaluate the text in terms of its in formativeness, soundness of argument, relevance, and so on. If you are gathering material for an essay or report, decide which points you want to use and think about how you can use them.
• Start a reading journal in which you keep all reading, review, and reflection notes.
According to Nunan (2003: 72) principles of teaching reading are:

1) Exploit the reader’s background knowledge
According to Carrel (1991), a reader’s background knowledge can influence reading comprehension. Background knowledge includes life experience, education experiences, knowledge how texts can be organized rhetorically, knowledge of how one’s first language works, and so on. Reading comprehension can be significantly enhanced if background knowledge can be activated by setting goals, asking questions, making predictions, teaching text structure, and so on.

2) Build a strong vocabularies base
Levine and Reeves (1990) find that it is easier for readers of academic to cope with special terminology than with the general vocabularies. It can be enhanced by these sentences:
a) What vocabularies the learners need to know?
b) How will they learn this vocabulary?
c) What is the best test to know their needs and their knowledge about vocabulary?

3) Teach for comprehension
Monitoring comprehension is essential to successful reading. Part of monitoring process includes verifying the prediction being made is correct and checking that the readers are making the necessary adjustment when meaning is not obtained. Cognition can be defined as thinking and metacognition. Metacognition can be defined as thinking about our thinking. In order to teach comprehension, the readers must monitor their comprehension processes and able to discuss with the teacher and/or fellow readers what strategies they use to comprehend.

4) Work on increasing reading rate
One great difficulty in reading classroom is even if the language readers can read, much of their reading is not fluent. Often, in the effort to assist students in increasing reading rate, teacher over emphasizes accuracy which impedes fluency. It does not mean about speed but fluent readers that can read 200 words/minutes with at last 70 % comprehension by using scanning, skimming, predicting and identifying the main ideas.

5) Teach for reading strategies
Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement that is necessary for developing communicative ability. Strategies are not single event, but rather a creative sequence of events that learners actively use. Strategic reading means not only knowing what strategy to use, but knowing how to use and integrate a range of strategies (Anderson, 1991).

6) Encourage readers to transform strategies into skills
Strategies can be defined as consciousness actions that learners take to achieve desired goals or objectives, while a skill is a strategy that has become automatic. Skill is an automatic strategy. Since learners consciously learn and practice specific reading strategies, the strategies become a skill.

7) Build assessment and evaluation into your teaching
Assessing growth and development in reading skills from both formal and informal perspective requires time and training. Quantitative assessment includes information from reading comprehension tests as well as reading rate data. Qualitative information can include reading journal responses, reading interest surveys, and responding of reading strategies checklist.

8) Strive for continuous improvement as a reading teacher
Good reading teachers actively teach students what to do and understand the nature of the reading process. Reading teachers need to be passionate about their work. They should view themselves as facilitators, help each reader discovers what work best. Integrating the key principles discussed above can lead to more effective reading instruction in the language classroom.


How important to teach reading

Comprehension is essential for students to draw meaning and purpose from reading.
As children learn the mechanics of reading, comprehension strategies must be introduced and fostered from the very start to assure competent readers (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001). Teachers cannot assume that when children decode words properly and read fluently that they can understand what they have read. Teachers must weave assessment of the students’ understanding into the process and tailor their instruction to develop comprehension strategies. Comprehension is a result of the reader interacting with the text. Throughout the reading process the reader must monitor his or her understanding and make necessary adjustments to clarify what is being read. This can range from the reader knowing when he or she does not understand what is being read to monitoring and adjusting his or her thinking based on new knowledge of a subject. “Comprehension strategies are conscious plans sets of steps that good readers use to make sense of text” (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001, p. 49).

Teachers cannot assume that students will improve their comprehension strategies simply by reading more. Teachers need to provide direct, explicit instruction in strategies throughout the reading process (National Reading Panel, 2000). These comprehension strategies should be stressed before, during, and after the reading of a selection. Likewise, comprehension strategies should be taught using a wide variety of genres. Teachers need to demonstrate these strategies through modeling, guided practice, and application (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001). But it is important that all teaching be infused into a rich and varied reading curriculum that takes students’ interests and needs into account. It is essential to keep students engaged in the process rather than to be spectators in isolated activities. “When instruction is too teacher dominated, students do not learn how to apply the skills without prompting” (Block, Schaller, Joy, & Gaine, 2002, p. 43). If teachers use the same tasks for every story and informational text, students will learn to perform the tasks as rote activities, separate from the act of reading and not transferred to other texts. Their comprehension of content subjects will not be enhanced, and their pleasure in reading will not increase. Only by helping students to use comprehension strategies independently can teachers hope to accomplish better understanding and greater enjoyment of reading.

Explicit instruction of comprehension is best accomplished when teachers are familiar with a wide variety of instructional methods and have the confidence, expertise, and support to apply the strategies that work best for particular students and types of reading. Teachers must be willing to use techniques or strategies that may not be their personal preference but work most effectively for the student. This clearly implies that comprehension instruction cannot be a one-size-fits-all program. Comprehension strategies cannot be taught in isolation, and instruction must include a variety of strategies that are applied throughout any reading experience. As teachers plan reading lessons, they should plan vocabulary and comprehension activities that will lead students to better understand the text or story while developing the strategies they can use on their own in future reading. The following are examples of ways teachers can develop comprehension during the reading lesson to help students use comprehension processes automatically, habitually, and independently (Block, Schaller, Joy, & Gaine, 2002, pp. 52-53):
• Pivotal Point Scaffolding directs teachers to praise students for using specific comprehension processes. The teachers ask individual students how they knew to use that process and then demonstrate to them a higher level process.
• STAR (Student-initiated Talk After Reading) lessons are structured so that students tell the teachers how they made meaning on portions of the text. Students can also ask teachers for help to make meaning.

The vignette that follows is an example of systematic and explicit strategy instruction. The lesson follows the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983). As you read the vignette, focus on the multiple strategies being applied during instruction and the specificity of the instructional language. Use the thinking points to guide your reflection on the importance of explicitly teaching reading comprehension strategies.
Ms. Kane is a second-grade teacher, and she observes that her new student, Kara, is unable to discuss a selection after reading. Kara also does not participate in discussion during reading. Ms. Kane has documentation from an informal reading inventory to support that the text is indeed on Kara’s instructional reading level. Using data and classroom observations, Ms. Kane concludes that Kara needs one-to-one, explicit instruction on comprehension strategies. Ms. Kane plans Kara’s comprehension strategy instruction using teacher modeling followed by guided practice. Eventually, Kara will advance to independent practice. Ms. Kane begins the instructional session by explaining that she is going to read a book to Kara. While reading, Ms. Kane talks to Kara about what was happening in her mind as she reads and comprehends the text. Ms. Kane chooses the text Harry the Dirty Dog. As Ms. Kane introduces the book, she asks herself aloud, “Before I start to read the book, I want to look at the title and cover. The title and cover illustration make me think about the other Harry books that I have read. In those books, Harry has had very interesting adventures.”

Ms. Kane begins to read the story, and she places a sticky note everywhere she stops to use a comprehension strategy. During the story Ms. Kane stops and says, “Good readers are always thinking about what they are reading. As a good reader, I am wondering what is going to happen to Harry since he ran away from home.” Ms. Kane continues reading through Harry’s adventures. Again she stops and says, “As a good reader I have a picture in my mind of a very dirty Harry sitting outside the back door waiting for it to open. I think Harry was very disappointed that his family did not recognize his change in color, and I can see the sad look on his face. I wonder what Harry will do next?” Ms. Kane stops reading after Harry goes into the house, to the bathroom, and into the tub. She says, “Based on what I have read, I think that Harry went from a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots because his adventures made him dirty. That’s why his family did not recognize him. I wonder if his family will recognize Harry after his bath." After Ms. Kane finishes the story, she gives a very short, oral retelling of the story. Ms. Kane goes back to the beginning of the story and explains to Kara each strategy she used, why she used it, and why it was important to use the strategy at that point in the text.
After Ms. Kane determines that that the modeling of comprehension strategies is sufficient, she begins guided practice with Kara. To begin the guided practice lesson, Ms. Kane chooses the text The Grouchy Lady Bug. As she introduces the book to Kara, Ms. Kane prompts Kara to use a before reading strategy. Kara says, “I know what grouchy is; the ladybug is unhappy. Sometimes I am grouchy.” Ms. Kane begins reading, stops, and asks, “I wonder what aphids are?” Kara responds and she wonders too, but thinks that they may be something lady bugs ate. Ms. Kane continues to read. She stops and asks Kara to share her thinking about the lady bug’s behavior. Kara says, “Right now as a good reader, I wonder why the grouchy lady bug is so rude to the friendly lady bug and why she wants to fight.” Ms. Kane continues to read about the encounters the grouchy lady bug has with several large animals. Ms. Kane stops and says, “I wonder why none of the animals are big enough for her to fight.” She prompts Kara, and Kara replies, “I wonder if she is really afraid to fight, so she says that no animal is big enough for her to fight?” Ms. Kane replies, “As a good reader, you have asked a question that the story does not answer. At the end of the story we will go back to the story to find evidence to answer your question.”

Toward the end of the story, Ms. Kane asks Kara about her thinking. Kara replies, “I can see the grouchy lady bug is so tired from flying all day, and I predict that she will be happy to have something to eat.” After the story is read, Ms. Kane asks Kara to return to the book and find evidence that supports or does not support that the grouchy lady bug is afraid to fight. Kara goes to pages in the text for evidence to justify that the lady bug was afraid to fight. Ms. Kane decides that a summary paragraph would be appropriate as an after reading strategy. She and Kara brainstorm the most important events in the story and prioritize the events. They write the sentences together. After writing the summarizing paragraph, Ms. Kane and Kara go back to the story and review the comprehension strategies that were used. For each time they had stopped and used a strategy, Ms. Kane marks the place with a sticky note.
Skillful teachers assist the reader in gaining the necessary skills for comprehension at all stages of the reading process. Not all comprehension strategies work for all types of text. Therefore, good reading instruction requires that the teacher is comfortable with a wide range of techniques to assure that students will develop the strategies they need. Without comprehension, reading becomes a rote task of word calling. For students to appreciate the depth and joy of reading, teachers must help them know how to better understand all that they read.

References:
http://mtelaumbanua.blogspot.com/2011/07/principles-of-teaching-reading.html
http://learningcentre.curtin.edu.au/skills/reading_tech.cfm
http://www.google.co.id/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=how%20important%20of%20teaching%20reading&source=web&cd=58&ved=0CFoQFjAHODI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.personal.psu.edu%2Fdgm122%2Fdocs%2FExample3.doc&ei=inOETpKkBuaJmQW80NQT&usg=AFQjCNELQVvFQkpKrONU4bjsyFAXpds6bA&cad=rj

http://www.educationalgateway.com/teaching-reading-strategies/index.html
www.aelfe.org/documents/text1-Duran.pdfMirip
http://www.familyresource.com/parenting/child-development/why-reading-is-so-important-for-children
http://www.tdf-esl.com/TeachingReading.html