What is the Reading Ladder?
The Reading Ladder is the steps of reading progress starting from easy moving to progressively difficult.
Teachers can then gauge how well a child can read depending on what level of book they’re at. Reading ladders can be applied to children starting to read or teenagers, with much more complex literature. The reading ladder can assist children to reflect on their reading habits, and make plans for future growth. It is an invaluable strategy to be used by parents, teachers and children of all ages to practice critical thinking and work on their literacy skills.
For this post, we will be focusing on younger children. If you would like some insights for adolescent kids, head on over to www.ericaleebeaton.com for a complete reading ladder and other tools to help guide you.
Why is reading important to your child?
Aside from the pleasure and adventures that reading brings us there are countless other reasons. It will develop how your child perceives the world around them. By reading to them or having them read, it will build their vocabulary and reasoning. It can help them understand the cultures that fill their communities and the creatures in their backyard. It places the child in the frame of the storyteller. This allows them to question and experience emotions and scenarios, which will intern guide them through their own experiences.
Do you remember your parent reading to you? Reading to your child not only develops their cognitive abilities but creates a nurturing bond. Giving your child attention and much needed reassurance, as well as a fun time for both of you to enjoy.
Reading improves social skills and creative thinking. It builds a better understanding of the world, with that comes confidence. Confidence can lead to easier learning, less doubting yourself and allowing your imagination to roam free.
According to Grace Goodell, these are the steps to work on:
- Sight words: Usually learned in 1st and 2nd grade. These are commonly used words that don’t need to be sounded out because they don’t follow any specific rules. They must be learnt as sight words. They are the base of reading and once they are memorised they can be instantly recognised when reading. (eg. a, an, at, are, as, at, and, all)
- Phonetic analysis: This is sounding out larger words by breaking them down into their vowel/consonant/combination groups.
- Structural analysis: This is breaking down parts of the word to understand what an unknown word means.
- Contextual clues: When children start reading they encounter many unfamiliar words. They can make use of the words they do know to give them clues of what the word near it might mean.
- Vocabulary building: Our vocabulary is the words we understand and can communicate effectively. It will continue to build as we read. Getting your child a dictionary, for whatever stage they’re in would be very useful.
- Finding the main idea: Identifying keywords in a sentence will allow them to build an idea. After a few sentences, your child can then assume the direction of the story based on all the keywords or words they do understand. Images in a book can also identify the main ideas.
- Finding the supporting details: After finding the main ideas it will be easier to fill in the gaps. Word webs can help your child connect ideas.
- Interfering meanings and drawing conclusions: The meaning of a word can be implied by the general context. By giving your child enough information they can then come up with their ideas and conclusions.
- Classifying and organizing facts: This is separating information, re-grouping them and then deciding how to organise and use them.
- Using parts of the book: Books can be divided into the title page, table of contents, glossary of a book and index of a book. You can use these to get the most value out of a book.
- Using the dictionary: You can start with a kids dictionary and move onto the more comprehensive versions as your kids grow.
- Using encyclopedias and other reference books: Encyclopedias are sets of books, with a vast range of subjects typically arranged alphabetically.
- Borrowing library books for research or enjoyment: If your child reaches this step, you can sit back and be a proud parent, especially if a visit to the library is initiated by them.
- Starting your private library collection: For most of us, this has already started. We should grow the collection with more difficult books as they improve on their reading.
- Exposure to reading from mass media: This opens your child’s mind to real-time matters and allows them a much deeper understanding of today’s world.
- Reading from the internet: Although other mass media tend to have more reliable information, the internet has an abundant source of news, entertainment and any other kind of reading material.
Good luck on whichever step you’re on and happy reading!
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