2020.11.02 Synthesis Paper (Alberto Hadad)
2020.11.02 Synthesis Paper (Alberto Hadad)
2020.11.02 Synthesis Paper (Alberto Hadad)
Alberto Hadad
University of Alabama
Before I start with the synthesis of this important publication, I would like to point out
the relevance of the conclusions exposed throughout the document. As a school leader I can say
that if these five readings components are correctly delivered to students in a school environment
they will thrive not only in their academic achievement during the early grades but also
throughout their lives. I am totally convinced that a proficient and engaged reader is a lifelong
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness “is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual
sounds in spoken words” (Armbruster, 2009). It is essential for children, before they learn to read
print, to be aware of the way sounds in words work. They need to understand that words are
composed of speech sound which are called phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest part of sound
in a spoken word that differentiates the meaning of that specific word. Phonemic awareness is a
Children who have phonemic awareness are more capable of learning to read that those
who haven´t developed these skills. This is a reason why it is so important to have explicit
instruction of phonemic instruction in a school setting. Through this type of instruction, children
learn to notice, think about, and manipulate sounds in spoken language. Some effective ways to
teach this skill is using exercises of phoneme isolation, identity, categorization, blending,
deletion is to ask students to delete the letter /s/ in the word smile and pronounce the word
Something important to point out is that phonemic awareness is not phonics. Phonemic
awareness “is the understanding that the sounds of spoken language work together to make
words” (Armbruster, 2009) while phonics is the understanding of the predictable relationship
between phonemes and graphemes which are the letters that represent the sounds in written
language. This is why, in order for children to benefit from phonics instructions, they need to
have phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness not only helps children to read words but it also
promotes their reading comprehension that comes as a result of more fluent reading which leaves
Research suggests that phonemic awareness is more efficiently taught in small groups
because children often benefit from listening to their classmates and respond to the teacher and
receive feedback. During the last 30 years there has been considerable research around phonemic
awareness which has been effectively communicated to reading specialists but not to young
children´s teachers. This is an important topic to address since these teachers need to promote a
solid foundation for children that are starting their reading process in the early school years
without assuming that phonemic awareness is phonics and that it is not appropriate for young
making sure students the early grades are developing phonemic awareness. In school we use the
TCRWP (Teachers College Reading and Writing Program) which includes a phonics program
for the initial years. I suppose this has a phonemic awareness included in the instruction but I
definitely have to make sure we have this in place. This is an important to do I have on my list
when engaging in conversations with teachers and the literacy specialists in my school.
SYNTHESIS PAPER: PUT READING FIRST 4
Phonics
Phonics instruction “teaches children the relationships between the letters (graphemes) of
written language and the individual sounds (phonemes) of spoken language” (Armbruster, 2009).
Through phonics instruction children learn to use these relationships to read and write words.
There are different labels for this process but, in essence, the goal of this type of instruction is to
help children to learn and use the alphabetic principle, in other words, to understand the
relationships between written letters and spoken words. Another way to understand phonics is to
contrast it with phonemic awareness: in the case phonics the written word is involved while
phonemic awareness could be understood as a previous stage of the learning process in which the
sound components of a word are studied and manipulated without necessarily making the
Scientific research has proven systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more
effective that non-systematic instruction. This type of instruction should be delivered from
kinder to first or second grade. It can be relevant in third grade for students who struggle during
their reading process. Guided by phonics instruction, children improve their word recognition
and spelling. It also helps children improve their reading comprehension, and it is especially
effective in those students who have difficulty learning to read or those who are at risk of
It is important to point out that phonics instruction is not a reading program in itself but a
component of a broader program that should include the knowledge of the alphabet, phonemic
awareness activities and read-alouds of stories and informational texts. It is also important to
include ample reading and writing activities that allow students to practice their language skills.
SYNTHESIS PAPER: PUT READING FIRST 5
Phonics instruction has proven to be effective with the whole class, in small groups or
taught individually. The way instruction is delivered depends on how many adults are in the
classroom and the specific needs of children. Finally, two years of phonics instruction is
normally enough for students to have the necessary skills to continue their reading development.
A recent study found out that phonics instruction can be very engaging for children but
that teachers need to be trained to deliver effective instruction. The use of sound sheets, sound
books, flash card sheets, word box sheets, songs, games and storybooks has proven to help
At the school I lead we incorporated systematic and explicit phonics instruction a little
more than a year ago and the fruits in student learning outcomes is amazing. Our ELL´s are
taking advantage of this opportunity of having a solid program and a native speaking teacher that
really engages them in the process of learning and helps them develop the necessary foundations
to be successful in the initial stages of their reading process both in English and Spanish which is
their native language. Something to consider is that, in our case, part of the success in the
learning outcomes has been the interaction, team planning and professional development of
Fluency
Fluency is “the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. A sign of a fluent reader is
when he is able to read silently and recognizing words automatically” (Armbruster, 2009). A
fluent reader is able to group words quickly to help them gain meaning of what they read. They
are also able to read aloud effortlessly and with expression sounding natural, as if they were
speaking. On the other hand, readers who are not fluent read slowly, word by word, and their
recognition and comprehension. Since fluent readers do not have to focus on decoding the words
in a text, they are able to concentrate on what the text means. They are able to make connections
among the ideas in the text and also between the text and their background knowledge. In other
words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend them at the same time. On the other
hand, less fluent readers must focus their attention in figuring out the words, leaving them little
space to focus on the meaning of the broader text. Fluency develops gradually over considerable
time and through substantial practice. This is why it is so important for students in the earlier
grades to practice reading continuously and to have access to large amounts of texts both in
Scientifically-based research tells us that repeated and monitored oral reading is a very
effective way of developing fluency in readers while there is very little scientific evidence that
proves the effectiveness of independent silent reading. This evidence suggests that it is important
to use classroom time for read-alouds with the whole group and also in small groups. Other
evidence also suggests that repeated readings are more effective when they are used in
combination with the strategies of self-monitoring, goal-setting and model reading (Padeliadu,
2018). It is also very important to encourage parents and other family members to read aloud to
children at home. In the classroom, time shouldn’t be wasted in independent silent reading that
should be done at home. Classroom time is better used to give direct instruction to children and
also provide relevant feedback. Some specific methods of read aloud are: student adult reading,
coral reading, tape assisted reading, partner reading and reading theater. All these strategies are
There are different ways to assess reading. For example, one minute of read aloud where
the teacher checks the total number of words read and also contrasts between the correct and
incorrect words. Other ways of assessing fluency growth like reading inventories, miscue
analysis, and running records are also effective but are more time-consuming for the teacher. All
these efforts of teachers are worth while since reading fluency is a predictor of future school
Something I have to focus on as a school leader is to hire fluent teachers that can help
students be fluent in their second language. Being a bilingual school where most of the teachers
are not native English speakers has the challenge of not having the necessary English-speaking
environment that supports what students are learning in the classroom. Added to this challenge, a
downside is that at home most of our students’ don´t have the necessary support in their second
conversations using their second language which helps them with vocabulary development and
other skills that are reflected in their reading skills improvement. This reality points out on the
Vocabulary
2009). There is reading vocabulary which are the words we recognize or use in print and there is
also oral vocabulary which refers to the words we use in speaking or recognize in listening.
Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read and also in reading comprehension.
Readers cannot understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words
mean. As children tackle more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of no words that
SYNTHESIS PAPER: PUT READING FIRST 8
support their reading comprehension. Researchers often refer to four types of vocabulary:
some vocabulary must be taught directly. The most effective ways in which children develop
their vocabulary is by engaging in daily oral language, especially in conversation with adults.
Another effective strategy is when they listen to adults read to them. An effective way to broaden
children’s vocabulary is when they read extensively on their own. Teachers should teach students
difficult words that they need to be able to understand challenging concepts included in the
curriculum. In other words, students need to learn important vocabulary that they need to
understand specific content. There are different word learning strategies that children should be
taught, for example, how to use dictionaries and other reference materials, how to use
information about word parts, and how to use context clues to determine word meanings. Other
findings suggest strategies like using computer technology supports and vocabulary instruction
As I mentioned in the past section of this paper, in my school context a big challenge is to
promote every day conversations in English to help students develop vocabulary. Another way to
take advantage of the social context is to promote explicit connection between Spanish and
English instruction to help students transfer their knowledge of one language to the other. When
this happens, bilingualism is enhanced in students because they learn to move from language to
the other seamlessly while developing stronger tools to develop reading comprehension.
Comprehension
Comprehension “is the reason for reading. If readers can read the words but do not
understand what they are reading, they are not really reading” (Armbruster, 2009). Good readers
SYNTHESIS PAPER: PUT READING FIRST 9
have a purpose for reading, for example, they read for pleasure or to obtain knowledge. Good
readers think actively as they read because they continually make connections between their life
experiences, knowledge of the world, knowledge of vocabulary, language structure, and their
Over 30 years of research has shown that instruction in comprehension can help students
understand what they read, remember what they read, and communicate with others about what
they read. This is a reason to give very big importance to teaching comprehension strategies in
Scientific research has proven that the following six strategies are effective in improving
answering questions, generating questions, recognizing story structure, and summarizing. Apart
from these six strategies, there are other two that have also some scientific support: making use
of prior knowledge, and using mental imagery. Anyway, it is important to understand that
comprehension strategies are not ends in themselves, they are a means of helping students
It is important that teachers along all grades focus in text comprehension, even since the
beginning of the school years. Reading comprehension is one of the most complex cognitive
activities in which humans engage, making it difficult to teach, measure, and research (Elleman,
2019). This is why schools have to focus on developing effective ways to assess student reading
comprehension and also to promote effective reading instruction that helps students develop this
essential learning tools that will either help them thrive as life-long learners or struggles all along
Personally, I believe reading comprehension is the most important goal of the reading
learning process. Once a student is able to comprehend what he reads, he will enjoy reading and
will be engaged in the different learning processes that involve reading along the school years
and throughout life. Hopefully, I will be able to promote a culture of reading in the school I lead
where not only students but also their families enjoy reading and find this activity as a way of
References
Armbruster, B. B., Lehr, F., Osborn, J., & Adler, C. R. (2009). Put reading first: The research
https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/PRFbooklet.pdf
Bigozzi, L., Tarchi, C., Vagnoli L., Valente, E., Pinto, G., (2017). Reading Fluency as a
Predictor of School Outcomes across Grades 4–9. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00200.
Butler, S., Urrutia, K., Buenger, A., Gonzalez, N., Hunt, M., Eisenhart, C. (2010). A Review of
https://www2.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/support/rmcfinal1.pdf.
Elleman, A., Oslund E. (2019). Reading Comprehension Research: Implications for Practice and
Policy. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2019;6(1):3-11.
doi:10.1177/2372732218816339
Naning Tri, Wahyuni & Fauziati, Endang & Hikmat, Mauly. (2016). The Effectiveness of Using
DOI: https://doi.org/10.23917/humaniora.v17i1.2351
Wasik, B. (2012). Phonemic Awareness and Young Children. Childhood Education. 77. 128-