What Are Your Pet Peeves About Reading?

I recently read Tim Shanahan’s blog post about his reading pet peeves and it really got me thinking about my own. So, without further ado, here are my top 5 pet peeves about teaching reading.

Pet Peeve #1: Telling a child they can only read books from their “assigned reading level.”

Nothing kills the love of reading faster than telling someone that they can’t read a book because it’s either too easy or too hard for them. Just imagine the shame and embarrassment these restrictions might cause a student, especially if noticed by his/her peers. When students read for pleasure, they should be free to select books and topics that interest them and teachers should encourage that. Additionally, reading levels tend to be rather arbitrary and unreliable. A student who knows a lot about a topic will be able to navigate a more complex text on that topic. 

As a parent, I have experienced both ends of the spectrum on this issue. When my son (with dyslexia) was in the 3rd grade, I made sure that he was allowed to listen to audiobooks during his class independent reading time. This enabled him to access grade level content and vocabulary. He had lots of practice with simple decodable readers during his tutoring sessions, so when we read together, we used complex text. We started a chapter book that summer. He would read a sentence, then I’d read a sentence, and so on. Even with my guidance, it was slow and he struggled through each sentence, but he soldiered on bolstered by his ability to actually read. At the end of the summer, we finished his first chapter book and I wish I could adequately describe the triumph he felt. We have continued this practice even now, as he is in 6th grade. We are reading Harry Potter (book six!) now and we alternate pages instead of sentences. He is much more accurate now and sometimes wants to read the entire time. Imagine all the beautiful stories, language, and concepts he would have been denied if I had limited what he read.

Another son of mine has always been a gifted reader, reading a couple years ahead of his grade level. He often reads challenging texts, but when he was in 5th grade he wanted to read a series called, Diary of a Minecraft Zombie. I knew it wasn’t the greatest quality literature, but this was where his interest was at the time. His teacher, however, was concerned that these books were well below his assigned “reading level” and did not want him to read them. But if he wasn't allowed to read this series as a young boy of 10 years old, when would he be able to? I didn't necessarily want him reading books with themes more appropriate for a teenager, even though that is where his reading level was at. And I definitely didn't want to teach him that he should only select texts according to his "level." I wanted him to follow his interests, his inquiries, things he wonders about, books his friends recommend, in addition to books that challenge him. Even after I reached out to her to express my feelings, she refused to count any of the pages he read of this series towards his term page requirement. I shrugged it off, knowing that there would be much more harm done if I told him he couldn't read those books. He probably read over 1,000 pages that December that were not counted for his school grade. So I ask, is it really damaging for a child to read a text too easy for him? As an adult, there are times that I want to struggle through a difficult research paper or book, and there are times I want a fun, easy book to read at the beach.

Pet Peeve #2: Those resistant to give up the 3 cueing system.

I have always tried to be careful with how I bring this up, because people get so upset and defensive when confronted with the fact that there is no research to support these reading strategies and, even worse, they are doing harm to students. But my patience is wearing thin on this topic. Just when I think that the tide is turning and that the majority of educators now realize the problems surrounding 3 cueing, I hear an edu-celebrity tell teachers on Facebook to simply “tweak” the strategies instead of get rid of them or a reader emails me asking me to take down this post stating that it’s only my opinion and that 3 cueing works. This particular reader told me not to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but 3 cueing is exactly what needs to be thrown out. I stand by what I said. There is no research to support these strategies and you don’t need to take my word for it. You can read about it here, here, and here.

Pet Peeve #3: Giving up on a student because they are “too low.”

I can’t begin to describe the heartache I felt when my sister, a brand new teacher, told me what a colleague had advised her. She told my sister not to worry about the “red” students...that she wouldn’t be able to move them anyway, but to focus her efforts on the “yellow” kids. She was referring to students’ reading scores on their Dibels assessments, a reading screener that is used at the beginning, middle, and end of the year to assess which students are meeting grade level benchmark scores and which need help. Students in the red zone are far below grade level and students in the yellow are just slightly below. I was appalled that someone would say this...especially realizing that this is my son they are talking about...but I’ve heard similar comments several times over the years. This line of thought is repulsive to me. Every child deserves a teacher who believes in them and who will do everything in their power to help them. It reminds me of a callous remark posted by a Fountas and Pinnell consultant a few weeks ago. See below:

 

There are so many issues with this post (there are much more than 20% of students struggling to read), but the idea that the bottom 20% aren’t worth our time, aren’t worth investing in, and don’t deserve a seat at the table is despicable and should sicken anyone in education. No child is too low for our help. No child is beyond reach. If you don’t believe this, you are in the wrong profession.

Pet Peeve #4: Thinking that the purpose of intervention is to qualify a student for special education.

The purpose of intervention is to give our at-risk students enhanced opportunities to learn and grow. It’s a chance for them to reach benchmark goals. It’s a chance to teach them what they weren’t able to achieve in tier 1. Any student may need intervention at any time. It’s not only reserved for those I think may benefit from an IEP. Many of these students will make adequate growth with my interventions and that will be all they need. If they don’t make adequate progress, then I’ll consider the next steps.

Additionally, this means that even students who are already receiving SPED services, will still receive intervention from me. I will not mentally check these students off my list, assuming that it is now the SPED teacher’s responsibility to teach them. I will work in a partnership with the SPED teacher, each of us doing our part to help these students learn, grow, and improve. 

Pet Peeve #5: Misuse of the term “The Science of Reading.”

I have advocated for getting the science of how we read into schools for around four years, so it’s so exciting to see the momentum this movement is now gaining. At the same time, I have become very protective of the term “science of reading” and am increasingly frustrated with how it is used. Perhaps most alarming to me are those who slap the term on their products in order to make a sale, without really understanding what the science of reading is and what it is not. It has become apparent to me that we need to continually be critical consumers and cannot solely rely on certain products, curriculums, and programs any longer. As educators, we need to rise to a higher standard, improving our own knowledge and level of understanding with regard to reading. We must realize that just because something says “science of reading” does not automatically mean that it is. Additionally, there are quality resources out there that don’t include this, more recent, term. Continuing to improve our own expertise in the science of reading is the best way to ensure that we are doing everything we can for our students.

Thank you for reading! You can find me on Twitter: @LindsayKemeny.