The Journey of the Emerging Reader
 Facilitator: Teri Canaday


Director
MEINA
 AMS Conference: Dallas 2014
 meina@mcoj.net
 Who We Are
 Teachers of pre-emerging readers
 Teachers of emerging readers
 Parents of emerging readers
 Teacher educators
 Reading specialists
 Goals
 To share the various avenues of learning traveled by the emerging
reader
 To inspire you to examine your language curriculum in your
schools for purpose of providing rich, consistent learning
opportunities for emerging readers in Early Childhood and Lower
Elementary classrooms.
 To briefly examine brain function and how it relates to learning to
read in a Montessori environment
 What We Understand
 Young Children learn to read
 Older Children read to learn
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 All Children learn at different rates
 All Children have different interest in learning to read
 Children are unique in the way they learn.
 As Montessori teachers, we find other ways to help children learn
to read other than focusing on workbooks and testing.
Pre-Emergent Reader
 Interested in books
 Working with Sandpaper letters
 Typically can read some environmental print
 Interested in phonemic awareness activities
 Uses pictures to create meaning
 Asks adults to read observed print in child’s environment
 Child will read back scribbles that she writes
 Poetry story
Emergent Reader-Level 1
 Knows sounds associated with all letters
 Short vowel sounds associated with grapheme
 Knows 10-15 basic sight words
 Reads word pattern lists
 Uses left to right progression
 Reads large print short sentence phonetic readers with short
phonetic words including blends
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 Displays interest in cultural whole word activities
 Uses large movable alphabet to encode Pink and Blue
words. (short and longer phonetic words-each letter
represents one phoneme)
Emergent Reader-Level 2
 Applies use of first introduced phonograms (traditional 16
including long vowels, th, wh, sh, ph, “r” controlled vowels, etc.)
 Reads variety of sight words-30 or more
 Uses language, memory, pictures, and print as major cues to read
and understand text
 Has prediction skills during the reading process
 Uses advanced Movable alphabet to write phonograms and
stories with phonograms
Emergent Reader-Level 3
 Successfully uses letter combinations to sound out multi-syllable
words
 Begins to read simple paragraphs aloud with some fluency and
increased self-correction
 Sight word memory has greatly increased
 Less dependency on picture cues for meaning of written word
 Uses prior knowledge and own experience to make meaning of
the written word
 Uses smaller print with greater ease
On the first day of school
in your group of first graders
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in Lower Elementary
you might find all levels
from pre-emergent to
third level emergent readers.
What are the Avenues to Learning to Read?
 Are children in a Montessori environment as efficient as the
“Google Map” Car on picking up information in regard to learning
to read?
How do we facilitate confident and capable readers?
 Early Childhood teachers have strong programs that include the
following:
Elementary Classrooms have strong programs that include the
following:
 Literature rich environment
 Strong cultural program filled with enticing reading material and
activity cards
 Strong research implementation
 Independent reading program
 Group reading opportunities
 Daily Relaxed reading times
 Robust language arts shelf materials
 Daily read aloud
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Let’s look at the
Avenues of Learning
for the
Emerging Reader.
Oral Activities to include
 Brainstorming
 Classifying
 Comparing
 Describing
 Labeling
 Pantomiming
 Problem Solving
 Storytelling
 Discussing
 Following directions
 Identifying
 Imagining
 Reasoning
 Remembering
 Sequencing
From Peabody Oral Activities
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Phonological Awareness and Phonics
 I Spy Games-Initial, Final, Medial sounds
 Sandpaper Letters
 Oral Blending and Segmenting Games
 Movable Alphabet and Objects/Cards
 Short Phonetic Words
 Longer Phonetic Words
 Phonograms
 16 in Early Childhood
 56 in Elementary
 Spelling Activities in Elementary Class
Sight Words
 Vocabulary Enrichment Cards
 Classified Nomenclature
 Sensorial Sight Words
 Puzzle Words to go with beginning sentence reading in short
phonetic phrases and sentences
 Sandpaper Sight Words
 Sight Word Concentration
 Noun Books with Commercial Cards
 Reading for Comprehension Cards/SRA
 Spelling Activities
 Farm Works
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 Cultural Activities
Grammar
 Key Experiences
 Farm Activities
 Grammar Follow-up Activities
 Grammar Oral Games
 Grammar Boxes
 Grammar Commands
 Grammar Books
 Grammar Song
 A Grammar Song
Word Studies
 Strike the Imagination Lessons
 Follow-up activities with Art Activities and Creative Writing
Activities
 SRA Reading Laboratory
Mechanics of Writing
 Key Experiences
 Modeling in Group Activities
 Follow-up Activities
 Weekly Story Writing with Mechanics Assessed
 Daily Journals
 Quiet Writing Time
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 Editing Activities
Creative Writing
 Modeling with Group Stories
 Use of Sequence Cards with Emerging Writers
 WritingFix.com
 Empowering Writers
 Book making
 Puppet Show Scripts
 Play Writing for Talent Shows
Read Alouds
 Adult to Children
 Children to Adults
 Children to Children
 Buddy Readers
 Books on CD
 Stories on Computers and iPads
Think Aloud
 Through modeling and practice, teach them to:
 Think about the text’s topic.
 Think about how text features can help in understanding the
topic.
 Read the title and author, front and back cover blurbs, and
table of contents.
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 Study illustrations, photos, and graphics, including labels and
captions.
 Skim for boldfaced words, headings and subheadings, and
summaries.
 Think about what they know, what connections they can make,
and what questions they might want answered.
 Think about the way the text might be organized, such as:
 cause and effect
 compare and contrast
 sequence of events
 problem and solution
 description
 While reading, think aloud by asking questions that:
 make connections
 make predictions
 make inferences
 use context clues
 use text features
Expository Writing
 Lead by Example
 Answering Simple questions using simple sight words
 Writing the Main Idea in a Lesson Journal after a lesson, then
items to remember about lesson
 Research using Rookie Readers
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 Cultural Materials and Research Writing
Research
 Biome Readers for Emerging Readers
 Add Element of Illustrations for Emerging Readers
 Science Experiments in Elementary class pairing Emerging Reader
with Experienced Reader
 Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension Cards
 Research Experiences
 Great Non-Fiction Supplemental Materials for Comprehension
 Great reading work for children who have difficulties with
handwriting
Importance of Complete Materials
 When we look at sensorial or math curriculum, we have set of
clear cut expected materials that look relatively similar with an
understanding of a sequence.
 This is the norm.
 When we look at language shelves, there is such a variety of
materials that have very different looks with gaps according to
what has been made or purchased.
 This is the norm.
Form a group of 5-6 individuals around you.
 Discuss if materials in Montessori language areas are as consistent
as materials in Montessori math areas. Why or Why not?
Some Researchers found proficient readers convert print to sound
using phonologic processing pathways
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In contrast, struggling readers have difficulty turning print to sound
and aren’t using phonologic processing pathways.
 “Children all learn to read in the same manner.
It’s a matter of time and effort that varies in the learning
process.”
Sally Shaywitz, M.D.
 “A multisensory approach can be valuable to many, to the dyslexic
it is often essential.”
 Source:
 JUST THE FACTS… Information provided by The International
DYSLEXIA Association®
 “promoting literacy through research, education and advocacy”
 Fact Sheet # 05 – 02/98
UNDERSTANDING YOUR DYSLEXIA
 When a child is having difficulty in learning to read
 First check the following:
 Hearing Exam
 Functional Eye Exam/Visual Processing Exam
 Cognitive Processing
 Let’s hear what parents and children have to say…
Dyslexia: Having unexpected difficulty in learning to read.
When children learn differently:
Some of the Reasons
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Eye Related:
Eye Tracking Difficulties
Contrast Sensitivity-Irlen Syndrome
Other Brain Related
Learning Differences
Memory Difficulties
Automaticity
Attention
Reading Fluency Blocks
Auditory Processing
Stress Spiral
Stress Spiral
 Very easy to get into a negative spiral of failure...
 leading to stress...
 leading to cerebral shutdown...
 leading to more failure and eventually crisis.
 The key symptoms are:
 Can do OK sometimes, but confidence tends to collapse
 Frustration leads to anger, running away or sullen silence
Human Memory
 Short-Term Memory Difficulties
 The key symptoms are:
 Difficulty remembering lists of things over a period of seconds
 Difficulty blending longer words
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 Difficulty organizing things
 Difficulty following the meaning of a sentence
 Slow, stilted reading
 5 Long Term Memory Pathways
 Explicit (Conscious) (Declarative)
 Semantic
 Episodic
 Implicit (Unconscious) (Non-Declarative)
 Procedural
 Conditional
 Emotional
 Little Memory Check
 Write down the 5 memory pathways
Semantic Memory
 Relates to spitting out the knowledge through words.
 This is the memory pathway used in traditional classrooms.
 Both language and math is full of this pathway
 Common core calls on this pathway more than ever.
Episodic Memory
 Episodic memory: Dealing with an event or location
 Lessons that involve all the senses with movement and
specific location
 Table set up for Sandpaper lessons
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 Lesson Area for Elementary Language Lessons
 Testing in same area if possible-Research story
Implicit Memory
Unconscious
 Procedural
 Dealing with learning procedure
 Conditional
 Learning by negative or positive response
 Emotional
 strongest memory pathway-can’t necessarily be expressed
 Negative emotional memory is the strongest type of
memory.
Procedural Memory
 This non-declarative memory pathway used when driving you car
after 5 years, tying your shoes, washing your hair
 Reading moves to this level when child is no longer emerging but
ready to read to learn
Conditional Memory
 Behaviorist concept that a behavior will result in a positive or
negative reaction and the reaction goes into long term memory
affecting future behavior.
 Children who learn to read easily are positively reinforced by
“pleased parents”.
 Children who have difficulty learning to read pick up that adults
think something else should be happening.
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Emotional Memory
 Being the strongest pathway, can effect reading greatly..
 Reading to children adds to emotional memory about the process
of reading
 Children with automaticity issues can have negative emotional
memory which is stronger than positive emotional memory
 Adults reaction to the child’s reading can play a strong role in how
child responds to learning to read—Let’s listen to a story….
Factors affecting the Adult’s Emotional Responses to the Emerging
Reader
 Learning the sequence of the Montessori curriculum
 Learning to give enough lessons
 Finding the time to give more lessons
 Planning and Preparing for the lessons
 Learning the standards
Time for Discussion
 Break into groups of 5.
 Assign a recorder who is willing to report back to the group
 Discuss the strengths and the weaknesses of your language
curriculum.
 Set a goal for making a change in the way you help emerging
readers to learn including consideration of memory pathways.
For notes and handouts of today’s presentation,
send request to:
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Teri Canaday
meina@mcoj.net
or
www.meinamontessori.org
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