In recent years, our understanding of how children learn to read has undergone monumental change. Looking beyond
the "visible" (print) system involved in learning to read, researchers have made exciting discoveries
about the critical role of "invisible" (linguistic and cognitive) systems. Although the instructional
implications of these discoveries are extraordinary, these research findings have not yet become part of our general
cultural knowledge. And, as inevitably happens when deeply-rooted, traditional belief systems are challenged, the
backlash has begun.
In Beyond Traditional Phonics, Margaret Moustafa fills you in on these exciting new research discoveries
of how children learn to read and relates them to reading instruction. This book gives a comprehensive yet accessible
picture of how children learn to read, describing:
the origins of our traditional assumptions about beginning reading and problems research has uncovered about
these assumptions
discoveries about the linguistic processes children use to figure out unfamiliar print words
discoveries about how children learn letter-sound correspondences
discoveries about how children begin their journey into literacy
a new method of teaching phonics based on children's natural learning strategies
suggestions on creating a research-based infrastructure to support reading instruction.
Moustafa maintains that learning to read doesn't have to be hard or frustrating. It can and should be a joyous
adventure. The key is to make that journey a happy and successful one.
Table of Contents
1. Our Traditional Assumptions About How Children Learn to Read
2. Problems with Our Traditional Assumptions About How Children Learn Letter-Sound Correspondences
3. How Children Use Language to Figure Out Unfamiliar Print Words
4. The Groan Zone
5. How Children Use Their Knowledge of Spoken Sounds to Pronounce Unfamiliar Print
6. How Children Use Their Knowledge of the World to Make Sense of Print
7. How Children Use Their Knowledge About Reading to Read
