Reading is fundament skill necessary for our children to compete in a more globalized world. Evidence has shown strong correlations between education and income. These correlations have endured multiple generations and reflect the need for continual improvement on the part of students. The ability to read and comprehend passages therefore is the first of many building blocks needed to be help students within a more competitive and highly dynamic environment. Children with strong reading skills are better able to learn new and challenging techniques. They are able to learn varying aspects of life and synthesize them in a meaningful manner. They will even be able to expand their horizons by learning concepts that different from the traditional books learned in school. The National Reading Panel Report is the first step in helping to enhance the overall level of reading comprehension among children. The report recognizes that in order to enhance the reading comprehension of children, a multi-faceted approach is needed. Changing one variable simply isn't enough to elicit the change that children need. The report helps to establish an approach that is more akin to collaboration. It utilizes the research garnered from academia, regional meetings, panels, research, and other instructors, to arrive at the best practices for teaching students. In fact, using this multifaceted approach, the NICHD has determined the effective methods by which to teach children how to read. From its report instruction should include teaching children to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words. This is termed phonemic awareness in the report. Also, instructors should teach children that letters that could be blended together to form words represents sounds. This concept according to the report is called phonics. Instructors should then have children practice what they've learned by reading aloud with guidance and feedback. Final instructors should teach these children to apply strategies to guide and improve reading comprehension. These concepts according to the National Reading Panel will greatly enhance the ability for children to read and comprehend the concepts they are reading. It is through these means that instructors can better teach our youth the power and value of reading.

The first concept mentioned in the introduction was phonemic awareness. In simple terms, phonemic awareness is simply the understanding that words are composed of tiny sound segments. This is a critical component of reading and must be mastered in order for children to be successful. Students must learn how to properly categorize, segment, and isolate these segments while reading. Isolating particular sound within sentences can be particularly challenging given the varying sentence structure in the English language. Words like "Knife" are often difficult for children simple because of the difficulty in segmenting and isolating the phoneme. Students will undoubtedly attempt to pronounce the "K" when in this instance it is silent. Once learned however, PA skills are effective at improving the reading of all children under a litany of reading conditions.

I learned a variety of method that will aid in my application of the concept. For example, the report states that teaching in small groups produces better results than simply teaching on an individual basis. I will use group exercises to help facilitate learning of PA skills within my daily lesson planning. Groups also provide a host of benefits that cannot be derived by simply teaching students on an individual basis. In many instances, peers can provide the positive feedback and attention that the teacher cannot provide within a crowded classroom. One teacher, can only do so many things at once. With a group, students are able to learn from each other's mistakes and successes. Second, students in some instances will be able to teach their peers better than the teacher can. Students may be able to explain a concept or skill on their own terms, using aspects that are easily recognizable. Groups can also provide the positive reinforcement for peers that children desire. At an early age, many children desire to fit in and align themselves with a particular group. Through conducting group's exercise, children will be able to form groups that can reinforce and aid their overall reading development. The report states that children are motivated by the association of letters to interesting characters and hand motions motivates children. Who would be a better candidate to associate these letters with hand motions that other children, who best understand each other.

The report also indicated that teaching one or two skills was more effective than teaching three or more skills. In short, the report is stating that concepts should be learned in isolation as oppose to a group...

This, I believe is correct on the part of the National Reading Panel. Learning PA concepts can be difficult when many concepts are placed together at once. When this occurs children are often frustrated and unwilling to commit to the learning required to master a particular skill. Instead, utilizing one concept at a time tends to build confidence within children in regards to their ability to learn concepts adequately. This is particularly important when combined with the group activities mentioned earlier. By having the positive reinforcement of both the teacher and their peers, children are better able to learn once concept at a time. Further, by utilizing a single concept, children can "build" their mastery overtime as oppose to simply remembering principles. By learning a single concept, children are actually committing their knowledge to memory as oppose to simply utilizing it for the moment (Duffy, 1986). This is very important as the student progresses throughout their academic career. When these phonemic principles are committed to memory and actually learned, students are laying the foundation of success for the future. I will be heavily utilizing the single principle throughout all my lesson planning. In addition, I intend to build on each successful lesson in order to grow my students understanding and awareness (Duffy, 1987).
The third and final concrete application that is consistent with best practice is the use of computers throughout the training process. As indicated by reflective essay, I am a strong advocate for the use of computer training within a classroom setting. The benefits and efficiencies are nearly irrefutable. Computer training provides a unique medium by which children can better learn concepts and applications. Technology can be very effective at integrating the learning environment with both the curriculum and daily student activities. Software allows children to explore the world and engage with it, in a unique manner (NAEYC, 2012). Finally, the advantage of software and technology is that it can be supplemented with home training. It is now very easy to send engaging software packages home with children to further their own learning and understanding.

Fluency is another concept mentioned in the introduction that is necessary for children to understand. Fluency is simply the ability for children to read with speed, accuracy, and proper enunciation. This must be done fluidly without conscious attention. In many instances, mastery is demonstrated when children can recognize words and comprehend their meaning at the same time. Fluency is unique in that practice improves student's ability to learn. Student must read often and read consistently to build proficiency. This can be done in a litany of ways. Consistent reading however, is the foundation for each technique or application.

The first concrete application of this principle is guided oral reading. Students perform better when they are required to answer questions about the stories and articles that they read. This also makes the overall reading experience much more enjoyable if students are able to discuss their findings and notions with each other. My lesson plays will incorporate readings that are engaging and interesting with students. I will also use readings that are controversial and cause discussion among students. I believe students should not be fearful about expressing their opinions while also engaging with students with differing views. Through this engagement, I hope to help children grow from a reading perspective but also from a personal perspective.

Of note, longitudinal studies have not been able to should that silent reading improves fluency. This is particularly interesting because many lesson plans incorporate silent reading into their own curriculum. My second concrete application would be the removal of silent reading exercises from my lesson planning. Silent reading does not engage students in the same manner as oral presentation. I will therefore, elect to eliminate silent reading as it will be difficult to assess a student's comprehension and fluency.

Consistent with my use of technology to teach phonics, I will utilize multimedia methods to help teach fluency to my students. In addition to computers, I will utilize concepts such as pictures, hypertext and signs to help teach fluency to students. Studies have found a distinct relationship between multimedia methods and over reading fluency. Different students learn in different ways. Through use of multimedia, I would like to incorporate varying methods to help student who learn in different ways.

Vocabulary instruction is also needed to help assess reading proficiency. Vocabulary There is a litany of strategies to employ in regards…