Solid Ground, by Sharon Taberski by Intelligently

¶ … Solid Ground, by Sharon Taberski By intelligently using her ten years of primary level teaching experience as a foundation and a resource, Sharon Taberski has achieved an extraordinary level of excellence in her field, according to Shelly Harwayne -- a colleague of Sharon's at Manhattan New School. Shelly, writing in the Foreword of On Solid Ground, asserts that Sharon makes "literacy teaching look easy," because she is well prepared, well organized, and is continually searching for a better way to carry out her work teaching children to read.

Sharon points out in the book's Introduction that the teaching of reading, and the act of learning how to read, "are complex endeavors," but those challenges can be met, she states (page xvi), by pursuing practices and strategies that are "purposeful and connected." And precisely how does she go about establishing a good solid footing with students -- especially those struggling with reading? In Chapter 1, readers begin to learn how Sharon succeeds; for one thing, she sees the student as a whole person, and selects the books to be read -- and the subjects to be discussed -- based on "topics and experiences he could relate to." For another, she eschews heavy reliance on phonics, and rather, blends "meaning, language structure, and phonics," into strategies and contexts that the child enjoys and understands.

Her philosophy embraces the "meaning-making" activity that reading should be -- not just a mechanical exercise that everyone "must" go through -- but rather an experience in which the subject covered has interest and meaning. An example of using a subject that the child with reading issues has an interest in is the use of dinosaurs in books: " .. when a child knowledgeable about dinosaurs reads a book about them, she expects to find information that affirms and extends what she already knows" (page 3).

And from that previous knowledge base (hence the title of the book, On Solid Ground), Sharon can teach strategies based on the axiom that "Learning proceeds from the known to the new," rather than learning being launched for the child from the "unknown" -- learning a new subject and learning reading skills simultaneously.

Throughout her initial chapter, Sharon does not necessarily put forth esoteric or complex tactics; rather, she offers nuts and bolts practical tips like mentioning the "Letter-Sound" Relationships" that work, and "Learning through Analogy" (a student who can spell "other," therefore also can spell "brother," "another," "mother"), and by pointing out that real reading experiences should incorporate "large blocks of time." Some of the sage and constructive advice she give readers is not specific to "reading" per se, but in fact has to do with effective teaching: " ..

so many teachers cling to the notion of the more taught, the more learned," she points out on page 6, and she goes on to criticize the approach some take, "that by telling children information, we can make them learn." Meanwhile, as to goal-setting, Sharon, in Chapter 2, defines her goals: she wants students to become "strategic readers" (note, she uses "strategy" and "strategic" often, which shows readers that a lot of planning and thought goes into literacy teaching); she wants them to read "a variety of genres"; she uses writing "as a tool to make sense of that they read"; and she works towards a point where they "appreciate the power" reading can have in their lives.

As to encouraging students to read a variety of genres, it might sound like Sharon is contradicting herself, since earlier in the book she said it is important to let a child read a subject they are interested in. But she wants them to read poetry, and also "factual texts," and as they progressively become better readers, "reading becomes more of a tool" (page 11) to learn about subjects like science, social studies, and literature.

Just as teachers should set goals, so too should students, as to how far they expect to see themselves go in reading, according to Sharon.

For the benefit of teachers -- and this is a useful part of her book for teachers who are working with kids who do not necessarily have reading difficulties -- Author Taberski breaks down (page 14) some specific reader characteristics at various stages of their progression: first, they are "Emergent" (very raw); next, they're "Early Readers" (a little more sophistication, and can figure out "most simple words"); third, they move into a category called "Transitional Readers" (they're beginning to integrate meaning, syntax, and phonics into their experience with reading); and the fourth stage is "Fluent Readers" (automatically identifying most words).

In Chapter 3, Sharon leaves no stone unturned in terms of giving readers an exact layout of what a successful literacy classroom should look like. It once again points out her.