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The history of teaching reading has many lessons for teaching reading today, some of which can be found in the dissenting appendix of the "What Works for Teaching Reading" study.
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Todays Learners can benefit from some incredible learning tools. For an example, take a look at this online spelling program.  SpellingCity.com is a website that at first glance, is a simple useful tool.  It helps students practice for their spelling test.  But, there is so much more. There are spelling games, vocabulary games, handwriting printable worksheets, and it's perfect for todays technology oriented learners.
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Homeschool Parents Get a Synopsis of the NCLB Theory of Reading Skills Acquisition... 
The Reading Skills Pyramid illustrates a typical sequence for acquiring reading skills for use by parents for homeschools and enrichment. The reading skills are organized using the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) system.  See the Reading Skills Pyramid  







History of Teaching Reading Quoted with permission from:  The History of Teaching Reading
By LEARN. 1611 N Fort Harrison Ave. Clearwater, FL 33755

To understand the History of Teaching Reading, a background on the social context of learning reading and of writing systems is provided. The literacy skills level is linked to educational policy.


Almost daily, there are disturbing news reports about the rising problem of illiteracy. Politicians, business leaders, community organizations and parents are struggling to cope with its adverse and growing effects on society.  read more on The History of Teaching Reading...








What Works for Teaching Reading
The mandate and method of the Authoritative "What Works" for Teaching Reading study was to end the "Reading Wars" by reviewing all the existing research on what works for teaching reading.

The charge from Congress to the National Reading Panel (NRP) was to assess the status of research based knowledge, including the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read." Part 1 describes the mandate and how a limited interpretation of it was taken by the Panel.  read more on What Works for Teaching Reading...



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Audio Books , Family Times, &  Reading Comprehension.

 

Listening to Audio Booksin the car together provides a great opportunity for parents to read and discuss literature with their children. You can both develop reading comprehension skills and use it to launch discussions of other questions such as ethics, values, or psychology that are raised in the literature. I have been through many classics in the car with my children and have transformed previously dull driving time into a very worthwhile time for all of us.  

 

Reading comprehension skills separates the "passive" unskilled reader from the "active" readers. Skilled readers don't just read, they interact with the text. To help a beginning reader understand this concept, you might make them privy to the dialogue readers have with themselves while reading.

 

Skilled readers, for instance:


  1. Predict what will happen next in a story using clues presented in text
  2. Create questions about the main idea, message, or plot of the text
  3. Monitor understanding of the sequence, context, or characters
  4. Clarify parts of the text which have confused them
  5. Connect the events in the text to prior knowledge or experience

To give your child a window into the self-monitoring that skilled readers engage in as they read, demonstrate them while you listen with them. Periodically stop the story and ask questions demonstrating one of the skills above.

 

If you are reading a confusing passage, stop and say, "I didn't understand that. Did you?" And after listening to their interpretation, say: "Interesting, Let's check and read this part again." Reread the passage and then discuss your new understanding.