The "People Power" Education Superbook: Book 3. Reading, Writing, Speaking

Reading, writing and speaking used to be the purpose of all college education, to create someone who can express themselves clearly and simply. They called him a liberally-educated man, someone who could say what they thought without babbling. Despite all the technical-babble that has swept the world, it is still about your ability to communicate simply and clearly. The late Dr. Jeanne Chall developed the theory that learning about literacy occurs in stages: 1.) Pre-reading; six months to six years: The pre-reading child has some phonological awareness or sensitivity to speech sounds, rhyming and alliteration; recognizes some letters and may link some to the sounds they make; some understanding of books and print. 2.) Initial reading or decoding; first and second grade: The child who is just beginning to read can sound out words one at a time and decode them slowly, carefully and accurately. Most of his attention is devoted to decoding with few mental resources left over for deeper comprehension.