Beyond "Sounding it Out"

The classroom in which I am currently in focuses on a literacy framework called "Daily Five:"

• Read to Self,
• Work on Writing,
• Read to Someone,
• Listen to Reading, and
• Word Work.

When students read to self or read with someone, the cooperating teacher I work with, assesses students periodically. As kindergarteners, these students are not reading perfectly, however, the importance is not placed on children "reading right." The classroom has several other strategies that students can use when reading: use the picture and whether it makes sense, to name a few. Children can use some or all these strategies when reading. When children use the picture to read they are looking at the illustrations and understanding the story that way, using context helps students to make sense of what the word could be.  While being in the classroom I have not heard the teacher use the phrase "sound it out." Other strategies make more sense to children who are making sense of the stories they are reading. Reading should instead focus on children understanding the concept of print, then acquiring language and listening skills, having knowledge of letters, phonemic and phonological awareness, and fostering a love for reading. Sounding it out is not a strategy because most words cannot be sounded out. Children will retain and understand what they are reading when they are creating and acquiring their own meaning and can be engaged with the text. Therefore, context, using the picture and making sense of the word are better strategies to "sounding it out."