| |
Characteristics
of Good Readers:
Things that are Never Taught, but are Somehow Learned
Return to Essays
See also: The Teaching of Reading and
Spelling | Whole Language
To list all the many things good
readers learn that are not taught in school is almost
impossible. There are so many. But I am starting
a list here on this website and hope that others will add to
it.
- Good readers learn to automatically
read letter combinations at the ends of words differently
than the same letter combinations that form a word. For
example, a good reader reads the letters t-r-y as "tree"
when it comes at the end of words such as entry, pantry,
country, etc. Likewise, a good reader reads the
letters t-y at the end of a word as "tee" as in party,
county, jaunty, nasty, and empty. At the beginnings of
words t-y is usually pronounced tie as in Tyrone, tyre
(British spelling), typhoid, and typist. Tries becomes
"trees" in entries, pantries, countries, etc. Ties
becomes "tees" in parties, counties, and empties.
- Good readers learn how to
pronounce the -sque letter combination as sk as in Basque,
masquerade, mosque, grotesque, and bisque. They learn
that que at the end is /k/ as in unique, technique, and
pique. View more of the
specific
phonic patterns that are not taught.
- Good readers learn how to
scan without being systematically taught how to scan.
- Good readers can use a
dictionary and without being systematically taught have
learned to correctly pronounce any word by using the
dictionary diacritics.
- Good readers can read
dialects in print. For example, the following are
definitions from Dictionary for Yankees and other
uneducated people by Bil Dwyer. Bad--a place for
sleep or rest. Bail--this rings on Sunday mornings.
Bait--What people do on "hawse" racing.
- Good readers know the
conventions cartoonists use to indicate thinking, motion,
speed, dreaming, as well as talking.
- Good readers catch satire and
puns.
- Good readers enjoy reading.
- Good readers know how to find
things in catalogs and can use telephone directories and
anything with an index.
Return
to Essays
Contact Us | Donate |
|
