It's Time to End the Reading Wars

It’s Time to End the Reading Wars is a brief article published in NEA today in May 1998. The article describes a recent study released by The National Academy of Sciences and chaired by Harvard University professor, Catherine Snow.  The study basically reveals that neither phonics nor whole language is the best way to teach reading. She instead sights three basic elements to building good readers.

• Children need to understand the alphabetic writing system (Snow, 1998, p. 17).
• Children need the opportunities to use reading to obtain meaning from print (Snow, 1998, p. 17).  
• Children need frequent opportunities to practice their skills to achieved fluency (Snow, 1998, p. 17).

This study explains that the best way to teach reading is a combination of phonics and whole language. Students need to not only practice the necessary skills, but also need to apply them to everyday reading and writing activities.  I thought the author’s point that invented and traditional spelling can co-exist was a good; traditional spelling helps children understand sounds created by different letter combinations which then aids them with their inventive spelling activities.  I concur with the overall conclusion that  whole language and phonics go hand in hand.

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