ROUNDTABLE

Reading by third grade: What parents and teachers can do

Parents and teachers are on the frontlines of California’s literacy crisis amid a national debate on how best to teach reading. Both groups often lack the tools to get involved and be heard.

This roundtable focuses on what parents and teachers need to know about the state’s reading dilemma.

Terms & Definitions

The following words and terms come up frequently during any discussion of this topic.

Phonics instruction teaches the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language, correlating sounds with letters to sound out the word on the page.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to detect, identify and manipulate phonemes, a distinct unit of sound, in spoken words. It is one component of phonological awareness, an umbrella term that includes the awareness of the larger parts of spoken language, such as words and syllables, as well as smaller parts such as phonemes.

Balanced literacy, a variation of the whole-language approach that emphasizes exploring literature organically but includes the explicit instruction of phonics in small doses.

Science of reading is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically based research about reading that includes the five fundamental pillars: phonics (connecting letters to sounds,) phonemic awareness (identifying distinct units of sound,) fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

Decoding means translating a printed word to speech and identifying unfamiliar words by sounding them out. This is a foundation of phonics instruction.

Three-cueing uses context such as pictures and syntax to guess the meaning of words that a student is stumbling on. It is urged primarily in balanced literacy and has become a focus of controversy.

Structured literacy emphasizes the highly explicit and systematic teaching of all important components of literacy including foundational skills (phonics, spelling) and higher-level literacy skills (reading comprehension). The origins of this phonics-based approach go back to the 1920s, when Samuel T. Orton and Anna Gillingham created a program that was systematic, explicit and highly structured, known as the Orton-Gillingham method, to reach struggling readers.

Additional resources:

Find all our coverage of early literacy and the debates about how to teach children to read on our California’s Reading Dilemma page.
Voters reelected Tony Thurmond; now he needs to keep his promises on literacy (EdSource commentary) by panelist Megan Bacigalupi.
From panelist Susan Pimentel, this presentation offers suggestions for what parents can do to help their children read.
Learn more about Oakland Reach’s program, The Hub, that provides high-quality tutoring to students.
Top experts weigh in on the flaws in Lucy Calkins’ balanced literacy approach in this analysis.
Parent timeline regarding special education and assessment requests.
Webinars for parents on special education.
English Language Arts curriculum by California school district.

Speakers:

Susan Pimentel

Founding Partner | StandardsWork and Student Achievement Partners

Susan Pimentel is one of the nation’s top K-12 literacy experts, with more than four decades of work to increase academic rigor and student preparation. She was lead author of the Common Core State Standards for English language arts/literacy and served two terms on the National Assessment Governing Board, an independent, bipartisan board that sets policy for NAEP.

She is the founding partner of two nonprofits, StandardsWork and Student Achievement Partners, that seek to improve student achievement through evidence-based practices. Her publications include Why Doesn’t Every Teacher Know the Research on Reading Instruction? and Reading as Liberation: An Examination of the Research Base.

Candida Elias

First grade teacher | Lancaster School District

Candida Elias teaches first grade at Joshua Elementary in Lancaster School District. She has been teaching for 16 years. Elias graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Education and has a multiple subject and special education teaching credential.

Megan Bacigalupi

Parent; Co-founder and executive director | CA Parent Power

Megan Bacigalupi is the co-founder of CA Parent Power, a statewide parent advocacy organization focused on literacy. She is a parent of a student with dyslexia so understands first hand the need for parents to have information and power.

Ruelvis Alonga

Parent tutor | Oakland Reach

Ruelvis Alonga is part of the parent-tutor team at Oakland Reach and a resident of Oakland for over 40 years. He is the caregiver and guardian to his 11-year-old niece who attends an Oakland charter school. He works for the Oakland Unified school district as an early literacy tutor for grades K-2 at the Think College Now School site.

Karen D’Souza

Panel moderator; Reporter | EdSource

Karen D’Souza covers early education. She is an award-winning writer who comes to EdSource after covering lifestyle, parenting, health, housing, education and the arts for the San Jose Mercury News. She is a four-time Pulitzer juror and her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Times. She has an MA in journalism and a BA in political science and dramatic art from UC Berkeley.

Anne Vasquez

CEO | EdSource

Anne Vasquez took the helm as EdSource’s Executive Director in May 2021. Previously, she served as Director of Content and Strategic Initiatives at EdSource. In that role, she helped shape editorial strategy, grow partnerships and expand the organization’s footprint throughout California. Prior to joining EdSource, Anne was an executive at Tribune Publishing, where she most recently served as Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Chief Digital Officer. She previously was the Managing Editor of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Anne began her career at The Miami Herald and the San Jose Mercury News, where she was an education reporter and later an editor.