ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews recent research on the development of children’s literacy and how teachers can best help children learn this complex activity. Different approaches to the teaching of reading are analysed, together with research about the developmental stages in children’s learning. The significance of phonological awareness is emphasised. The chapter provides a thorough analysis of teaching and assessment techniques related to onset and rime, the alphabetic principle, miscue analysis and so on. Finally, features of successful teaching interactions with children with reading difficulties are outlined, which include developing a warm and supportive relationship between the teacher and the learner, frequent scaffolded reading and writing experiences and considerable explicit cognitive modelling of reading and writing processes by the teacher. In these ways children develop the key metacognitive skills and understandings about literacy, such as self-monitoring, which are fundamental to becoming a fluent reader.
