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Written by Mrs Shenelle Wynne-James, Teacher, Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education, Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Family Studies, and Postgraduate Qualification in Literacy Instruction.
There is a question we need to ask ourselves honestly: Are our children learning to read, or are we simply moving them through the system?
As an educator, I am increasingly concerned about the literacy levels being demonstrated by children in the early primary grades. Too many are struggling with the fundamental skills upon which successful reading is built. Some have difficulty identifying letters. Others struggle to associate letters with their corresponding sounds. Most concerning is the number of children who can produce individual letter sounds but cannot blend those sounds together to read a simple word.
A child may know that c represents /k/, a represents /a/, and t represents /t/, yet when presented with cat, cannot blend those sounds to read the word.
This is not a minor weakness that we can simply hope a child will outgrow. It is a gap in the foundation of reading.
Yet, while these foundational gaps remain, our youngest learners are often expected to copy and retain substantial amounts of information in Science, Social Studies, Health and Family Life Education (HFLE), and other subject areas.
I am not suggesting that these subjects should be abolished. They are important to the development of well-rounded children. However, we must seriously examine our priorities and methods in Kindergarten through Grade 2.
What is the educational value of giving a six-year-old a page of notes to copy when that child cannot independently read what has been written?
A full notebook is not necessarily evidence of learning.
Literacy and Numeracy Must Be Priorities
The early primary years should place greater emphasis on intensive, systematic and explicit instruction in literacy and numeracy.
Children need daily opportunities to develop phonological and phonemic awareness. They need explicit teaching of letter-sound relationships and opportunities to blend sounds to read words and segment words into their individual sounds. They also need to develop vocabulary, fluency and comprehension and to practice reading texts appropriate to the phonics skills they have been taught.
Numeracy requires the same depth of attention. Young children need more than pages of sums. They need to understand numbers, quantities, patterns, operations and relationships and develop the ability to reason mathematically and solve problems.
Literacy and numeracy are not simply two subjects competing for space on an already crowded timetable. They are the foundation upon which almost every other area of academic learning depends.
Teach the Other Subjects—But Teach Them Differently
Prioritising literacy and numeracy does not mean children should stop learning Science, Social Studies or HFLE. Instead, particularly from Kindergarten through Grade 2, we should reconsider how these subjects are taught.
Young children can learn through discussion, observation, investigation, stories, pictures, experiments, drawing, role-play and hands-on experiences. These subjects can also provide valuable opportunities to strengthen literacy.
If children are learning about plants in Science, for example, read an age-appropriate text about plants. Introduce relevant vocabulary. Discuss what plants need to grow. Let children observe a real plant, describe what they see, draw it and write simple sentences at their developmental level.
They are still learning Science, but they are simultaneously developing oral language, vocabulary, comprehension and writing.
Surely this is more meaningful than requiring a struggling reader to copy a paragraph that he or she cannot independently read or understand.
We Must Be Willing to Change
For years, many of our educational routines have remained largely unchanged. When the outcomes are not what we want, however, we must be willing to examine the methods producing them.
Are we dedicating enough instructional time to actually teaching children how to read? Are teachers adequately equipped and supported to deliver systematic reading instruction? Are children assessed early enough to identify exactly where their difficulties lie? When weaknesses are identified, is targeted intervention provided immediately? And what role are parents playing in reinforcing these skills at home? Are children being read to, encouraged to read, practising letter sounds and blending, and engaging with numbers beyond the classroom?
The responsibility cannot rest on teachers alone. Schools and families must work in partnership. A teacher may provide structured instruction during the school day, but parental involvement, encouragement and consistent practice at home are essential in reinforcing what is being taught. Likewise, schools must communicate clearly with parents about where their children are struggling and provide practical guidance on how they can help.
Improving literacy and numeracy requires a partnership between the school, the home and the wider education system.
We cannot wait until Grade 4, Grade 5 or Grade 6 to become alarmed that a child cannot read.
If a child cannot identify letters and their corresponding sounds in the early grades, intervene then. If a child knows individual sounds but cannot blend them to form words, intervene then. If a child is struggling with basic number concepts, intervene then.
Early intervention must truly mean early.
We must also reconsider what we regard as evidence of a productive classroom. Completed notebooks, numerous written exercises and a finished syllabus may look impressive, but they should not be our primary measures of success.
Instead, we should ask: Can the child read? Can the child understand what is read? Can the child communicate ideas? Can the child work confidently with numbers? Can the child reason and solve problems?
Our children deserve more than being moved from one grade to another carrying foundational gaps with them.
Kindergarten through Grade 2 gives us a critical opportunity to get the foundation right. We should use it.
Literacy and numeracy are not the entirety of education. Science matters. Social Studies matters. HFLE matters. The arts, physical education and the development of the whole child matter.
But if a child cannot read, write, comprehend or confidently work with numbers, accessing almost every other area of the curriculum becomes considerably more difficult.
If we want different outcomes, we must be prepared to reconsider old routines.
Before we worry about how many pages our youngest learners have filled, how many notes they have copied or how many topics we have covered, let us first make certain that we have given them something far more valuable:
A strong foundation upon which all future learning can be built.
END
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