The Secret of Natural Readers: How Preschool Children Learn to Read

(Hardback)

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It has been recognized since the 1980s that literacy begins to develop a long time before formal schooling begins. In today's literate environment, children start learning to read much as they learn to speak, through playful print interactions with their parents, older siblings, or other adults, beginning in year one. A sharp debate about the best approach to developing early childhood literacy is now brewing between reading instruction experts, who tend to advocate direct instruction of skills, and preschool educators, who know that preschoolers learn best through play. This book provides a model for action that may help to settle the debate. Interactions that involve the printed word occur spontaneously between young children and adults in the context of daily life activities. This is true, to a greater or lesser degree, in essentially all socioeconomic and cultural environments. Recognizing the critical importance of the early years for the development of literacy, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the International Reading Association (IRA) formulated, in 1998, a joint position statement regarding early literacy. That statement included a set of general recommendations for teaching practice. But following the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind legislation of January 2002, and the establishment of the Reading First and Early Reading First programs, early childhood educators are now under heavy pressure to be more specific and to issue standards, or shared expectations, for the literacy development of all children below kindergarten age. Utilizing the actual experiences of six preschool children, The Secret of Natural Readers documents the process of reading development through stories of their early years. The author discusses the implications of natural reading development and its feasibility among preschoolers from different segments of the population. She also spells out, for parents and early childhood teachers, critical information on how preschool children should learn to read.

Reviews

"Ada Anbar's engaging and insightful portrayals of early successful readers provide food for thought for parents and other educators."-Professor Peter Hannon, Department of Educational Studies University of Sheffield
"Preschool literacy is an important topic. We need to promote universal preschool and this book will help to do that. The book takes a very nice developmentally appropriate practice approach."-Lesley M. Morrow, Professor of Literacy Former president of International Reading Association (IRA) Rutgers University
"The book was thought provoking and made me rethink what it means to educate my kids. In particular, it reminded me never to underestimate the importance of reading and other 'literate' activities I do with my children. Reading is not just about bonding and closeness, but it's also about bringing literacy into your home and continuously creating learning opportunities for your children."-Amy Ludwig Shuman, Ph.D., Mother of a 2 1/2 and 5 year old
"The Secret of Natural Readers empowered me. As a pre-kindergarten teacher, I am so grateful to Ada Anbar. I feel that was speaking directly to me, clearly guiding me through the natural stages of discovery. I now feel encouraged to freely explore with my young students the many avenues to early reading in a relaxed and playful atmosphere. I highly recommend this book to parents and teachers alike. What a gift!"-Dorothy Golden, Nursery School Director and Pre-Kindergarten Teacher Kadimah Nursery School of Buffalo, N.Y.
"This book is an insightful exploration of how young children learn to read. Ada Anbar gives parents and preschool teachers practical tips for fun and interesting ways to facilitate children's literacy development."-Tamar Jacobson, Ph.D., Director, Uuniversity at Buffalo Child Care Center Author of Confronting Our Discomfort: Clearing the Way for Anti-Bias in Early Childhood.
[O]ffers the tantalizing prospect of teaching preschoolers to read with no formal instruction....Anbar mixes research and detailed real-life situations to give parents practical suggestions on developing natural readers at an early age.-Booklist
This is a convincing account of six preschool children who become what Anbar calls "Natural Readers." The author uses this term to stress that most preschoolers can achieve reading literacy given the opportunity. Anbar suggests that people shed the traditional view that avoids direct language instruction in early childhood. She recommends people attend to print literacy in the same way as beginning speech--naturally in the child's environment. Her case studies illustrate the role of developmental stages in learning to read. While parents of the children studied devoted inordinate amounts of time to language "play" and informal instruction, Anbar claims that even slightly increased attention to oral and print language from age two to four can yield successful readers. This is useful information for parents of young children. Anbar's easy-to-grasp writing style is appropriate for a general readership....Anbar provides important information to parents and preschool teachers. This book calls into question the conventional wisdom that reading instruction is best left to formal schooling. Recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates.-Choice
"Offers the tantalizing prospect of teaching preschoolers to read with no formal instruction....Anbar mixes research and detailed real-life situations to give parents practical suggestions on developing natural readers at an early age."-Booklist
"[O]ffers the tantalizing prospect of teaching preschoolers to read with no formal instruction....Anbar mixes research and detailed real-life situations to give parents practical suggestions on developing natural readers at an early age."-Booklist
"This is a convincing account of six preschool children who become what Anbar calls "Natural Readers." The author uses this term to stress that most preschoolers can achieve reading literacy given the opportunity. Anbar suggests that people shed the traditional view that avoids direct language instruction in early childhood. She recommends people attend to print literacy in the same way as beginning speech--naturally in the child's environment. Her case studies illustrate the role of developmental stages in learning to read. While parents of the children studied devoted inordinate amounts of time to language "play" and informal instruction, Anbar claims that even slightly increased attention to oral and print language from age two to four can yield successful readers. This is useful information for parents of young children. Anbar's easy-to-grasp writing style is appropriate for a general readership....Anbar provides important information to parents and preschool teachers. This book calls into question the conventional wisdom that reading instruction is best left to formal schooling. Recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduates."-Choice

Author Bio

ADA ANBAR holds a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from the State University of New York, Buffalo, and, after a 40-year teaching career, is now a full-time writer.