The Essence of Reading in the Acquisition of Learning

Reading facilitates quality acquisition of learning. Without the essential reading skills, learning to take place would never be that easy since learners would never understand written text without their comprehension skills which could only be develop through the acquisition of appropriate reading strategies these learners could apply to unlock and discover vocabulary words, to evaluate relevant and irrelevant details, to decode meaning from a printed page and to draw-out conclusion/ generalizations. Hence, without proficiency in Reading, understanding of the different concepts, theories and principles from other learning areas would be close to impossible since these skills are essential for every learner to acquire.

In addition, while teachers aim to develop the different Reading Skills among their learners, they should also focus in developing a reading culture among their students by developing the children’s love for Reading. This goal could be promoted through the wise choice of texts/stories during their reading class or Library period, putting up of a library corner, having story telling sessions, most especially to the Kindergarten and primary grades pupils. The creativity of a Reading teacher will surely lead him/her to try various strategies to develop this value among readers. Love for Reading and proficiency in all the Reading skills would help ensure that our 21st Century Learners are proficient readers because they will be equipped with skills and values. With this pertinent need, Reading teachers then must see to it that their strategies, techniques and activities in their Daily Lesson Log or Daily Lesson Plan are directed towards the development of the different competencies and skills of the learners at least within proficiency level. Through the different teaching strategies developed and tested by scholars and teachers themselves, they could choose from an array, appropriate and fit to the needs of the K to 12 types of learners. Thus, teachers must then be creative, innovative and competent in delivering instruction among learners. Some of the well-known and proven reading strategies teachers could developed among learners are the following; skimming, scanning, use of one’s schema, note taking, explicit and implicit reading and the likes. Teachers on the other hand could use a variety of teaching strategies for their instruction which they find could address the needs of their learners. Some of the teaching Reading Strategies that may be suggested are: Explicit Teaching, Directed-Thinking Reading Strategy, the Use of Graphic Organizer, PQRST, Segmented Reading, Jigsaw Reading and a wide variety of choices.

Having mentioned the importance of Reading vis-à-vis acquisition of learning, teachers must continue to aim for professional growth and development by involving themselves in trainings/workshops, professional readings, attendance to post-graduate studies and submitting oneself to mentoring and coaching sessions (as necessary) to better deliver appropriate, quality and outcome-based instructions. In conclusion, teachers must acquire master of the content and the pedagogy that he or she could use for the best acquisition of learning.