Report Title:

Reading Instruction; Systematic Phonics; Department of Education

Description:

Requires not less than          per cent of the time spent on reading instruction in kindergarten to grade 3 to be devoted expressly to the teaching of systematic phonics beginning with the 2005-2006 school year.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2160

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to reading.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. In 1997 the United States Congress authorized the creation of the National Reading Panel to assess the effectiveness of various approaches used in teaching children to read. In April 2000 the Panel released its findings under the title "Teaching Children to Read".

The National Reading Panel determined that effective reading instruction includes teaching children to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words (phonemic awareness), teaching them that these sounds are represented by letters of the alphabet which can then be blended together to form words (phonics), having them practice what they have learned by reading aloud with guidance and feedback (guided oral reading), teaching them word meanings, and applying strategies to guide and improve reading comprehension.

The National Reading Panel concluded that systematic phonics instruction makes a bigger contribution to children's growth in reading than nonsystematic alternative programs or no phonics. Specifically, the most effective types of systematic phonics instruction were:

(1) Synthetic phonics, which teaches students to convert letters (graphemes) into sounds (phonemes) and then to blend the sounds to form recognizable words;

(2) Larger unit phonics, which emphasizes the analysis and blending of larger subparts of words (onsets, rimes, phonograms, spelling patterns) as well as phonemes; and

(3) Miscellaneous phonics programs that teach phonics systematically, but do this in other ways not covered by the synthetic or larger unit categories.

According to the National Reading Panel, the biggest impact on reading growth occurs when phonics instruction begins before children begin to learn to read independently. Thus, phonics instruction should begin at least in kindergarten or first grade before children have learned to read independently. When taught in kindergarten, phonics instruction must be appropriately designed and must begin with foundational knowledge involving letters and phonemic awareness.

The National Reading Panel also concluded that systematic phonics:

(1) Is significantly more effective than non-phonics in preventing reading difficulties among at-risk beginning readers (below second grade with low reading ability);

(2) Is more effective than non-phonics in remediating disabled readers (second grade through sixth grade children with average IQs but poor reading) and helping these students comprehend text more successfully; and

(3) Was helpful to children at all socioeconomic levels.

The legislature finds that the board of education's literacy policy (Policy 2010) requires all schools to provide a balanced and comprehensive reading instruction program that includes the direct teaching of comprehension of content and language in both oral and written forms, and organized and explicit skills instruction in phonemic awareness, phonic analysis, and decoding.

The legislature further finds that the department of education's position paper for reading, dated June 6, 2002, states that "all students will receive skills instruction in phonemic awareness, phonic analysis and decoding and all schools will ensure that their reading program meets the reading needs of every child". While the board of education and the department of education acknowledge the criticality of phonemic awareness, phonic analysis, and decoding, the legislature has received anecdotal reports that too much emphasis is being placed on "whole language" acquisition.

SECTION 2. As used in this Act, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context indicates otherwise:

"Phonics skills" or "phonics" is the process of linking sounds to letter symbols and combining them to make words.

"Systematic phonics" is teaching a planned sequence of phonics elements rather than highlighting elements, as they happen to appear in a text. Systematic phonics approaches include:

(1) Synthetic phonics (converting letters into phonemes, and then blending the phonemes to form words);

(2) Analytic phonics (analyzing letter-sound relations once the word is identified);

(3) Phonics-through-spelling (transforming sounds into letters to write words);

(4) Phonics in context (using sound-letter correspondences along with context cues to identify unfamiliar words); and

(5) Analogy phonics (using parts of already-known written words to identify new words).

"Whole language" is a philosophy of teaching and learning that proposes that all language concepts are closely interconnected, that to separate them is artificial, and that they are best learned in a natural or "whole" manner. This definition contrasts with the traditional reductionist, skill-focused approach to language where children begin with letters, sounds, blends, phonemes, etc. Instead whole language flows from the child's personal, natural language patterns and with the reading and writing of stories and other forms of literature which draw upon the child's experience.

SECTION 3. Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, not less than          per cent of the time spent on reading instruction in kindergarten to grade three shall be devoted expressly to the teaching of systematic phonics.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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