Depending on how old you are, you may have learned to read by sounding out the letters. A teaching method exemplified by the Hooked on Phonics program. The aspiring reader moves from sounding out individual letters, to sounding out words, to sentences, to paragraphs. It’s a highly successful approach, but it does not necessarily inspire a love of reading in its students.
At some point, schools starting switching over to a more holistic approach to teaching reading, the “whole language approach.” Kids learn entire words and do not sound out individual letters. The educational focus is on meaning-making, communication and social interaction inherent in the reading process. Young children’s reading scores have been dropping, however, using the whole language approach. One teacher in LA said: “This is how I learned, but I think it doesn’t work for 95% of kids, in my experience.”
More recently, educators have moved back to a more methodical skills-oriented approach, talking about the “science of reading.” The science of reading combines the mechanics of phonics with the whole language focus on reading context and comprehension. The science of reading approach is required in 39 states, plus the District of Columbia. Preliminary study results suggest that the new blended approach to teaching reading is better helping students learn to read.
Now, there is an AI-powered reading tutor that helps students with their phonics-based reading practice. EPS Reading Assistant uses voice-recognition technology to provide real-time feedback to a student while they are reading out loud. AI acts as a personal tutor. The Reading Assistant also provides student-specific targeted data to help the teacher work with each student’s individual reading needs. The Iowa Department of Education is offering the program in all the state’s elementary schools.
Looks like the old is new again … Hooked on Phonics has been updated with AI and continues to work its magic.
