What is the Relationship Between Strategies Emergent Readers

Abstract

The research done in this study is looking at emergent readers' metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. This study was largely influenced by Catherine Compton-Lilly's study, "Sounding out": A pervasive cultural model of reading. This study brought to my attention that emergent readers tend to say that they just sound out words when the word is unknown. However, emergent readers are implementing a variety of strategies when reading. The students involved in the research all received extra reading support outside of their regular classroom. The research was conducted in the small reading groups that took place during their extra reading support time. The participating students were asked individually before reading, what reading strategies they used when they come to a word that they do not know when reading. After the students were asked this question they read a book at their independent or instructional reading level. While the student was reading aloud the researcher conducted a running record and took anecdotal notes on the students' behaviors. The running record and anecdotal notes allowed the researcher to note the strategies that the students were implementing while reading. When the student had finished reading and used a strategy different from the strategies stated prior to reading the researcher brought the student to that point in the reading and asked, what did you do here to figure out this word? The students were brought back to this point to show them that they are using different strategies when reading. The results show that students' awareness of the reading strategies they use is not equivalent to the strategies they actually use. The participants in the study used more strategies than they said they use. All most all of the participants named one of the strategies that they use while reading during the prior to reading question.