1. Teaching Directionality through Demonstrations
What strategies can the educator utilize to ensure that the child is maintaining directionality?

2. From the Viewpoint of a Child
The child’s everyday experience has actually trained him in different habits than those he needs in reading. An orange, a dog, or a favorite toy must be recognized from any angle when viewed. Meaning does not change when the object is small or large, back-to-front, is upside-down, or sideways to the viewer. Becoming Literate, p. 114

3. When the Child Enters School
He/She has to learn that in one particular situation, when faced with printed language, flexibility is inappropriate.
He/She must recognize some directional restrictions.
ALWAYS left to right in English.
Becoming Literate,p.114

4. Think About It…
Any complex movement like hitting a golf ball, playing a violin or reading a book must be organized or patterned. Study the letters in each of these blocks.
t d
v m
s w
l g
Becoming Literate, p.115

5. When you are traveling in the car do some of the signs written on the road cause you to look twice?

6. How did you write the letters?
tdvm; swlg
Our reading habits tend to make us survey letter and word patterns from top left to top right and then return down left and repeat the pattern.
1__________________________2
Start
Move to right 3
Return down left
4__________________________5
Move to right
Becoming Literate, p. 115

7. Demonstrations are suggested; talk may increase the confusions.
The child’s eyes have to scan according to the serial order rules of the written language without conscious attention.
Demonstrations are suggested; talk may increase the confusions.
Literacy Lessons Part Two, p.6

8. Complex movement patterns to be learned include
attending to a left page before a right page
moving from the top of the page downwards
moving left to right across a line of print
returning back to the left of the next line
using the spaces to control attention to words
attending left to right across a word
knowing how and where to find what the teacher
calls the ‘first letter’ or the ‘last letter’
and (ultimately) scanning every letter rapidly in
sequence from first to last without lapses.
Literacy Lessons Part Two, p.6

10. Shared Reading
The teacher uses a pointer to point to each word as it is read, allowing the children to follow along with their eyes, looking left-to-right.
The teacher may choose a child to “be the teacher,” using the pointer to lead the remaining group or class.
The teacher may write the text on sentence strips and have the children put the strips in the correct order.
The teacher may choose a word from the reading for the children to predict. The teacher covers the word with paper, slowly uncovering the word until it is revealed. As the letters of the word are revealed, the children make predictions. The paper is moved from left-to-right during the unveiling of the word.

11. Interactive Writing
The teacher can perform a read aloud before the story is composed.
During the establishment of the text, the children must read left-to-right when deciding what word comes next.
The teacher must also prompt the re-reading of the text once it is complete.
The children may also practice the formation of a letter or high frequency word that the teacher deems necessary on a small whiteboard.
The teacher must monitor these directional behaviors for a period of time and help the child to act consistently and correctly across all print activities.
Literacy Lessons Part Two

12. Paired Reading
Form of choral reading done by two readers, one more proficient than the other.
Pairs can be made up of teacher and child, parent and child, teacher aide and child, etc.
Student chooses the reading material.
Partners sit side by side.
One partner, usually the student, follows along with a finger, using one-to-one matching.
On most occasions a child will show an adequate directional pattern, but sometimes he will produce surprising results.
Reading: The Patterning of Complex Behavior, p. 127

13. Surprising Results
Child: Go go go go Text: Go Tim Child: Tim up Text: Go up Child: Up Tim Text: Go up Tim Child: Up up up Text: Go up up up
This child’s reading was word perfect, but this was only discovered because he was asked to read it with his finger. If a teacher frowned on pointing, she would not discover this handicapping behavior (which had probably been learned after entry to school).
Reading: The Patterning of Complex Behavior, p.127

14. Guided Reading
Form of oral reading that is performed by the child in a small group setting using leveled readers.
Teacher can observe the child while reading.
Teachers can also show children how to read and help them as they read.
Title of book read by teacher and located by student.
Teacher performs a “picture walk.”
In the early stages of reading, children use their index finger to match the words. (make sure they point at the beginning of each word, not in the middle or end.) Also, the book’s format should be consistent with print appearing at the same place on every page.

15. Making Words Possibilities: words from a set of letters
words with the same first letter
words with the same final letter
words found within other words
Observations:
Teacher models left-to-right behaviors when making words
Child constructs the word
Collaboration within a small group

16. QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT
How are the letters of a code different from familiar objects in the world?
How do the eyes learn to scan print?
Which way are the child’s eyes moving?

17. Important to Remember
We can scan objects, faces, and pictures by moving the eyes in any direction, but a printed message must be scanned in a different manner.
‘Read it with your finger’ is a direction given by the observer to get some impression of how the eyes learn to scan print and which way the child’s eyes are moving.
Strategies that are used to teach directionality should flow with everyday teaching concepts.
Once the directional rules have been learned, children rarely give conscious attention to them.
There is nothing natural about directional movement: it is arbitrary. It seems so simple to us that it is difficult for us to respect its importance.
Literacy Lessons Part Two, p. 105