title and an author, and so on). Understanding of the alphabetic principle (letters represent the sounds of language) Ability to distinguish shapes (visual discrimination) Ability to identify at least some letters of the alphabet. Instructional programs for reading Whole language: With this model, language is kept whole rather than segmented into fragments or skills. Within this philosophy, children are expected to learn to read and write in the same manner that they learn to talk. Reading, writing and oral language are considered to be intertwined. Some strategies according to the whole language model include encouraging the child to learn to read by "reading," and making up stories that they think go along with the pictures in the book. This model also believes that adults should allow the child to witness reading behaviors, such as holding a book properly. It is also important for adults to model these behaviors in an environment that is free from criticism (Matthews, Klassen and Walter, 1999). An early proponent of whole language reading instruction called reading a "psycholinguistic guessing game," and thus children are taught to guess words that they don't know by using context clues. Skipping unknown words is encouraged, and "inventive" spelling is also acceptable. Phonics: This approach involves teaching the correspondence between graphemes (spelling patterns) and phonemes (sounds). Some suggestions for reading skills Read to the child. Have the child "read" to you. Allow the child to create their own story based on the pictures they see within the book. Reread stories multiple times. Omit words of a familiar story and allow the child to fill in the blank. Allow the child to experiment with words. Point to the words on the page as you read out loud to the child. This enables the child to understand that sentences consist of separate words. Influential perspectives The two most influential perspectives are the growth-readiness view and the environmentalist view. The growth-readiness view focuses on the internal workings of the child in order to determine readiness, while environmentalists focus on the external environment. Both internal factors such as genetics and environmental aspects such as school atmosphere can influence a child's readiness for reading. References Ontario (2003). Early Reading Strategy: The Report of the Expert Panel on Early Reading in Ontario 2003. Retrieved October 22, 2004 from Matthews, Klassen & Walter(1999). What is Reading Readiness? Retrieved November 4, 2004 from Washington University in St. Louis