University Literacy Review: Fab Five vs. Big Six Teaching Methods

This report is a review of an article discussing literacy and language development, focusing on the debate between the 'Fab Five' and 'Big Six' frameworks for teaching reading. The 'Fab Five' framework, developed by the National Reading Panel, emphasizes phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, v...Read More

Running Head: REVIEW WRITING: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Review Writing: Language and Literacy
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:
Table of Contents

1REVIEW WRITING: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Summary....................................................................................................................................2
Review........................................................................................................................................2
Enhanced learning of the Role of a Teacher..............................................................................3
Reference....................................................................................................................................4

2REVIEW WRITING: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Summary
The article shows the importance of the established framework, which was established
after extensive research by the National Reading Panel (NPR), which included assessment of
100,000 surveys and more than 120 submission forms by people involved in the teaching
field, which included students as well. The five key components which were recognized as
the ‘Fab Five’ included Phonic awareness, comprehension, phonics, vocabulary, and fluency.
The debate around the most effective way to introduce the student to reading and develop
individual reading capability has been put to rest with the Report of the National Reading
Panel in the year 2000 (Konza, 2014). It led to a considerable implementation of the
framework in teaching young children and enhancing their reading skills and led to
satisfaction among them due to the validation. It was also welcomed due to the easy
availability of following a completely packed five-step technique to achieve success in
helping young children develop individual learning reading capability.
However, the article adds one of the main objections to the composition of ‘Fab Five’
that is the restrictive methodology on which the structure is based. Konza points out the
exclusion of the underlying factors that influences language learning and developing
availability in young children, namely the influence of oral language. He establishes the
direct link of oral communication with Fab Five. He shows how oral language and the forms
in which the children are exposed to it form the primary entity or foundation on which their
learning of reading capacity can be built (Konza, 2014). The connection of oral language with
Early Literary Experiences shows the importance of early exposure of young children aged
nine months to three years to be associated with their language and sound recognition as well
formation of vocabulary.

3REVIEW WRITING: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Article Review
The article presents an important aspect of literacy and a significant flaw in the fab
five compositions, where the role of oral language has been neglected. The social actor of
oral language plays one of the most influential growth entities, adding to the exposure of
sound and is highly associated with phonic awareness. The article is replete with references
showing the connection of oral language exposure and its working on growing children in an
environment prone to conversations involving diverse use of language. It enhances their
understanding and growing the capability of breaking words and sounds, or as it is called by
Konza, decoding shows a better scope of language development (Konza, 2014).
The association of storytelling and adaptation of the essential knowledge such as
reading the English language from left to right and that flipping of page is required. It is
shown with the help of the cognitive understanding of the children through observing it from
their surroundings. The process of the oral language and their transition from oral to written
words in practice is also dependent on their hearing (Konza, 2014). The correlation of
vocabulary and comprehension is also established to have equally dependent on their oral
language as children who are exposed to storytelling, and conversational exchange between
parent and child shows better grasp at comprehending the letter-sound recognition as well as
their meaning. Konza articulates a thorough assessment of oral language and learning to
reflect the importance of recognizing it and declares the formation of the ‘Big Six,’ replacing
the ‘Fab Five’ as the successive framework for solving the debate on inducing reading ability.
Enhanced learning of the Role of a Teacher
One of the primary extraction from the article for the role of a teacher is the
understanding of the fact that each child cannot be expected to learn the pattern of the
formation of language and word in the same way. For young children, it is easier for them to
use their learning as the component of the learning entity to add the structural learning of

4REVIEW WRITING: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
different language use. As a teacher, it is essential to understand that children in the
classroom tend to represent various socio-economic sects, which also affects their learning at
a younger age. It divides the class into children who have progressed more than their peers,
which implies the method of teaching, which induces in them sound-letter recognition.
Vocabulary and comprehension being the part of the Fab Five have been the
component to introduce reading development in student but despite that students tends to
show different learning capability. It is because their recognition of sound and letter has not
developed equally. In conclusion, the role of a teacher in helping students learn reading
individually should include oral language and conversational development as one of the
significant elements of the curriculum.

5REVIEW WRITING: LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Reference
Konza, D. (2014). Teaching reading: Why the. Australian Journal of Teacher Education
(Online), 39(12), 153.