The curriculum grew out of the infantschool movement made famous in Britain in the 1940s, where children of different ages were encouraged to choose their own projects and work at their own pace. That approach has been refined to suit New Zealand schools. Students spend time working with other children, but move quickly among groups as they master new skills. There’s still a mix of ages, but the p is to allow older children to guide younger ones and, at the same time, reinforce their own work. New Zealand is not content to rest on its laurels. The Ministry of Education, working from the recommendations of teachers and new research, tinkers with aspects of the curriculum every year.
In the United States, the debate over the best way to teach reading has pitted advocates of phonics, who think kids need to practice letter sounds before decoding words, against proponents of “whole language,” who believe youngsters learn words by figuring out their meanings in context. Some American teachers say the New Zealand method is closest to whole language, but New Zealanders reject that term as imprecise, preferring to call their approach “natural language learning.”
The system integrates reading and writing, with an emphasis on lively books specially developed to encourage reading comprehension. Children are sometimes taught how to sound out strange words, but there are no regular drills. “You learn to read by reading,” says Ro Griffith senior policy analyst at the Ministry of Education in Wellington. Children select the texts they want from a boxful of books written for their level. Early writing emphasizes meaning over spelling or grammar. There’s no drill work in letter sounds, but there is discussion of word construction, especially as children learn to write. For example, a teacher might write “doing” oil the board and ask students to think of other words that end in “ing.” Children are divided into different groups–called emergent, early and fluent–within a classroom. “Emergent” readers get intensive teacher supervision; “fluent” readers are encouraged to pursue more independent learning.
At Thorndon School, a short walk from Parliament in Wellington, teacher Margaret Rogers, 52, presides over a class of 5- to 7-year-olds from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds: Maori, Samoan, Indian, Chinese, Filipino and whites. There’s a broad socioeconomic mix in the classroom, too-some parents are government officials, others are security guards.
At the start of the day, Rogers says “good morning” to her students in a variety of languages. Then the real work begins. On one recent morning, Rogers checked the reading level of 6 1/2year-old Dean Wilmhurst by listening to him read out loud. Like all teachers, Rogers keeps a running record of each child’s progress. Entries are made about once a week. Parents get formal reports at least twice a year but can ask for an assessment at any time. There are no standardized tests. After the first year, children having problems get one-on-one assistance from a reading specialist. Dean’s record shows that he reads almost every word in his book and that he corrects words he gets wrong by rereading them once the context makes it clear that he has made an error. Says Rogers: “You are teaching the children to go on learning,” not to stop just because they’ve made a mistake.
One key to the success of New Zealand’s reading program is the amount of class time devoted to the subject. In Rogers’s class, for example, half of each day is spent reading or writing. The emphasis on reading continues for the first few years, until all children are “fluent.” Extensive work in other subjects comes later.
The quality of the books is crucial to the curriculum’s success. Each book is tested in schools around the country, with teachers reporting back on how kids respond. The books are written in language children are likely to use, says Griffiths, and any difficult words are explained by teachers in the context of the story. In the emergent-readers group, the teacher will often read aloud to the class first, explaining settings and characters so that children are more able to work out the words being used. Children are also encouraged to see reading as part of a process. On Rogers’s classroom wall, there’s a sign that asks: FINISHED READING? If so, youngsters are encouraged to write a letter or compose a poem. In New Zealand, a good reader’s day never done.
