Acquisition of Requisite Competencies in Developing Reading Ability among Early Graders: Instructional Strategies and Approaches

Abstract

This paper discusses the need for explicit instruction to enable the acquisition of requisite competencies in order to develop reading ability among children or early graders. The paper argues that developing reading ability is a progressive process that should be initiated by learners being involved in activities that enhance their phonological awareness. The teacher should know when to introduce decodable texts to learners to inspire comprehension and appreciation of texts. There is need to use the balanced or eclectic approach to reading instruction for learners to get the best of the phonic and the whole language approaches to reading.