No great mystery

In 1989, after teaching in elementary schools for three decades, I was assigned to a first-grade classroom of 47 students with an ethnic makeup that was 80 percent Hispanic, 19 percent Arabic and 1 percent African-American. Initially, my students had difficulty learning to read. Other first-grade teachers told me to use word lists, rhyming words and other memorization techniques. Their suggestions were not effective, so I began to teach the mechanics of reading (the relationship between the printed letters and their sounds).

In one month, only one student was not reading at or above grade level.

My students were always independently engaged in reading for all the core subjects. Thus, the administrator brought visitors to the school, including the mayor of the city, to observe my class. To be able to teach a high number of students in all the core subjects, teachers must first teach the mechanics of reading.