Graves Chapter 2

I was pleasantly surprised when reading this chapter by the author's promotion of explicit instruction and The Gradual Realise of Responsibility Model. In the past I have found text especially for general educators (not special ed.) often emphasize discovery learning, however, Graves seems to promote a combination of both, which is very important. On page. 27 when discussing exemplary educators Graves writes "These exemplary teachers demonstrate a rich combination of direct, explicit skill instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension and the like)and more holistic activities like reading quality literature." These skills the author mentions are the foundation to reading, students need these in order to be a successful reader and they can effectively learn these skills through direct instruction. That being said reading instruction should not just be filled with direct instruction exercises, students should be allowed to explore literature as well. By making time for both approaches the students are able to experience a literature rich education while still learning the skills necessary for reading mastery in an efficient manner.