How to teach reading without asking to spell? A teaching experience research on reading strategies in an initial level

Abstract

How is it possible to propose children to learn by reading if they do not know the letters yet?
This work is focused on the search for answers to this question usually made by teachers who act in the initial literacy. It is assumed that literacy means to transmit practices and chores of the reading, designing situations in which, with certain educational interventions, we can let the students interact with the real written text, by activating reading strategies. To determine if this is possible, in a five-year-old kindergarten classroom a didactic research in three phases was developed, the first of which was to interview 10 children in order to determine which reading strategies were activated to interpret an advertising brochure. In the second phase of the study activities for the group-class were developed to orientate the teaching of the use of reading strategies for reading a cooking recipe and an instruction manual for building objects.
In the third one a second interview was carried out to the same sample of children and with similar texts to the first one, to be able to compare the changes in the  modes of activation of reading strategies that were evidenced after the experience. The results are promising, as 7 out of 10 children in the second interview took into account qualitative textual indicators to anticipate the meaning of written words.
That is, in only few lessons can be registered relevant changes in the activation of reading strategies in most of the children, being optimistic in regard to the progress that could show the rest if this kind of experiences would have continuity in their training.