Verbal Word Choice of Effective Reading Teachers

Humans are fragile beings easily influenced by the verbal behaviors of others. Spoken words can have a multitude of effects on an individual, and the phrases and statements teachers use in their classrooms on a daily basis have the potential to be either detrimental or inspirational. As increasing numbers of students arrive at schools from broken families, possessing poor nutritional habits and debilitating health concerns, and experiencing greater exposure to violence in the media and within their communities, educators need to be keenly aware of the impact their verbal behaviors have on children. Teachers need to be mindful of the words they choose to speak when attempting to elevate each child’s self-worth. In addition to the external factors affecting children that erect hurdles for teachers to overcome, continuously changing educational policy creates additional obstacles for teachers attempting to increase student achievement. New state and federal mandates force teachers to make changes to instructional practice and assessment with the start of each new school year. Recent legislation in Ohio requiring students to be retained who fall below a specific score on the Grade Three Reading Ohio Achievement Assessment has caused students to become increasingly more sensitive to verbal teacher feedback and in some cases resulted in a loss of overall self-esteem due to fears of failure. Words are impactful; therefore, educators hoping to increase academic achievement in literacy skills development as a means to prevent possible student retention need to study the verbal behaviors of effective reading teachers. This paper will argue that teachers’ intentional preplanning of verbal word choice can increase students’ reading achievement. Additionally the paper will synthesize the relevance, content, and impact of current literature on the topic of verbal practices of effective reading teachers and provide recommendations for practical implications for successful reading instruction in the regular elementary classroom setting