Concern about the representation of oppressed groups, however, has a long history in our nation. As children master the basics of reading, classroom focus shifts towards higher level comprehension, analytical, and reasoning skills. While learning to decode words is naturally more important in the early grades, even kindergartners practice textual analysis. For example, they may be asked to predict the end of a story or to imagine how a character might feel at a particular moment. Older children learn specific techniques for getting the most out of what they read, and much of a child's daily class work and homework is designed to do increase reading retention.
Research suggests that students who are encouraged to write become better readers.
Answering questions about assigned reading is just one technique that helps students to process what they have read. Informal writing, also known as free or automatic writing, is another. This can take the form of a reading journal. Some educators now emphasize content area literacy. This approach recognizes that, since reading is not confined to literary works, reading instruction should not be confined to English class.