The science of reading has come a long way in the last 20+ years. And in response, the ability to teach students that struggle with reading is no longer a mystery. Students experiencing reading delays are much more likely to have access to appropriate instruction than they were years ago, and students with Dyslexia have a wealth of information at their fingertips to help them understand their unique style of learning and therefore become empowered to be their own advocates as they enter into higher learning.
Reading is not a mystery. The skills to good reading are clear, and the individual achievement of these skills easily measured. To be a good reader, a student must be proficient in the following: phonological processing, phonics, decoding, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. A deficit in one or more of these areas may impact reading to the extent that it is not a usable skill. However, a variance in strengths within these skills is common and some students manage quite well by having one area of strength compensate for a weaker area. It is also not uncommon for a deficit in one area to limit the development of another area.
The earliest skills developed through typical print and language rich homes are vocabulary, phonological awareness, and sometimes to a moderate extent, phonics. Vocabulary development starts with direct language experiences- direct meaning face to face interactions, not screen time. One major distinction between socio-economic classes (and predictive reading development outcomes) is the number of words a child is exposed to. Some estimates cite the difference of word exposure from mothers to children to be 20 million words by the time a child is 3 years old.
Phonological awareness skills are those skills that are developed through rhyme, activities that promote vowel sound recognition, alliteration, and sound substitution (like in the song Apples and Bananas). These skills are developed in a completely auditory capacity through language play and interaction.
These early skills impact the later reading development that is directly taught once a child enters school. Phonics instruction dovetails on phonological awareness development. It provides the visual symbol that goes with the sound, as well as teaching the common patterns and structures of words. (Example: the first patterns often recognized are the short vowels followed by a consonant, like at, it, on, if).
As reading skills develop further, children are taught more than just phonics. Decoding is the instruction in the syllabication and blending of words. It teaches students how to read a word that has not previously been memorized by applying the phonics and syllabication rules. This is a very critical skill for reading development and also furthers vocabulary development since good decoders are able to accurately read and be exposed to new words, thus facilitating further vocabulary development.
Fluency is the ability to read quickly and accurately, so that the process of reading is efficient. Fluency is not just about the speed of reading. Fluent readers are able to chunk words correctly into phrases, give the correct intonation while reading, and demonstrate the punctuation at the end of sentences (ex: questions usually end with a rising inflection, statements end with a lower intonation). Pausing appropriately is also important.
Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading. The culmination of all the previously discussed reading skills lend to the ability to comprehend what is read. When comprehension lags, it is sometimes due to the fact that the previous skills require so much effort to implement, that the brain is too taxed to determine what the content is. Other difficulties can impede comprehension as well and a direct instruction to comprehension is also needed. Development of comprehension includes the ability to identify basic information such as who/what/when/where/why and summarize the content, but also builds to include inference skills and prediction.
Reading is a complex process that relies on strong individual skills that the student can easily integrate. Fortunately, we are now empowered with more knowledge than ever before in how to instruct students who struggle with reading and the outcomes for these students need not be restrictive.
We are pleased to share this information from EdRev speaker Dr. Fumiko Hoeft of the Dyslexia Center @ UCSF