On Reading

Reading is an essential and rewarding lifelong skill, but unlike learning to speak, learning to read is not natural. The process of encoding (writing the letter code for the sounds of spoken English) and decoding (reading the letter code) needs to be explicitly taught.

you can read is a resource that allows you to integrate the five core components of reading

Phonemic awareness

The ability to recognize (hear), generate (say) and change (blend, segment and switch) individual phonemes (sounds) in spoken words.

Phonemic awareness is only auditory, so you don’t need letters or written words to develop this skill (eg. play “I spy”, sing a nursery rhyme).

Pro tip: You’ll sometimes hear people referring to phonological awareness, this refers to many aspects of oral language, such as words, syllables, rhymes and individual sounds (phonemes).

Phonics

The connection between spoken sounds (phonemes) and their matching individual letters (graphemes) (auditory and visual connection).

Fluency

The ability to read text accurately, quickly, and with proper expression.

Vocabulary

Knowing the meanings and pronunciations of words.

Comprehension

The ultimate goal of reading, which is understanding and extracting meaning from the text.

On Teaching Reading

For some, learning to read seems effortless, while others need lots of practice, but 95% of people can be taught to read.

Start with the alphabetic principle

Sounds are represented by letters

Sounds can be spelled with 1 to 4 letters: ‘s’ (sit), ‘sh’ (sheep), ‘igh’ (high), ‘augh’ (taught)

Sounds (phonemes) can be spelled in different ways: /a/ can be spelled ai, ay, a_e, a (rain, play, ate, apron)

Spellings (graphemes) can be pronounced in different ways: like ‘ow’ in cow or snow  (/ow/ or /ō/)

Learn the sounds (phonemes) and their corresponding letter(s) (graphemes), moving systematically from simple to complex. Blend sounds into words. Segment words into sounds. Connect spellings to meanings.

Writing, spelling and phonemic awareness are as integral to reading as decoding. Integrate all parts together.

Happiness is reading books you can read.