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Many
of us do not remember
not being able to read; it has become second
nature. But there are
two key things successful readers must be able to
do.
First the reader must be able to figure out the words on the
page (we call this decoding.)
Decoding is a process that begins
with knowing what the letters of the alphabet are and
what sounds they
make both alone and when put together with other letters. Another part of
being able to successfully decode words is knowledge of sight words.
Sight words
are words that appear so often in written language that in order to be
able to read,
a student must know
those words on sight.
(A listing of sight words by grade level appears at the back of this
handbook). If a student has to stop to try to sound out or
decode sight words, their reading will be very choppy and they will
have difficulty with comprehension.
This
brings us to the second thing readers must be able to do - they must
be able to figure out the meaning
of what they are reading.
To
comprehend what they have decoded. Comprehension goes beyond simply
making the sounds. If you are unable to speak French, you may be able to
sound out a passage in French, but you will have no idea of its meaning. The
same is true of children learning to read in English!
Knowledge of
vocabulary (the meaning of words), some background knowledge about the
subject and the ability to identify characters, setting, and the plot of
the story as well as knowing the meaning of punctuation all allow students
to understand and make meaning from the words on the page.
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