Chapter 1

The Reading Act

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Key Vocabulary Affective

Auditory acuity

Auditory discrimination

Automaticity

Bottom-up models

Grapheme

Interactive theories

Kinesthetic

Metacognitive strategies

Motivation

perception

Perception

Phoneme

Reinforcement

Schemata

Self-concept

Semantic clues

Subskill theories

Syntactic clues

Tactile

Top-down models

Transactive theories

Vicarious experience

Visual acuity

Visual discrimination

Balanced literacy

Components of the Reading Act

Reading process Reading product

Sensory

Perceptual

Sequential

Experiential

Thinking

Learning

Association

Affective

Constructive

Communication

•The communication of thoughts and emotions by the writer to the reader.

•Communication results from the reader’s construction of meaning through integrating his or her prior knowledge with the information presented in the text.

•Communication is the goal in reading instruction and is dependent on comprehension.

The Reading Process Reading is a very complex process. When they read, children must be able to…

•Perceive the symbols set before them (sensory)

•Interpret what they see (perceptual)

•Follow the linear, logical, and grammatical patterns of the written words (sequential)

•Relate words back to direct experiences to give the words meaning (experiential)

•Make inferences from and evaluate the material (thinking)

•Remember what they learned in the past and incorporate new ideas and facts(learning)

•Recognize the connections between symbols and sounds, between words and what they represent (associational)

•Deal with personal interests and attitudes that affect the task of reading (affective); and

•Put everything together to make sense of the material (constructive).

Sensory Aspects of Reading

Reading begins with a sensory impression: auditory, visual or tactile

Vision: visual acuity – sharpness of vision

Young students have not retained 20/20 vision

Far sightedness/ astigmatism/nearsightedness

Eye movement across page

Hearing: auditory acuity – discriminate among sounds

Cannot discriminate among different phonemes (sounds)

Deaf and hearing impaired children

Children with temporary hearing loss from colds & allergies

Perceptual Aspects of Reading •Perception – interpretation of the sensory impressions that reach the brain using background of experiences by associating words and phrases with their past experiences. These clusters of information are called schemata.

•Visual Perception:

Visual discrimination – seeing likenesses and differences in visual forms Example: big / dig

Final step in visual perception is attaching meaning to the words by using past experiences.

•Auditory Perception:

Auditory discrimination – detecting likenesses and differences in speech sounds and interpreting Example big / dig

Final step in auditory perception is attaching meaning to the words by using past experiences.

Sequential Aspects of Reading

English language printed material is read in a left-to-right, top-to-bottom sequence.Our eyes must follow this sequence to read.

Written language, another way to represent speech is also strung together in a sequential pattern.

Difficulty:

Students using another language

Students who have not been exposed to a print-rich environment

Experiential Background and Reading

Meaning derived from reading is based on reader’s experiential background.

Difficulty:

Children without concrete background experiences needed to be successful readers in school

Vicarious experiences – indirect experiences through pictures, stories, reading

Relationships Between Reading: Thinking and Learning

•Reading is a thinking process.

•Recognizing words requires interpretation of graphic symbols.

•Comprehension occurs when a person uses the information to make inferences and reads critically and creatively—

•to understand the figurative language, determine the author’s purpose, evaluate the ideas presented, and apply the ideas to actual situations.

•Reading is a complex act that must be learned and causes further learning to take place– a person learns to read and reads to learn!

Reading as Associational Process

Learning is dependent on several associations:

•Associate objects and ideas with spoken words

•Build up associations between spoken words and written words

Example: Teaching phonics by associating graphic symbols graphemes and sounds phonemes

•How obtained:

•Immediate reinforcement

•Practice

•Meaningfulness to a child

Affective Aspects Three affective aspects:

•Positive attitudes toward reading causes children to read more

•External Motivation—peer pressure, teacher expectations, or means to meet responsibility

•Internal Motivation and identification—finding escape, aesthetic sense, piquing curiosity, understanding oneself

Constructive Aspects Meaning is not only based on the written words but also the following:

•Information the reader brings to the printed word

•Reader’s feelings about the material

•Purposes for reading

•Context in which the reading takes place

Subskill Theory of the Reading Process

• Subskill: Reading is a set of subskills that children master and integrate to develop • automaticity—ability to perform a task with little

attention (accuracy, speed, good expression)

• Comprehension is a constructive process of synthesis and putting word meanings together in special ways, much as individual bricks are combined in the construction of a house.

• The text plays an important role.

• Individuals: Richard Smith, Marilyn Adams, Jay Samuels

Interactive Theory of Reading Process

• Reading as a continuous combination of two types of processing – Top-Down involves the act of reading when the

reader generates predictions about the material using visual cues to test the predictions.

– Bottom-up involves reading that is initiated by examining the printed symbols and requires little input from the reader. The reader brings meaning to the text.

– Individuals: Mary Gove, Robert Ruddell, David Rumelhart

Transactive Theory of Reading Process

• Transactive: Reading is viewed as a transaction where the reader has an important role.

• Meaning occurs during the transaction of reader and text. The reader and the text both play an important role. – Semantics: meaning – Syntactic: word-order

• Individuals: Ken Goodman, Louise Rosenblatt, Lea McGee

Balanced Approach Reading instruction is a combination of direct skills instruction and holistic instruction. Authentic literacy activities are used in the classroom, but teach skills directly to help students succeed in the activities. Instruction should be balanced between focusing on word recognition and comprehension. Comprehension is the final goal.

Principles of Teaching Reading

1. Reading is a complex act with many factors that must be considered.

2. Reading involves the construction of the meaning represented by the printed symbols.

3. There is no one correct way to teach reading. 4. Learning to read is a continuing process. 5. Students should be taught word recognition

strategies that will allow them to unlock the pronunciations and meanings of unfamiliar words independently.

Principles of Teaching Reading

6. The teacher should assess each student’s reading ability and use the assessment as a basis for planning instruction.

7. Reading and the other language arts are closely interrelated. (reading, writing, speaking, listening)

8. Using complete literature selections in the reading program is important.

9. Reading is an integral part of all content area instruction within the educational program.

10. The student needs to see that reading can be an enjoyable pursuit.

Principles of Teaching Reading

11. Sound teaching of all reading skills and strategies is important for all students.

12. Reading should be taught in a way that allows each student to experience success.

13. Encouraging self direction and self-monitoring of reading is important.

14. A supportive classroom organization can facilitate the teaching of reading.

15. Teachers must helps students develop facility in using technology to enhance their learning.

Your Turn • Tell your neighbor which theory you

subscribe to and why.