Broke Phonics: The Science Of Reading

Do people realize how we actually learn to read? Do they remember the time where they had to sound out words, and break words apart just to be able to get through a five-page book? Look at adults and grade school students now, reading books that are hundreds of pages and even typing. A level of completion was reached- mastery of the science of reading. People start out not understanding a simple word, but grow their knowledge and abilities to significantly higher levels. It doesn’t come naturally, the ability to read, it is a goal that has to be worked for and is achieved by practice. The more reading that is done and the more information that is retained within the brain, the better reader a person will become. The science of reading is broke

Furthermore, phonics is “a system of teaching reading that builds on the alphabetic principle, a system of which a central component is the teaching of correspondences between letters or groups of letters and their pronunciations” (Adams, 1990, p. 50). Students learn to pronounce words, first by alphabetic principal, and then by attaching meaning to the words they learn. When they learn the basics of phonics, they begin to decode words by word recognition such as affixes and suffixes. The brain processes what the student sees when they use word recognition to connect phonics to the meaning of a word. Once the brain becomes used to the system of phonics and how the relationship between words and sounds work, they can begin to break down, even, irregular words. We can assess phonics by Demtup tests, index card flip charts, matching blends to pictures of words, and creating their own

Having a good vocabulary improves students’ abilities to communicate through speaking, listening, and writing. Students need to know the meaning behind words they hear and read so they can deepen their knowledge. The greater the vocabulary, the higher the reading level and higher thinking a child can achieve. Vocabulary development is important for reading. “Good readers, in fact, read approximately one million words per year” (Snow & Biancarosa, 2003). During vocabulary, the brain learns to memorize the meaning of the words they have learned. Often teachers do this by drill that makes the brain retain the information by repetition. Other ways to assess vocabulary include crossword puzzles, word sorts, picture walk, and interviewing a