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WORD

RECOGNITION
Sonia Santos

Two models on how reading and


word recognition occurs:
Top-Down Model (Goodman and
Smith, late 1960s and early 1970s):
This is a persuasive model: forming
hypotheses about the next word
they will encounter.
Example of practice: Students guess
words based on their letters but
then they realize that word cannot
be possible and go back and try
again.

Bottom-Up Model.

A proficient reader processes nearly every letter of every word


unconsciously and automatically.

Stages of Reading Development


(Jeanne Chall 1983/1996)
Emergent Literacy (Preschool years): Foundation of oral
language, alphabet, and notions of how books and print they
contain are laid out.
Decoding (K-1): Letter-sound correspondences and other
decoding skills as recognition of affixes, roots, and so forth.
Fluency (2nd grade): Decoding most unfamiliar words. Oral
reading will become more proficient with practice.
Learning the New: Once oral reading fluency is attained, a
childs mental resources can be trained on comprehension.

Phonics
Definitions and Distinctions
Systematic phonics is the teaching of phonics with a clear
plan or program.
Phonics instruction teaches students to use the
relationship between letters and sounds to translate
printedSynthetic
text into
pronunciation.
Phonics
Analytic Phonics
Individual sounds
of wordssynthetic
and how
Distinction
between
phonics
and analytic
Emphasizes larger units of
to blend them into word
phonics:
pronunciation.
pronunciations.

Does Phonics Instruction Improve


Reading?
Studies of phonics teaching suggest that kindergarten phonics
instruction provides children with an early advantage in learning to
read, and that additional phonics instruction in Grades 1 and 2 builds
on and increases this advantage (Robinson and McKenna, 2008).
Phonics can only help foster improved comprehension when it leads
students to pronunciations of words that are in their oral language, a
process that is less likely as texts grows more difficult.
The key is teaching phonemic awareness until students can easily
segment words completely, and teaching phonics until students can
easily decode words.

Research on Reading
Systematic phonics instruction is more effective than
alternative in teaching children to read. (NRP).
Camilli, Vargas, and Yurecko (2003) have shown that the
combined effect of a number of literacy activities appears
to be larger than the effect of systematic phonics
instruction alone.
Fletcher and Lyon ( 1998) noted that gains in reading
skills are reinforced by an emphasis on good literature,
reading for enjoyment, and a meaning-based context.

Conclusion on Research
There is no secret formula that will address the needs of
every reader.
Differentiation: The teacher assesses students needs,
determines the appropriate methods to address those
needs, and creates individual and group experiences
accordingly.
Print-rich, comprehensive literacy program and delivered
in brief, individualized lessons.

References:
Robinson, R.D. and McKenna, M.C. (Eds.). (2008). Issues and
trends in literacy education. 4th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Camilli, G., Vargas, S., & Yurecko, M. (2003). Teaching children
to read: The fragile link between science and federal education
policy Education Policy Analysis Archives, 11(15).
Fletcher, J.M., & Lyon, G.R. (1998). Reading: A research-based
approach. In W. Evers (Ed.), Whats gone wrong in Americas
classrooms (pp. 49-90). Stanford, CA: Hoover Institute Press.

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