Reading Is a Complex Task.

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Reading is a complex task. It involves decoding the pronunciation of words as well as determining their meaning. When students are first learning to decode words, it is a demanding cognitive task. Sight words are words that are recognized, read and understood immediately. When readers have a strong sight word vocabulary, reading becomes a simpler task because they read many of the words with automaticity. We’ve talked about decoding which is a phonics skill. Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Decoding words is a complex task, especially for early readers. “A new component becomes critical during the letter name-alphabetic stage-acquiring a vocabulary of sight words using a variety of decoding strategies. It is a fast and ever-growing word recognition that fuels fluency and comprehension.” (Bear, p151) Sight words are not decoded. A reader recognizes and understands these words immediately. A reader can pronounce sight words without translating each letter into a sound. Since decoding is such a cognitively demanding task, a reader can devote more time to decoding difficult words if he/she has a strong vocabulary of sight words. When choosing a book for my student in the emergent stage, it’s crucial that the book is not overwhelming or so difficult that he/she loses his/her confidence. The book needs to be used to work on his/her specific need in this stage. It’s important to choose a book with a limited amount of print and uses repetitive phrases, rhymes, and/ patterns. Some books I might choose are: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Frog and Toad Together, or Goodnight Moon.. Let’s say I was using Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. A typical student of the early letter name–alphabetic group who writes

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