Literacy consists of 5 components that each impact the other. Let me give you the literacy rundown of how our literacy house is built.
The first brick in the literacy house is...
Phonics: This includes the letters and the sounds they make that create to the words we read.
Without a firm foundation in letter sounds, readers stare at words like the strangers they are. This also includes an awareness (a phonemic awareness if you will) of the way sounds can manipulated to read and form new words.
The next brick...
Vocabulary: This includes the words that readers recognize automatically (or on sight) like sight words. This also includes the words that students have to word a bit harder to decode. Based on their phonetic knowledge, students can find unlocking new words to be a blast. They can have fun breaking words into chunks or identifying consonant blends and vowel pairs that help them blend words breezily. However, if your reader struggles with identifying and producing letter sounds, decoding new words may be a challenge. Vocabulary is also grade-level spoken vocabulary, synonyms, and vocabulary that they understand by meaning and they may not know the word on sight.
The other brick is...
Writing: Included in this component is writing words and sentences that the reader thinks and hears, grammar, and spelling. In grades K-1, students don't need to be phenomenal spellers but they do need to be phonetic spellers and practice spelling words the way they hear them. For example, if a reader spells "blue" as "bloo", although the spelling is incorrect, they should be praised for spelling the word phonetically correct because they are applying the rules correctly.
Writing relies heavily on the reader's vocabulary and phonetic knowledge and skills like segmenting (in other words, breaking words down sound by sound) spell new words.
Next up is...
Reading: This is referring to reading strategies the reader applies to read new and unknown words. Reading strategies like blending, chunking, checking the first and last letter, cross referencing the picture, rereading sentences that don't make sense, etc. Reading includes fluency as well, which isn't just reading with speed and accuracy, it's also the reader's ability to construct meaning and understand what they've read. Without fluency, readers spend their energy and mental resources on decoding words and, after reading the sentence or passage, they're spent and haven't a clue what they've actually read.
Last but not least...
Comprehension: Readers read to understand what they've read. After students read, they should be able to answer questions about the text, retell the story, provide evidence of learning, and explain key details. Without comprehension readers don't learn from the text and isn't that the entire point of reading...to learn?
Without a knowledge of letter sounds students cannot read and write words. By extension, they cannot apply strategies to decode words and they certainly cannot understand words that they cannot read. To struggle in one area of literacy is to struggle in another that depends on the previous one. Every component is interconnected and should be addressed in a balanced way. IF your reader is having troubles in any one of these areas, let's talk more about how Mrs. B's Reading Room, LLC can meet their needs and propel them from where they are to where they should be. Book your free consultation today here and let's get your reader reading!
I can't wait to read with you.
--Mrs. B
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