Learning to Read

STAGE 0: pre-reading/reading readiness ages birth to 6

Rapid oral language development; development of phonemic awareness skills (i.e. rhyming, sound manipulation); awareness of language as a communication tool; alphabet recognition and skills; environmental print recognition; “pretend” reading. Comprehension addressed mainly through oral readings.

stage 1: initial reading or decoding age 6-7, grades 1-2

Stage 1: Initial Reading or Decoding – age 6-7, grades 1-2

Utilization of sound/symbol relationships of vowels and consonants to sound out CVC words (hot, wet, flag, bent); emphasis on phonics skills to sound out new words; application of beginning spelling patterns; increased phonetic skill development. Recognition of basic sight words.

stage 2: confirmation and fluency age 7-8, grades 2-3

Application of phonetic and non-phonetic reading skills to new and unfamiliar words; decoding practice to develop fluency (no longer need to sound out most words); encoding (spelling) skills expanded to include spelling rules and generalizations.

STAGE 3: READING TO LEARN THE NEW:

By this time, the learner has transitioned to a stage where he or she is expected to learn from their reading. Students should be taught specific comprehension strategies, such as comprehension monitoring, using graphic and semantic organizers, answering questions, generating questions, recognizing textual structures, summarizing, and identifying main ideas and important details.