Section III: Decoding and Word Study

Teaching Reading Sourcebook 2nd Edition

Word Reading Skills

To clarify how word reading skills contribute to proficient reading, two explanations of how the reading process works are: The Adams Model of Skilled Reading which describes the

skilled reading process as a network of connections among four processors: orthographic, phonological, semantic, and context.

Ehri’s Phases of Word Recognition Development which explains that word recognition develops in five phases: pre-alphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic, consolidated alphabetic, and automatic.

The Adams Model of Skilled Reading

Ehri’s Phases of Word Recognition Development

Decoding

The connection of the letters (orthographic information) with the sounds (phonological information) to form words is decoding.

Learning to decode well and early is essential to proficient reading.

Research has shown that much of the variance in ninth graders’ reading comprehension can be explained by first grade decoding skill.*

*Connecticut Longitudinal Study (1992)