What's Important in Reading?

Everyone—parents, teachers, and politicians—has an opinion on what’s important in reading instruction. Often the debate centers on phonics: Some people believe that phonics is the most important factor because students need to be able to decode the words they’re reading, but others consider phonics to be less important than comprehension because the purpose of reading is to make meaning from text. The view taken in this text is that there are five important factors in developing capable readers: • Word identification • Fluency • Vocabulary • Comprehension • Motivation Teachers address all five of these factors through direct instruction, by reading aloud to students every day, and by providing daily opportunities for students to read books at their own reading level. Word Identification Capable readers have a large bank of words that they recognize instantly and automatically because they can’t stop and analyze every word as they read (LaBerge & Samuels, 1976). Students learn to read ...  more