Life is…busy, overwhelming, momentous, fulfilling, absurd, joyful, distracting, etc. The cocktail of adjectives we choose to describe our feelings at any given moment is correlative to whatever is going on around us, and with so much constant change in our lives, it is easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle.
Sometimes we might forget the significance of the everyday skills and abilities we have. Reading, although it is a learned ability, is one such skill – one such gift – that we might take for granted in all of the befuddlement that life will inevitably bring.
Some actions are so engrained and automatic that we don’t even realize we are performing them. A lot of individuals who are blessed with the ability to read find that their brains will see letters printed on a page, typed on a screen, or displayed on a sign and they will automatically organize these letters into words, sentences, and so on. Decoding is also an important step in the reading process for fluent readers. From these combined organization processes, we are able to determine meaning and direction from the things we read.
For others, reading is not such an automatic and easy process. Perhaps it is a struggle for one individual because they are learning to speak and read English as a Second Language (ESL). For another, perhaps their brain organizes and processes information differently than others, such as in the case of those with dyslexia.
To provide insight on the best approaches to teaching reading, The National Reading Panel, convened by Congress in 1997, outlined the essential components for increasing literacy rates among children and adolescents, called “the five elements of reading.” These elements are:
1. Phonemic awareness: Ability to hear, identify and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words.
2. Phonics: Relationships between letters of written language and individual sounds of spoken language.
3. Fluency: Ability to read a text quickly and accurately.
4. Vocabulary: Words students must know to communicate effectively.
5. Text comprehension: Understanding what students are reading.
Reading truly is a gift that everyone deserves to receive. Share your thoughts in the comment section and let us know how the ability to read has affected your life.
Reading Horizons is a research-based reading progam. To find out more about how Reading Horizons uses the "five elements of reading" to provide the best help possible to struggling readers, click here.