2. Understanding the Reading Process
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into the complexities of reading, contrasting the bottom-up phonological processing model with the interactive theory of reading. It critiques the overemphasis on sounding out words and highlights the importance of semantic, syntactic, and phonological cueing systems in efficient reading. The script also emphasizes the need for phonics instruction to be balanced with comprehension and meaning-making, questioning the effectiveness of research-based programs that may not enhance students' genuine reading abilities or love for literature.
Takeaways
- π Reading involves more than just sounding out words; it's a complex process of creating meaning from text.
- π§ The brain uses a bottom-up theory of reading, which suggests that information flows from the page to the brain, involving phonological processing.
- π The phonological processing model includes four sub-processes: perceiving words and letters, assigning sounds to letters, identifying words, and creating ideas.
- π― Struggling readers often have deficits in sounding out words, and traditional instruction focuses on this area, but it may not lead to long-term improvement in reading comprehension.
- π Proficient readers rely on more than just the words and letters on the page; they use context and background knowledge to fill in the blanks and create meaning.
- βοΈ The simple view of reading, based on the phonological processing model, is limited and does not account for the full range of data about how readers create meaning.
- π The neurocognitive model of reading, based on the interactive theory, suggests that what's in the reader's head interacts with what's on the page to create meaning.
- π The three cueing systems used during reading are semantic, syntactic, and phonological/graphophonetic, with semantics being the most efficient.
- π Semantic cues help readers predict words based on context and meaning, while syntactic cues involve the grammatical structure of language.
- π Phonological/graphophonetic cues are the least efficient, focusing on individual letters and letter patterns, which is not as effective as focusing on ideas or meaning.
- π Phonics instruction is important, but it should be balanced with other methods to ensure a comprehensive understanding of reading as a meaning-making endeavor.
Q & A
What is the bottom-up theory of reading?
-The bottom-up theory of reading suggests that reading involves a sequential processing of information starting from the smallest units (letters and words) to larger units (sentences and ideas). It is based on the idea that proficient reading is about sounding out words on the page, which is known as the phonological processing model.
What are the four sub-processes involved in reading according to the phonological processing model?
-The four sub-processes are: 1) Perceiving the words and letters on the page, 2) Putting sounds to all the letters in each word, 3) Putting the individual sounds together to identify words, and 4) Putting the words together to create ideas.
What is the issue with focusing solely on sounding out words for teaching reading?
-Focusing solely on sounding out words may lead to marginal improvements in the short term, but it often results in little transfer of skills to authentic reading situations and no noticeable long-term improvement in students' ability to create meaning with print. It can also deprive children of the joy of reading and hinder the development of an implicit understanding of the sound and structure of written language.
What are diphthongs and trigraphs, and why are they important in English reading?
-Diphthongs and trigraphs are complex letter combinations that represent a single sound or phoneme in English. They are important because they help to account for the discrepancy between the number of phonemes and the number of letters in the English alphabet, allowing for more efficient representation of sounds in written language.
How does the neurocognitive model of reading differ from the phonological processing model?
-The neurocognitive model, based on the interactive theory of reading, emphasizes that reading is about creating meaning with print. It suggests that what's in the reader's head (knowledge, context, etc.) interacts with what's on the page to construct meaning, rather than just sounding out words.
What are the three cueing systems used by the brain during active reading according to the neurocognitive model?
-The three cueing systems are semantic (using context and background knowledge), syntactic (using grammatical structure and sentence patterns), and phonological/graphophonetic (using letter sounds to predict words).
Why is the semantic cueing system considered the most efficient during reading?
-The semantic cueing system is the most efficient because it requires less space in working memory and operates quickly by using context and background knowledge to recognize words and predict the next word in a sentence.
How does the syntactic cueing system assist in the reading process?
-The syntactic cueing system uses the reader's knowledge of grammar, sentence structure, word order, tense, and plurality to recognize words and make sense of the text. It is the second most efficient queuing system.
What is the role of phonological/graphophonetic cueing system in reading?
-The phonological/graphophonetic cueing system is the least efficient of the three as it focuses on individual letters and letter patterns to predict the next word. It requires more attention to detail and uses more of the limited capacity of working memory.
Why might a research-based reading program not necessarily lead to improved reading comprehension?
-A research-based reading program might improve specific skills, such as sounding out words, but these improvements may not transfer to real-life reading situations or lead to better comprehension. It's important to consider whether the program enhances the student's ability to create meaning with print and whether it is more effective than engaging with meaningful texts and activities.
What is the importance of considering the impact of a reading program on a student's love for books?
-The impact of a reading program on a student's love for books is crucial because a genuine interest in reading can lead to a lifelong habit of engaging with literature, which in turn can improve comprehension and vocabulary. Programs that focus solely on technical skills may neglect this aspect of reading.
Outlines
π Understanding Reading: Theoretical Perspectives
The first paragraph introduces the theoretical perspectives on reading, posing questions about the nature of reading, the brain's recognition of words, and the needs of struggling readers. It delves into the bottom-up theory of reading, specifically the phonological processing model, which suggests that proficient reading involves sounding out words automatically. The paragraph highlights the limitations of this model, including its focus on sounding out words in isolation and the lack of transfer of these skills to authentic reading situations. It concludes by questioning the effectiveness of this model in fostering a love for reading and developing an implicit understanding of written language.
π Beyond Phonics: The Complexities of Reading
This paragraph explores the limitations of the phonological processing model and presents evidence that proficient readers rely on more than just the words and letters on the page. It discusses the role of the brain in filling in gaps to create meaning, the use of miscues by proficient readers, and the significant information flow from the cortex during reading. The paragraph also addresses the importance of phonics instruction and the need for a balanced approach, cautioning against the overemphasis on sounding out words and the potential for research-based programs to produce misleading results. It emphasizes the importance of considering the broader impact of reading instruction on meaning creation and comprehension.
π§ The Neurocognitive Model: An Interactive Approach to Reading
The third paragraph introduces the neurocognitive model of reading, which is based on the interactive theory of reading. This model suggests that reading is not merely the act of sounding out words but is a process of creating meaning with print. It explains that the brain uses semantic, syntactic, and phonological cueing systems to recognize words efficiently. The paragraph provides examples of how these systems work in practice and argues that focusing on individual letters is less efficient than focusing on meaning. It also discusses the importance of schema and the minimal use of letter clues during active reading.
π The Efficiency of Reading: Cueing Systems in Action
This paragraph further elaborates on the three cueing systems used during reading, emphasizing their role in recognizing words and creating meaning. It demonstrates through examples and thought experiments how readers use semantic and syntactic cues more efficiently than phonological ones. The paragraph challenges the reader to consider how they process words in sentences and how the removal of vowels or consonants affects reading. It concludes by reinforcing the idea that reading is a holistic process that goes beyond the simple sounding out of words.
π The Importance of Vowels and Consonants in Reading
The final paragraph of the script focuses on the role of vowels and consonants in the reading process. It presents an experiment where the removal of vowels or consonants from a text affects the reader's ability to understand andζ΅η ly read the content. The paragraph concludes part two of the script by highlighting the significance of understanding the components of language in reading and the overall importance of vowels and consonants in conveying meaning.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Reading
π‘Phonological Processing Model
π‘Bottom-Up Theory
π‘Struggling Readers
π‘Diphthongs and Trigraphs
π‘Semantic Cueing System
π‘Syntactic Cueing System
π‘Phonetic or Phonological Cueing System
π‘Interactive Theory of Reading
π‘Schema
π‘Miscue
Highlights
Reading involves the brain recognizing words and creating meaning through phonological processing.
The bottom-up theory of reading suggests that proficient reading is about sounding out words automatically and fluently.
Struggling readers are thought to have deficits in sounding out words, which can be addressed through phonics instruction.
Phonics instruction involves teaching letter-sound associations and is crucial for understanding the English language's phonemes.
Diphthongs, trigraphs, and other letter combinations are essential for understanding the complexities of English orthography.
Research-based reading programs should be evaluated based on their effectiveness in creating meaning with print, not just sounding out words.
The neurocognitive model of reading accounts for the interactive theory, emphasizing the creation of meaning with print.
During reading, the brain uses semantic, syntactic, and phonological cueing systems to recognize words efficiently.
Semantic cueing is the most efficient system, using context and background knowledge to predict word meanings.
Syntactic cueing involves the use of grammatical structure and sentence patterns to recognize words.
Phonological cueing, while the least efficient, uses letter sounds to predict words and is essential for early reading development.
The brain prioritizes the use of minimal letter clues and relies more on semantic and syntactic cues during active reading.
Vowels are less critical in word recognition compared to consonants, as demonstrated by the ability to read text with removed vowels.
The importance of vowels and consonants in reading is highlighted by the difficulty in reading sentences with all consonants removed.
Reading is not merely about sounding out words but is a complex process of creating meaning with print.
The interactive theory of reading highlights the importance of higher-level cognitive processes in letter and word recognition.
Exposure to a variety of words and concepts is crucial for developing an implicit understanding of written language structure.
The joy of reading and discussing good books should not be overlooked in the pursuit of technical reading skills.
Transcripts
all right let's look at part two
understanding reading to theoretical
perspectives questions to think about
what is reading
how does the brain
recognize words during reading
what do struggling readers need to
become better at recognizing words while
reading and why are diphthongs and
trigraphs so gosh darn very important
think about these questions
let's look at the bottom-up theory of
reading
the phonological processing model is
based on the bottom-up theory of reading
according to this theory reading is
merely
sounding out words on the page
this is called the simple view of
reading or the phonological processing
model
and a model
is a construct
that explains or demonstrates how
something works
theoretical models are based on theories
again according to this model
reading is sounding out words
i'm reading
here reading is thought to involve four
sub-processes
perceiving the words and letters on the
page
putting sounds to all the letters
in each word
putting the individual sounds together
to identify words
and putting the words together to create
ideas
this is all thought to happen in the
microseconds available to us as our eyes
pounce upon each individual words poof
magic
reading happens
this is thought to create a form of
speech in the head
with which the reader listens during
reading
according to the phonological processing
model reading is sounding out words
proficient readers are able to sound out
words automatically and fluently so the
speech in the head is uninterrupted
they just sit back
and listen
according to this model struggling
readers have sounding out words deficits
to move from struggling to proficient we
just need to apply a bit more sounding
out word instruction
or so it is thought
now according to the phonological
processing model during the active
reading information flows one way from
the page to the relay station in the
brain called the thalamus and up to the
top which is the cortex
hence the name bottom-up theory of
reading
as stated earlier struggling readers
according to this model have sounding
out word deficits
so
we give them a whole bunch of sounding
out word instruction
along with lots and lots of drill and
practice sounding out words in isolation
and on worksheets
and we think the problem is solved
the goal of sounding out word
instruction is to create good sound
routers
the thinking is that if students were
good sounder outers all their reading
problems would vanish
but this is not the case
what usually happens
is struggling readers may get marginally
better at sounding out isolated words in
the short term
but when this is the sole focus of
reading instruction there's little
transfer of these skills to authentic
reading situations
and in the long term there's no
noticeable improvement in students
ability to create meaning with print
during authentic reading situations
and in the meantime
children are deprived of the joy of
reading and talking about good books
they're exposed to fewer words and
concepts
and they fall behind in developing an
implicit understanding of the sound and
structure of written language
the phonological processing model of
reading does more to help us understand
the reading process than to understand
it
and this sounded out word model is
limited because it does not account for
a wide array of data including four
facts
number one
proficient readers look at only 60 of
the words on the page
of these fixated words
our eyes usually stop on only one or two
letters
and since we can perceive only those
things upon which our eyes fixate
it's clear that our brain fills in the
blanks to create meaning during the
reading process
this indicates that readers are using
much more than words and letters on the
page to create meaning
second proficient readers often insert
words that are semantically or
syntactically correct again this is
called a miscue
this points to the fact that information
besides what's on the page is being used
to construct meaning
meaning is retained that's semantically
correct
syntactically correct a noun for a noun
third more information is flowing down
from the cortex then up from the
thalamus
we take in data from our senses in this
case our eyes it goes to the relay
station the brain the thalamus from
there it's sent to various parts of the
cortex but brain imaging research shows
that during the act of reading
almost 10 times more information
is flowing from the cortex down than
from the thalamus up
this demonstrates that's what's in the
head
is being used along with text clues
to create meaning
and fourth
and finally
information from the cortext is used to
direct the eyes during the active
reading in other words higher level
cognitive processes
drive or mediate
lower level letter and word recognition
processes
now before we go on to other to the
other theoretical models a bit about
phonics instruction and research based
programs
i am not against phonics instruction i
don't want you to get that idea a matter
of fact i'm highly in favor of it
it's not the what of phonics instruction
that is at issue here
it's the how and the how much
of phonics instruction that we need to
consider
phonics instruction is teaching letter
sound associations
the reader sees a letter and is able to
associate it with a certain sound
a sound within a word is called a
phoneme
there are approximately 200 phonemes in
all human languages
there are 44 phonemes
in our english language
there are 26 letters in our alphabet
this means our alphabet is 18 letters
short
rather than invent 18 new letters
somebody decided that we should put
existing letters together
in exciting new combinations
brilliant so we have diphthongs and
murmur diphthongs and diagraphs
trigraphs the schwa sound our controlled
vowels vowel blends cvc patterns cvcv
patterns one letter making another say
its name and of course we have
exceptions
of course we have exceptions
now one important thing to mention about
the science of reading before i move on
whenever a particular program or method
makes a claim that it's research based
or when someone says that research
proves that something is effective you
must always ask
effective for who
for what purpose
under what circumstances how much and
for how long
just saying that something is research
based doesn't mean that it is
it doesn't mean the research was very
good
and it doesn't mean that a valid
question was asked and it doesn't mean
that the data were correctly collected
measured or interpreted
now some of these research-based reading
programs may indeed produce a blip and
low level sounding out word scores
but a blip in sounding out word scores
does not mean that a student is better
able to create meaning with print
these blips often do not transfer into
real life reading situations
what this blip usually means
is that you taught something
you measure that something you taught
and you found more of something after
you taught it
imagine that that's like saying i
sprinkled sand on the floor and
afterwards i found there was more sand
on the floor
but sand on the floor only means there's
sand on the floor the sand has nothing
to do with the dirty dishes in the sink
so three questions to always ask
as a result of this holy blip are
students better able to create meaning
with print
and that's what reading is it's a
meaning making endeavor
not a sounding out word endeavor
does the research based blip making
reading program improves students
ability to comprehend and make sense of
what they're reading
over time
is the blip making program more
effective than reading and talking about
good books or writing and sharing
stories
or learning skills in authentic contexts
and that's the question
any exposure to print is helpful
even blip making programs have some
impact
but the question always comes back to
this
is blip making more impactful than
meaning making that's the question and i
would say absolutely not
and third
do blips help children fall in love with
books
so let's take a look now at the
neurocognitive model of reading
this model accounts for the four
unaccounted for facts
this theoretical model of reading is
based on the interactive theory of
reading
according to the interactive theory of
reading reading is creating meaning with
during the act of reading what's in the
head
interacts
with what's on the page to create
meaning
hence the name interactive theory
and according to this model reading is
not sounding out words as i've said it's
creating meaning with print
again readers use what's in their head
to make sense of what's on the page
reading is creating meeting with print
as we are reading we use the knowledge
scored stored in our cortex to
constantly reach out and micro predict
the words in the sentences we're reading
this is called
recognizing words
these micro predictions enable our brain
to work more efficiently
our brain uses three cueing systems to
make these micro predictions to
recognize words during the active
reading
semantic syntactic and phonological or
grapho
phonological or graphophonetic
let's take a look at each of them
the semantic first the semantic cueing
system is the most efficient of the
three in terms of speed and space
required in working memory
semantics refers to meaning
as you read you use context and
background knowledge to recognize words
and figure out what the next word might
be and you're doing it right now as you
read the powerpoints and listen to my
voice this is the semantic cueing system
for example
in the sentence below
there are several possible words that
would make sense
a pail a lake the ocean water birds fly
in the sky fish swim in
most of us would know what that is
fish swimming what most of us would not
need the letters
fish swim in water the monkey ate a buff
yes banana
she blank
yes fell down the hill that is the
semantic cueing system
the semantic now the syntactic cueing
system has to do with grammatical
structure of our language the
grammatical structure
as your brain reads you also use your
knowledge of grammar and sentence
structure word order tense
to recognize words
this is the second most efficient
queuing system and i'll demonstrate this
in a bit
but syntax grammar word order sense
uh tense plurality
she blank down the hit we know that's a
verb
fish blank we know that's a verb
the blank something sad a now
the dog blank did something verb on the
carpet
most syntax is learned implicitly
and the phonetic or phonological cueing
system uses letter sounds to predict
what the next word might be
of the three queuing systems this one is
the least efficient
why
because it focuses on individual letters
and letter patterns instead of words and
ideas
working memory
has a very limited capacity
it can hold about seven bits of
information for about 15 seconds before
it begins to fade
it can hold a few letters
a few words
or a few ideas
and since ideas contain far more
information than individual letters it's
more efficient to focus on ideas or
meaning
than individual letters
proof of the three queueing systems
as you're reading
so
do you really do this as you're sounding
out words
st
stam oh yes it's damn
stem oh yes the word is stamp
stampy
word is stampy
oh stamped yes the word is stamp
stampede
do you really go through all of that in
the micro seconds available as you see
this word
in print in a sentence
we see instead the word holistically
within the context of the sentence the
buffalo started to stampede
now since most people associate
buffaloes and stampede buffaloes acts as
a primer most of us need to just lightly
dance upon the word stampede
notice how your eyes different and how
they travel the buffalo started to
stampede
we go back and forth we just lightly
jump on the word
why is that
semantics and syntax
still don't believe me
more proof
the following 110 words paragraph read
this as quickly as you can and i'll
pause and let you do this silently
all right very good
now i'm going to ask you to read the
same 110 words a second time
here they go
most people are going what what away
drove and car his in jumped could he
what what
these are the same
110
words
what was different
was your reading rate the same did you
go smoothly from word to word
the first passage makes sense
the second passage contains the exact
same words but they're presented
backwards
here you're deprived of both semantic
and syntactic clues
now if reading was simply sounding out
words and if the three cueing systems
was nonsense
your rate
accuracy and fluency and your eye
movement would have been the same with
both paragraphs but they were not
you most likely read this second
paragraph
word by word in a very choppy
stilted manner
much like
struggling readers who have been
subjected to too much phonics
instruction and who is trying to use
only letter clues and not semantic and
syntactic clues to create meaning with
three other things
during the active reading your brain
uses as few letter clues as possible to
recognize words
you use the file folders in your head
knowing as schema to make sense of
things what's in your head
second idea
[Laughter]
that would take too long
would use too much space in working
memory
we use minimal letter clues
and our eyes don't stop on every word
vowels are not very important now all
the vowels are removed for the from this
next passage except for the initial
vowels if it comes in the initial place
once upon a time there was most of us
can read that
how important are vowels
he turned back into a prince they left
happily ever after
vowels are not very important now can
anyone read the following sentence in
which all the consonants are removed and
i'm going to give you a hint it's about
a bear
in the woods
hmm
what about with all the vols removal
the big black bear rant yes yes so how
important are
bowels
all right this is the end of part two
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