The Learning Gallery LLC.
ANDREA STAVRAKAS, MA
Certified Wilson Dyslexia Therapist All Levels (Elementary-Adult)
Elementary K-5 All Subjects
General and Special Education
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CHRISTINA STAVRAKAS, M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
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Learning to read is one of the most complex processes undertaken by the human brain. Research has shown that success in learning to read lies in the acquisition of a set of diverse and important skills. In Put Reading First, the National Reading Panel Report outlines the five critical areas involved in the process of successfully becoming a reader : Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Text Comprehension. For more information click on the link below.
Fluency
Fluency is the abilty to read text smoothly and qucikly. A fluent reader doesn't have to think about how to decode the words. The process seems automatic with little more effort than taking a breath. When a reader is fluent with little effort needed to recognize and process words, mental effort is freed up for making meaning of the text. Readers who expend energy working through words may have difficulty simultaneously thinking about meaning.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary refers to the knowledge of word meanings that enable an individual to understand and use communication. Oral vocabulary relates to the words used in spoken language and reading vocabulary applies to the words recognized and understood in print.
Comprehension
Comprehension is simply the ability to understand what you are reading. It involves the complex cognitive processes of engaging with text by applying background knowlege, forming opinions, making judgements, etc.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the understanding that words and syllables consist of smaller units of sounds called phonemes. It is the ability to hear the individual sounds in words.
Phonemic awareness is a small part of the skill of phonological awareness. The two terms are not interchangable. Phonological awareness can be thought of as the umbrella covering subsets of smaller skills. Phonemic awareness is one of the components of phonological awareness. The other pieces are understanding larger units of language such syllables, onsets and rhymes, rhyming, alliteration and intonation.
Phonics is where the relationship between sound and print is established. Phonics competency facilitates the decoding process. The decoding process is where the reader can look at the letters in a word and know what the word says. This begins the magical process where new readers engage with what were once meaningless symbols (letters) to enter a whole new world of encounters.

