Personal Model of Reading Theory

Lindsey Bruce

EDRD7715

Dr. Ritchie

June 5^th, 2012

Personal Model of the Theory of Reading

I used to think of reading as being able to put together sounds into words. I quickly changed my thinking during my undergraduate courses. A saying I often refer to and tell my students is “reading is thinking”. The ability to put together sounds to form words is a major skill needed to read, however, true reading is being able to not only put together those sounds but also to comprehend the meaning or message of those sounds. When I think of a solid definition of reading I ask the question “why do we read?” In general, when we “read” we are looking for information or wanting some form of entertainment. Therefore, in order to “read” we must understand what is written on the page.

            Typically in the primary grade levels we teach the skill of reading. This includes the ability to sound out letters, digraphs, etc. and how to put together these sounds to form words and eventually sentences. As we move through the elementary grade levels we teach the strategies of reading. This, in my opinion, is where the real reading takes place. These strategies include summarizing, predicting, connecting, retelling, visualizing, and the list goes on. Each of these strategies provides evidence of the thinking or comprehension of the reading process.

            As elementary educators a major role we have is teaching this reading skill. Not only are we teaching the fluency and accuracy but we also model how to think as we read through the reading strategies. This combination of fluency, accuracy, and comprehension is the definition of reading. One must have all these skills to “read”. There is a lot of time spent on each of these skills. In the early grade levels most of the time is spent on learning the sounds and combination of sounds. As students progress through the grade levels the sounds form words and sentences. Then students begin modeling their thinking process through guided reading groups, book buddies, mini-lessons, post-it notes, book reviews, etc. At the upper grade levels students then really put their reading into action. They move from learning the skill of reading to using the skill to learn on their own. This is when they truly are reading.

            In conclusion, reading is merely not just sounding out letters on a page. In fact, sometimes I find myself doing this and then questioning what I just read. I was not “reading”. I was using the skill of sounding out words. However, I did not understand or comprehend the words or sentences. Therefore I must go back and reread. When I go back and reread thinking while I’m putting those sounds together and understanding what is written then I am reading. Yes, you need to be able to put together sounds to read. Yes, you need fluency and accuracy to read. And yes, you need to understand what is written. With this combination only then we truly are reading.