READING AS PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESS

Reading involves both an organic or physiological process and a mental or cognitive

process. In the physiological process, the most basic step is for the eyes to see, identify, and
recognize the printed word or images. The light patterns from the printed symbols hit the fovea
areas or closely packed sensory cells of the retina. In turn, this induces chemical changes that
create patterns of nerve currents into the optic nerve fiber. Then these currents travel to a center
in the mid-brain. Finally, using the current that travel to the mid- brain, the cerebal cortex
interprets the symbols. The stage of reading revolves around the ability to identify and recognize
words which are the smallest unit of visual identification and meaningful recognition. Studies
show eye movement in reading with the eye perceiving and pausing on the printed material
horizontally from left to right and top-to- bottom or right to left. Scientific experiments have also
shown that there are several eye movements:

Fixation – the eyes stopping or getting fixated on the word/s. Inter-fixation – the eyes
moving from stopping point to the other. Return sweeps – the eyes swinging back from
the end.

Saccades – short quick hop and jump movements done especially by literate people, to
move ahead on a line of point. Regression – done in case there is need to double check
what is being read. Span of recognition – the eyes recognition of a group of words.

READING AS COGNITIVE PROCESS

Reading is a mental process - a dynamics active way of performing. It is mental process in which
in the sense that it is of the mind that is cognitive.

(1) Comprehension or understanding is the major objective of all reading instruction.

(2) Reading instruction must be differentiated- that is, no one method is suitable for all children.

1. Language Comprehension

- generally refers to one's ability to understand speech

To understand language, one mus be able to hear, distinguish and categorize the sounds in
speech. One needs to be implicitly familiar with the structure that constrains the way words fir
together to make phrases and sentences. One must be able to understand the meaning of the
individual words and sentences being spoken and the meaningful relations between them.

2. Decoding

- generally refers to the child's ability to recognize and process written information.
- the ability to recognize certain high-frequency and familiar words. This is sometimes called
"slight-word reading".

READING AS COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Language is a code system used by humans to communicate. And as there are diverse
languages, there are diversities in the code system or symbol system as devised and used by man.

Characteristics in language are:

1. CLARITY- The reader can more easily and immediately understand language when
the code symbols are concrete rather than abstractions and generalizations.

2. SIMPLICITY- Complex wording written for the sake of verbal erudition is less easily
understood, compared with what is expressed directly and to the point.

3. ADAPTED LANGUAGE- Words of expression should relate to reader’s age,

educational attainment, gender, ethnic origin, other personal factors.

4. FORCEFUL- Stimulating language provides color, interest and excitement.

5. VIVID LANGUAGE- Vivid wording is descriptive and stirs the senses of the reader.

READING AS A SKILL

GLOBAL READING SKILLS AND SUBSKILLS

1. Word Recognition Skills – is necessary to be able to read. It is a two fold process that
includes: the recognition of printed symbols by some method so that the can be pronounced.

2. Reading Comprehension – is a complex intellectual process involving many skills like

understanding the context, making inferences, weaving ideas into context, etc.

3. Word Identification – such as whole word recognition, visual configuration,

morphemic analysis, meaning associations, graph phoneme

BASIC SIGHT WORDS

WHAT RE SIGHT WORDS? Often also called high frequency sight words. The Dolch
words are the 220 most frequently found words in books that children read. Many of these words
cannot be sounded out because they do not follow decoding rules, so they must be learned as
sight words. They are commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorize as
a whole by sight, so that they can automatically recognize these words in print without having to
use any strategies to decode. These words are usually learned in first and second grade; students
who learn these words have a good base for beginning
 2. USING PHONETIC ANALYSIS

PHONETICS Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds
of human speech Phonetic analysis – is based on the traditional classification of speech sounds
using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). - also called phonics, is the study of sound-
symbol or phoneme-grapheme relationships. - sounding out words by separating a larger word
into the smaller sounds (both vowel and

3. USING STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

The process of using familiar word parts (base words, prefixes, and suffixes) to
determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. Breaking down unknown words into prefixes &
suffixes, then into syllables. "By fourth grade, most of my students are already skilled at
letter=sound associations," she says. "But they're now dealing with harder words, and even when
they've pronounced a word correctly, they might not know what it means. So we focus on
context clues and whatever meaning clues the word itself might contain.“ Be sure your
students understand that many prefixes and suffixes have more than one meaning, as in inactive
and inroad, and that even when they know the correct meaning of an affix, they might still come
up with an incorrect definition. Emphasize the

4. USING CONTEXTUAL CLUES Hints that the author gives to help define a difficult
or unusual word. The clue may appear within the same sentence as the word to which it refers, or
it may be in a preceding or subsequent sentence.

5. VOCABULARY BUILDING According to language expert W.B. Elley, "a rich

vocabulary is a valuable asset and an important attribute of success in any walk of life." In other
words, your vocabulary plays a large role in determining if you will succeed in life or not.

6. FINDING THE MAIN IDEA The main idea sentence of a paragraph tells what the
paragraph is about. It is the "key concept" being expressed. Understanding the topic, the gist, or
the larger conceptual framework of a textbook chapter, an article, a paragraph, a sentence or a
passage is a sophisticated reading task Textbook chapters, articles, paragraphs, sentences, or
passages all have topics and main ideas.

7. FINDING THE SUPPORTING DETAILS Details, major and minor, support the
main idea by telling how, what, when, where, why, how much, or how many.

. 8. INTERFERING MEANINGS, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Drawing conclusions

refers to information that is implied or inferred. This means that the information is never clearly
stated. Inference is just a big word that means a conclusion or judgement. If you infer that
something has happened, you do not see, hear, feel, smell, or taste the actual event. But from
what you know, it makes sense to think that it has happened.
 9. CLASSIFYING AND ORGANIZING FACTS Classifying is separating various things
on the basis of some criteria Organizing facts are how to classify the facts and how to use that
classification to arrange those facts in a particular rational order.

READING AS PSYCOSOCIAL PROCESS

As we grow older and become senior citizens we tend to slow down our productivity and
explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we contemplate our accomplishments
and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a successful life. If we see our life
as unproductive, or feel that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with
life and develop despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness.

The final developmental task is retrospection: people look back on their lives and
accomplishments. They develop feelings of contentment and integrity if they believe that they
have led a happy, productive life. They may instead develop a sense of despair if they look back
on a life of disappointments and unachieved goals.

This stage can occur out of the sequence when an individual feels they are near the end of
their life (such as when receiving a terminal disease diagnosis).

At this age children develop their first interests. For example, a child who enjoys music
may like to play with the radio. Children who enjoy the outdoors may be interested in animals
and plants. Highly restrictive parents, however, are more likely to instill in the child a sense of
doubt, and reluctance to attempt new challenges. As they gain increased muscular coordination
and mobility, toddlers become capable of satisfying some of their own needs. They begin to feed
themselves, wash and dress themselves, and use the bathroom.

READING AS PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT

Development in reading is influenced by: Personal maturation Social demands

Values Aspirations

Stages in Reading Development

Reading Readiness (Nursery & kindergarten) The teacher: Prepares pupil for learning
how to read Guides the child in acquiring functional listening and speaking vocabulary
Initiates activities using real/concrete objects Imparts skills in auditory and visual
discrimination, motor-ocular coordination Introduces fun experiences (reading rhymes,
listening to stories, etc.) Imparts acquisition by the child of basic sight vocabulary using
pictures, actions and context clues Introduces phonetics and structural lessons Impart
lessons to make the child ready for other studies
 Beginning Reading (G-I&II) The teacher: Introduces words that relates to real-life
situations Initiates both oral and silent reading Engages the child in repetitive, interesting and
meaningful vocabulary building activities

Rapid or Expanding Reading Growth (G-III&IV) The teacher guides the child in the
mastery of reading techniques by: Enriching vocabulary, deepening comprehension,
awakening critical thinking Encouraging free reading Applying scanning and skimming
techniques Introducing the use of the dictionary to locate meaning of new words Assigning
summaries, outlines and book reports

Refinement (G-VI, high school & college) The teacher: Encourages independent
reading and ample use of library materials Introduces research work Encourages the
practice of note-taking, efficient organization of notes, and wide reading for pleasure Engages
the student in oral reading using poetic, exhortative and dramatic materials College teacher:
Guides in careful, detailed and analytical reading Induces mastery of language w/c leads to
facility with words, functionality of reading for writing, and innovative study work Helps
students in familiarity with technical words/terms Builds the students’ literary appreciation.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES IN READING?

PHYSICAL

* Malfunction of the visual and auditory faculties.

PSYCHOLOGICAL

*Teacher personality factors such as lack of competence, emotional immaturity, lack of social
sense, etc. is a cause for reading retardation.

Intellectual or Emotional maturation

* Physical discomfort such as headache, stomach ache, hunger, thirst, etc.

ENVIRONMENTAL

Example:

Difficulties in differentiating letters.

*Child's lack of self-confidence, feeling of rejection and other negative personality traits.

WHAT IS SELECTIVE READING

 Selective reading stands for a combination of reading and a research. This is a process of
reading with purpose. Instead of running through a text that might have no practical and esthetic
value for you, develop a skill that will give you a feeling of improving your way of reading.

 Reading with purpose will mean only reading the texts that keep the useful information.
Useful not necessarily stands for “boring”, you can select any book that carries the
knowledge you were craving for to gain but thought you have no time for;
 It is a great way to fill your evening or a trip to home from school with something special
that you remember. Honestly, how many tweets and YouTube comments have you read
yesterday and do you actually remember them now?
 It develops the ability to select the most important information from the whole text
instead of “swallowing” everything without chewing.

WHAT IS COMPREHENSION AND ITS LEVELS?

Reading comprehension is the act of understanding what you are reading. While the
definition can be simply stated the act is not simple to teach, learn or practice. Reading
comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs before, during and
after a person reads a particular piece of writing.
Reading comprehension is one of the pillars of the act of reading. When a person
reads a text he engages in a complex array of cognitive processes. He is simultaneously
using his awareness and understanding of phonemes (individual sound “pieces” in
language), phonics (connection between letters and sounds and the relationship between
sounds, letters and words) and ability to comprehend or construct meaning from the text.
This last component of the act of reading is reading comprehension. It cannot occur
independent of the other two elements of the process. At the same time, it is the most
difficult and most important of the three.

Levels of Comprehension
The three levels of comprehension, or sophistication of thinking, are presented in the following
hierarchy from the least to the most sophisticated level of reading.
 Least = surface, simple reading
 Most = in-depth, complex reading

Level One
LITERAL - what is actually stated.
 Facts and details
 Rote learning and memorization
 Surface understanding only
Tests in this category are objective tests dealing with true / false, multiple choice and fill-in-
the-blank questions.
Common questions used to illicit this type of thinking are who, what,
when, and where questions.
Level Two
INTERPRETIVE - what is implied or meant, rather than what is actually stated.
 Drawing inferences
 Tapping into prior knowledge / experience
 Attaching new learning to old information
 Making logical leaps and educated guesses
 Reading between the lines to determine what is meant by what is stated.
Tests in this category are subjective, and the types of questions asked are open-ended,
thought-provoking questions like why, what if, and how.
Level Three
APPLIED - taking what was said (literal) and what was meant by what was said (interpretive)
and then extend (apply) the concepts or ideas beyond the situation.
 Analyzing
 Synthesizing
 Applying
In this level we are analyzing or synthesizing information and applying it to other
information.