Is Reading Natural?

Reading is not a natural part of human development. Children do not automatically

learn how to read and need to be taught to read. Statistics Canada (2009) reported
that of all children with disabilities (ages 5 to 14), more than half (59.8%) have learning
disabilities (LDs).

Most of these children have a disability in reading (89.6%) (Gabel, Gibson, Gruen,
LoTurco, 2010; Semrud-Clikeman, Fine, & Harder, 2005). This may be due to
the importance of reading in all academic areas, as studies suggest math and
writing LDs are also very common (Shaywitz, 2007; Willis, 2008).

Word Attack Skills, Reading Decoding, and Reading

Competency
Defining Terms

 Phonological Awareness: skill at identifying and manipulating sounds.

 Phonemic Awareness: understanding that words are made of sounds (44 English
phonemes) that can be used to create new words.
 Grapheme Awareness: understanding that symbols in reading (letters)
correspond to sounds.

Early exposure to sounds and letters is critical, even before school begins (Richards,
2009; Tallal, 2012). Children must learn four things:

1. Awareness that speech is composed of the smallest meaningful units of

sounds (phonemes);
2. Awareness that letters (graphemes) and word parts (morphemes) are visual
language symbols;
3. Recognition that written letters represent the sounds (alphabetic principle);
4. Understanding that phonemes and morphemes can be
manipulated (Segmenting and Blending).
A Common Problem Seen in Early Reading and Word Reading LDs
Children can memorize words by sight instead of developing word attack or reading
decoding skills. This is a common problem in children who have reading LDs (Fiorello,
Hale, & Snyder, 2006).

This memorizing strategy allows children to guess at most words in the early grades
from the initial letter or whole word configuration (shape of word) and still achieve
average scores on most reading tests. What they often struggled with is pseudoword
reading tasks (e.g., read the words belped, fralt, nockess). Although these children
may not be identified with a reading LD, because of their average scores in early
grades, later in elementary school they may have significant reading problems
(Berninger et al., 2000; Hale et al., 2008).

WHY WOULD THAT LEAD TO READING PROBLEMS LATER IN SCHOOL?

In kindergarten, children are exposed to words that are easily memorized, because
there aren’t that many of them. However, as the lexicon expands dramatically through
elementary school - with approximately 2000 to 3000 new words learned each year
(Biemeller, 2003) – this visual memorizing strategy becomes less effective.

These same children cannot memorize enough words over time, and so their word
reading and reading comprehension decline with age (Shaywitz, 2003). A child has
to decode harder words not visually recognized to link the words to lexical-semantic
word memory and their definitions (Biemeller, 2003).

WHAT SHOULD PARENTS AND TEACHERS DO?

It is important to build word attack skills and good understanding of phoneme-

grapheme correspondence throughout the early grades (Ramus et al, 2003; Shaywitz
et al., 1999). Parents and teachers should watch for children who often guess at
words or skip words they don’t know. These children will often read much quicker
during silent reading (because of the guessing/skipping strategy) and try to avoid oral
reading.  Comprehension too may be better during silent reading because they are
able to “fill in the gaps” when they miss a word, and still understand what they read.

The Neuropsychology of Word Reading

There are many brain areas involved in reading competency, even at the basic word
reading level (Feifer & Della Toffalo, 2007; Hale & Fiorello, 2004; Shaywtiz, 2005), so
problems in one or more of these areas of the brain could lead to reading disabilities.

In a landmark study, Pugh et al. found a functional disconnect between the phonemic
and graphemic systems in the inferior parietal lobe, which is likely the most common
cause of word reading disability (Fiorello et al., 2006).

Click here to access the handout Brain Areas and Reading Skills.

Reading Fluency/Speed and Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension requires reading quickly (reading fluency),keeping track of
what words are in the sentences (working memory), vocabulary meaning and text
conventions (semantics/grammar), and understanding what is read (receptive
language) (Berninger & Richards, 2002; Cutting, Materek, Cole, Levine, & Mahone,
2009).
Children must learn six things:

1. Automatic recognition of words as “pictures” in the brain (sight word

recognition);
2. Quickly retrieving words in visual long-term memory for rapid naming
(retrieval/fluency);
3. Linking read words with word meanings (vocabulary) in long-term memory
(lexical/semantic knowledge);
4. Keeping track of words and meanings for sentences and passages (verbal
working memory);
5. Knowledge of sentence structure and punctuation (grammar);
6. Linking read words, word meanings, and grammar for
understanding (receptive language).

Common Problems Seen in Children with Reading Comprehension LDs

Most proficient readers read words by sight, and some children may be good at word
decoding/attack, but they don’t transfer those words to long-term visual memory
(Hale & Fioello, 2004). Without automatic sight word recognition, too much effort is
spent on decoding and comprehension is impaired (Ehri, 2005; Wolf, Miller, &
Donnelly, 2000).

WHY WOULD POOR SIGHT WORD RECOGNITION LEAD TO READING COMPREHENSION PROBLEMS?

Problems with long-term visual memory can lead to poor sight word recognition.

Without a good sight word vocabulary, reading speed is reduced, and working
memory is consumed with reading decoding/attack. This does not allow for working
memory to keep track of the words read, and comprehension is subsequently
impaired (Elliott et al., 2010; Torgesen, Wagner, Rashotte, Burgess, & Hecht, 1997).

This seems in direct contrast with the earlier comments about not allowing children to
use a sight word approach only for reading. This is because reading is hierarchical. A
child first learns to decode words, then transfer the decoded words to long-term visual
memory so the words can be rapidly named, and thus comprehension can develop as
word reading competency increases (see Fiorello et al., 2006).

WHAT SHOULD TEACHERS DO?

It is important to build vocabulary first and foremost, and then decoded words can
be translated into reading sight words efficiently. With sight word recognition and
reading speed, the demands on working memory are less, and so working memory
can be used for reading comprehension to occur.

Watch for children who always try to “sound out” (decode) words, and/or have
slow reading speed (Willis, 2008; Wolf, 2007).

The Neuropsychology of Reading Fluency/Speed and Comprehension

There are many brain areas involved in reading comprehension, even if basic word
reading and reading speed are adequate (Berninger & Richards, 2002; Feifer & Della
Toffalo, 2007; Hale & Fiorello, 2004; Shaywtiz, 2005). Reading comprehension and
oral language comprehension are highly related, so any child with receptive or
expressive language problems may also have a problem with reading comprehension
(Feifer & Della Toffalo, 2007; Roth, Speece, & Cooper, 2002).

Click here to access the handout Brain Areas and Comprehension Skills.

Putting it Together: A Model of Word Reading and

Comprehension
There are “fast” and “slow” routes for reading in the brain. In the beginning stages,
one learns to decode words using the connection between sound and symbol in the
brain’s dorsal stream. But the fastest way to read a word is by sight, which is
important for reading fluency and comprehension. Without reading fluency, word
reading takes all of one’s working memory, and comprehension is impaired.

So the reader’s goal is to transfer an unknown word from the dorsal stream (word
attack) to the ventral stream (automatic sight word reading) (Feifer, Nader,
Flanagan, Fitzer, Hicks, 2014). Competency in both decoding and sight word
recognition are needed however, with the former proceeding the latter during reading
skill development.

SHOULD WE TEACH CHILDREN TO MEMORIZE WORDS INSTEAD OF DECODING THEM?

The answer is NO. It is important to NOT let children try to learn words by sight only
(e.g., guessing at words based on initial letter or total word configuration).

Why?

Because as the lexicon expands with increasing age there are too many words to try
to memorize, so decoding of harder words is necessary for words we don’t
automatically recognize by sight, and then we can access them via the slower dorsal
stream (Hale & Fiorello, 2004).

WHAT DO SPECIFIC PROBLEMS WITH READING LOOK LIKE? WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERVENTION?

The following table highlights some of the problems students experience during
reading. No one pattern is “clear cut” because reading competencies are
interrelated, and there may be more than one of the following problems in the same
child, especially if a reading LD is present. However, understanding these patterns is a
good first step toward developing effective interventions for children with reading
disabilities (Crews & D’Amato, 2010; Feifer & DeFina, 2000; Fletcher & Vaughan, 2009).

Phonetic Visual
Reading
Coding and Word Procssing/Rapid
Comprehensio
Sound/Symbo Recognition Automatic
n
l Association Naming
 Difficulty Comprehension
recognizing May have difficulty not impaired for
words and with visual oral language or
Difficulty letters in discrimination or sentences
learning  visual print, may recognition of presented
letters see lip letters; makes orally, but
movement phonemic impaired for
when equivalent errors written
reading sentences

Over-relies
Comprehension
on sight Good visual
directly related
word memory may lead
to words
approach. to adequate
Difficulty misread; as
Guesses at reading
learning number of
words by performance in
sounds for inaccurate
initial letter early grades (not
letters guesses
or whole later grades,
increases,
word where decoding is
comprehension
configuratio needed)
declines
n
 Slow and
laborious
Comprehension
reading, with Letter reversals, b
errors frequent
many for d, p for q; m for
Difficulty with as majority of
misread w, Letter and
sound working
words; reads number
(phoneme) – memory is
with little inversions; poor
symbol taxed by
expression, memorization of
(grapheme) decoding, oral
but lip words and linking
association comprehension
movement meaning to read
may be
seen during words
adequate
silent
reading

Confuses word
Slow and
order (syntax);
laborious Re-reads words
Frequent errors
Difficulty reading, with and skips lines
in
breaking apart many while reading;
comprehension
words or misread complains that
due to working
combining words; some eyes hurt or rubs
memory being
parts of words sight word eyes; loses place
taxed or poor
reading may while reading
word
be used
relationships

Reasonable Rarely uses Sequencing and Slow laborious

phonetic punctuation tracking  errors, reading
misspellings when will say “on” interferes with
“akshun” reading, for no or “saw” fluency,
for action sounds out for was;  working
all words, Complains of eyes memory, and
even sight hurting or sore comprehension;
words, such when reading, and often re-reads a
as “righut” words or letters passage
for the move (“jump”) on numerous times
 before
word right the page understanding
it

Working
memory
problem leads
May not have to poor text
Good sound- problems with meaning or
Recognizes a
symbol visual processes, connected text
majority of
association for but could have understanding;
words
decoding sequential so poor
taught
words processing comprehension
problem of sentences
and passages
despite good
word reading

 Most children may experience one or more of these problems during their reading
skill development, therefore, it is important to note if the pattern is consistent over
time, and resistant to intervention (Crews & D’Amato, 2010; Feifer & Della Toffalo,
2007).

In addition, it is important to recognize that good readers and children with reading
LDs differ in their brain function and error patterns, so a good error analysis is
critical for developing effective interventions for affected children (Feifer et al,
2014; Cao, Bitan, Chou, Buma, & Booth, 2006; Simos et al., 2005, 2007).

Teaching Reading: Linking Assessment and Intervention

There are a number of valuable resources for teaching children with reading problems
and reading LDs. The following evidence-based intervention strategies were
developed based on a number of important resources, including Berninger & Wolf
(2009), Feifer & Della Toffalo (2007), Fry, 2010; Mercer, Mercer, & Pullen (2008), and
Shawitz (2005). Several of these intervention strategies recognize the National
Reading Panel (2000) findings that effective reading instruction addresses
alphabetics, fluency, and comprehenison. 

    

Click here to access the handout Interventions for Sound/Symbol Association and

Phonetic Coding (K-2).

Click here to access the handout Interventions for Sound/Symbol Association and

Phonetic Coding (3+).