Theories of the Reading

Process
• Bottom-up
• Top-down
• Interactive
• Transactional
 Bottom-up
•Theory which focuses on the belief
that students who have a strong
understanding of the relationship
between letters and sounds will be
successful when they encounter
unfamiliar words

•Begins with the introduction of

letters and sounds; once mastered,
words are presented; after
knowledge of these, sentences are
taught; from there, paragraphs are
addressed with the final phase
being reading full text
 Bottom-up
•The ultimate goal in this theory is the
comprehension of text

•Automaticity: the internalization of a

process until it is so automatic it no
longer requires attention

•Worksheets and various other things

that promote practice are used to help
teach the letters, sounds, and words
 Top-Down
•Capitalizes on the experiences and
knowledge a child brings to the
reading process, coupled with the
child’s purpose for reading

•Supporters believe that children

can learn to read by using their
experiences and knowledge of print
to make sense of what they read

•The more students know about

what they are to read, the less they
need to rely on exact interpretation
 Top-down
•Instruction is based on children’s
own language (LEA: Language
Experience Approach)

•Shares characteristics of the

whole language movement

•Ultimate goal is comprehension

of text
 Interactive
•Combination of the bottom-up
and top-down theories

•The classroom teacher makes

use of precise letter-sound
activities and student generated
writing

•Unknown words from the whole

book are dissected
 Interactive
•Theory suggests that readers use
their background knowledge and
their decoding skills
simultaneously to find meaning in
text

•Ultimate goal is comprehension

 Transactional
•An elaboration of the interactive
model, with emphasis on the
context

•Instead of an interactive
relationship, the reader and text
have a circular relationship in
which each affects the other

•Shares characteristics of
Rosenblatt's reader response
theory
 Transactional
•The reading can be aesthetic
(enjoyment) or efferent (information),
depending on the purpose

•The context (purpose) for reading

affects the content of the retained
material

•Ultimate goal is comprehension

Artwork

“Reading My Book”
by Laura
Age 10
Macomb County, Michigan