The ROOTS OF READING - Writing is the ability to leave information through symbols while reading is the ability to retrieve information previously written. - Writing is transcribing words we speak into understandable symbols that we see. - We are not born speaking but we are wired to acquire the speech that we hear in a relatively short time flawlessly. - We have the inherent capacity to form concepts and label concepts with words. - Reading is an outgrowth of speaking. It follows that to be a good reader one must be a fluent speaker and commands a wide range of vocabulary. - Unlike speaking, we need to be taught to read and write. We build a vocabulary of using symbols to represent the sounds that make up words. Similarly we represent auditory signs with visual signs. These signs are represented by the letters of the alphabet. - We communicate verbally through speaking and listening. - For written communication, we use writing (sending a message) and reading (retrieving message). The method of representing sounds that make up words with signs is called phonics. - Writing is simply representing the sounds (letters) we use in saying a word. Reading is retrieving the message we wrote. - Analyzing the sounds that make up a word is called decoding. Choosing letters to represent the sounds of the word we want to say is encoding. Decoding and encoding are the cornerstones of reading and writing. - At first the process of decoding is slow but with practice, automaticity sets in and decoding is faster. Decoding then is reading. - To be an effective reader one needs to develop a subset of skills as follows: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension.
About the Author: I trained as a chemist, earned my MS. in Chemistry at Northwestern University and worked for Abbott Laboratories. With the birth of my first son, my interest shifted to education. I became a certified Montessori teacher in Early Childhood and Elementary Education. After the birth of my second son, nine years later, I founded my own Montessori school, Glencoe Montessori School. I became a certified K-9 elementary teacher in the State of Illinois, earned my doctorate in Early and Middle Childhood Education from Nova Southeastern University. Coming from a scientific background and entering into a new field of endeavor, I purposely sought out activities that enriched my background in the humanities. These new activities gave me a more balanced background to go into teaching. I engaged in International folk dancing for 10 years, ballroom dancing for 14 years, Two-step dancing, for two years. I sang in the church choir for 12 years and sang in women's barbershop chorus for a year. I rejoined the barbershop chorus five years ago and am currently engaged in singing with the group. Meanwhile I was convinced that communication through speech was an asset so I joined Toastmaster International, a public speaking club.