Reading Skills

You can find ways to increase every area of reading in this section. There are 6 main areas involved in learning to read:

Phonemic Awareness – this is practiced by hearing and manipulating the sounds in words; a precursor to reading.

Alphabet – knowing that each letter and combination of letters in the English language make certain sounds. Phonics goes hand in hand with the alphabet.

Decoding – learning how to sound out unknown words and eventually memorize many words in order to read. First learn to read and then read to learn.

Comprehension – understanding the meaning of what you are reading. This is the whole purpose of reading. Comprehension decreases or increases depending on the skill level of all the other components of reading.

Fluency – The speed which you read. A fluent reader does not need to sound out each word but can read the passage fluently. A struggling reader will have slow and choppy reading skills.

Vocabulary – knowing the meaning of each word you read. Each subject matter will have their own vocabulary words. For example, a science class will have different vocabulary words than an English class. Vocabulary knowledge is crucial to comprehending the meaning of what you are reading.