- One should identify the words he is reading from the printed material. This process is called word recognition and forms an integral part of reading.
- The reader should put together the words that are familiar to him. In this way, he will derive meaning from these words, which will add to the accuracy and spontaneity of reading. He will be able to achieve fluency in the process that will encourage him to read more.
- One should construct correct sentences while reading to derive a sense of understanding. This process is termed comprehension and is very crucial for the reader.
Often a reader can understand the message given through a printed document without identifying all the words written. For example, many times, people get handwritten notes that are messy and not understandable. However, the reader manages to understand the message conveyed through the note without decrypting all the words.
Similarly, people can also figure out many words even if they cannot extract the perfect meaning of a note. Many stories, poems, and documents are written in words that do not exist in reality or are different from the ones used in everyday life. Constant reading and perseverance can help a person get through the meaning of these words and understand the message conveyed through them.
There are many times when the process of reading and understanding do not get along well. One needs a lot of time in deciphering what he is reading. This can prove tedious and time-consuming for a person, leading to loss of interest. Lack of spontaneity in reading and understanding reduces the effortlessness of the process. For example, many notes are written in an inappropriate format that is not easily comprehensible. The words might be simple, but their odd format makes the reading process challenging.
If a person wants to enjoy seamless reading, all the involved factors should fall in place perfectly. These factors include accurate recognition of words, understanding the meaning of the message conveyed, and fluency in the process. Each of these factors is quite complicated but cannot be replaced at the same time. The following section will enlighten readers about the complexities involved with these factors.
Word Recognition Development Skills
Children should learn the following skills for enhancing their ability of word recognition:
- Alphabetical Principle: Many letters are used for forming a particular sound, known as the alphabetic principle. For example, s and h together make the ‘sh’ sound.
- Phonemic Awareness: The process of breaking a word and getting a different sound from the words is called phonemic awareness. For example, the word sleep has three sounds, and they are sl, e, and p.
- Word Study: Evaluating words and spelling them accordingly to ease the reading process. For example, the word tapeworm has two words, tape, and worm.
- Decoding: Using the knowledge of letters and their sounds to pronounce new words.
- Sight Vocabulary: Broadening the vocabulary to recognize more words instantly.
Enhancing Comprehension
Children can improve their ability to understand what they are reading through the following tasks:
- Increasing the knowledge on oral and print vocabularies.
- Gaining more background knowledge about various topics.
- Understanding the process of reading from printed media.
- Figuring out the use of appropriate English words.
- Becoming more enthusiastic about reading different topics.
- Reconstructing sentences if they do not make meaning.
- Reading a wide variety of texts to broaden the horizon.
Fluency Improvement Tactics
The following steps can help children become more fluent in reading:
- Children should develop the habit of reading faster so that their brains can process and understand what is written within a few seconds.
- They should be able to recognize alphabets and words faster so that their level of accuracy increases gradually.
- Readers should be able to recognize and understand words instantly. They should stop making forceful attempts to comprehend what is written. Instead, the process should be spontaneous and effortless.
- One should use appropriate expressions while reading a text. This will increase their interest in reading and make them more attentive.
Besides the above points, one should also remember to motivate children to read by making the process enjoyable.
Motivating Children to Read More
- One should share the messages he is reading with others.
- Reading should be treated as a pleasurable task.
- Children should be motivated to read for both fun and gaining knowledge.
- They should be made accustomed to different types of topics and writing formats.
- Help them explore numerous things through reading.
Therefore, to conclude, it can be said that reading is the process of effortless word recognition and understanding what is written. Children should be motivated to read more to help them gather knowledge.
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