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- abstract below
- a PowerPoint presentation is available on the conference CD.
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Beyond Decoding: Fluency and Reading Comprehension

Nancy Cushen-White, , CET, CALT

San Francisco, CA cushen@itsa.ucsf.edu

Abstract

Children must understand the relationship between sounds and letters in order to read English. In order to learn how to translate printed symbols (letters) into sounds, it is necessary to understand that speech can be segmented into individual sounds (phoneme awareness) and that segmented phonemes can be represented by print (phonics). This is the essence of the alphabetic principle. Comprehending these relationships is absolutely essential to the development of accurate and rapid word identification skills. However, this basic understanding of phoneme awareness and phonics is necessary but not sufficient for learning to read the English language. When students have learned effective strategies for decoding to identify single words, they may also need direct instruction in learning to chunk words into meaningful phrases to foster fluency and augment comprehension. The objectives of the workshop are to demonstrate a pre-reading activity for presenting vocabulary and activation of background knowledge; and to demonstrate a technique for teaching students how to study text by directly teaching them to chunk words into meaningful phrases. This paper in addition considers the importance of fluency and the construction of meaning from text--reading comprehension.

Disclaimer: all the abstracts presented here have satisfied the academic committee as appropriate for presentation at an international conference. However, the material reflects the views of the authors, not necessarily those of the academic committee or the BDA. No endorsement of any approach, product or service is intended or implied.

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