Literacy

Ever wondered….How do we learn to read? 

Learning to read is a complex and remarkable process that involves various parts of the brain working together. Here's an overview of how our brain learns to read:

Phonological Awareness: The foundation of reading begins with phonological awareness. This involves recognizing and manipulating the sounds, or phonemes, that make up words. For example, understanding that the word "cat" is made up of the sounds /k/, /a/, and /t/.

Phonemic Awareness: This is a more advanced level of phonological awareness. It involves recognizing individual phonemes within words, such as identifying that the word "cat" has three phonemes: /k/, /a/, and /t/.

Phonics: Phonics is the connection between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes). Children learn that specific letters or letter combinations represent certain sounds. For example, they learn that "c" in "cat" makes the /k/ sound, and "a" makes the /a/ sound.

Decoding: Decoding is the process of sounding out words by applying phonics rules. Children use their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences to read unfamiliar words. For instance, they might sound out "cat" as /k/-/a/-/t/ and then blend the sounds together to say "cat."

Fluency: Fluency involves reading with speed, accuracy, and expression. As children practice reading more and more, they become fluent readers who can read text smoothly and comprehend it better.

Vocabulary Development: As children read, they encounter new words and their meanings. This builds their vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Comprehension: Reading comprehension is the ability to understand and make sense of what you read. It involves not only decoding words but also understanding the meaning of the text, making inferences, and drawing connections.

Reading Strategies: As children become more skilled readers, they develop strategies for dealing with challenging texts, such as summarizing, predicting, and questioning.

Overall, learning to read is a dynamic and ongoing process that involves both the development of foundational skills and the integration of higher-order thinking processes. It's a testament to the incredible plasticity and adaptability of the human brain.