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The Stages
Of The Reading Process
If you have taken an assessment,
such as a
reading inventory, of your child’s reading ability,
you have taken the first step toward helping your child become
a better reader.
The next step is to determine
which of the stages of the reading process your child is in.
Understanding these stages of the reading process, and the
characteristics of each, will give you a greater insight into
how to help your child progress through the stages of the
reading process and become a strong, capable reader.
These strategies, as described by
reading specialists E. Sutton Flynt and Robert B. Cooter, Jr.
are as follows:
Stages of
the Reading Process #1: Making Early Connections – Describing
Pictures
In the first of the stages of the reading process, the child
is unable to read stories. Instead, he is at the stage where
he can describe pictures, but is unable to make much of a
story by looking at the pictures.
Hopefully, a child who is in
elementary school has already progressed beyond the first of
the stages of the reading process. But, there are some
children who have not moved beyond this stage by the time they
are in elementary school. This is particularly true of special
needs children.
The characteristics of a child in
the first of the stages of the reading process include:
• Able to describe pictures in books
• Sense of story is limited
•Able to follow verbal directions
• Oral vocabulary is appropriate for grade level or age
• Attention span is appropriate for grade level or age
• Responds appropriately to questions
• Able to make connections between pictures
Stages of the Reading Process
#2: Forming a Story by Connecting Pictures
By the second of the stages of the reading process, the child
has started to learn more about story structure and can move
beyond just describing the pictures she sees. In this reading
stage the child is:
• Able to describe an oral story based on pictures on several
pages in a book
• Only able to use childlike, or “storyteller,” language to
tell the story, rather than book language (such as using
phrases like “once upon a time.”)
Stages of the Reading Process #3: Transitional Picture Reading
The child at this reading stage is still only able to tell
stories based on pictures but is:
• Able to understand how the pictures connect to the story
• Beginning to mix storyteller language with book language
Stages of the Reading Process #4: Advanced Picture Reading
At the fourth of the stages of the reading process, the child
has finally grasped the difference between storytelling and
book language. A child in this reading stage is:
• Able to describe an oral story based on pictures on several
pages in a book
• Able to tell a story using book language.
Stages of the Reading Process #5: Early Print Reading
A child at this level of the stages of the reading process
is
beginning to understand the purpose of print and is beginning
to read it. Characteristics include:
• Able to tell a story using pictures
• Understands that print moves from left to right and from top
to bottom
• Can use book language to make up part of the story, but is
able to read a few words
Stages of the Reading Process #6: Early Strategic Reading
If your child has progressed through the
first six stages of
the reading process, he is capable of reading, but might make
several miscues when reading material that is otherwise
appropriate for his grade level.
If a child is
developing typically, he should be in stage 6 by age 5 or 6. Characteristics
of a child at this stage include:
• Uses context clues to guess at unknown words and the guesses
make sense.
• Recognizes beginning sounds in words and is able to use them
to guess at unknown words
• Tries sounding out words
• Recognizes word parts, such as root words and affixes
Stages of the Reading Process #7: Moderate Strategic Reading
A child who has
reached the last of
the stages of reading, who has developed
typically, should be in stage 7 by age 7 and beyond.
At this stage the child is reading appropriately for her grade level.
Children at this stage will:
• Use context clues and word parts to decode unknown words
• Self correct when making miscues
• Be able to retell the story
• Show an understanding of vowel sounds
If you have taken a reading inventory, as discussed in
Testing
First Grade Reading Skills, then
you should have an idea of the type of miscues, if any, your
child makes.
If your child makes guess at words, but the words don’t make
sense, or if your child skips words altogether, he is likely
still in reading stage 5.
If, however, your child makes
guesses at words and the guessed word starts with the same
letter as the missed word and the guessed word makes sense
within the context, then he is in reading stage 6.
If your
child makes miscues, but recognizes his own mistakes and
corrects them, then he is in reading stage 7. If your child is
at this stage, it is time to move him on to more difficult
reading material.
Understanding which of the stages of the reading process your
child is at is key to helping him become a better reader and
advance to the next reading stage.
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