Beginning Reading Programs: The Basic Components

The basic components of a beginning reading program are phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. All five components go hand-in-hand and fit together in a big reading puzzle. Without all five pieces, students can't become avid readers.

Phonemic awareness is needed because it is effective in improving reading with all types of children under a variety of teaching conditions. Phonemic awareness is needed because it goes hand in hand with teaching phonics. Students also need to learn how to decode words. Decoding is an essential and primary means of recognizing words. There are simply too many words in the English language to rely on memorization as a primary word identification strategy.

Researchers report that first graders who are taught phonics systematically are better decoders and spellers and show significant improvement in their ability to comprehend text. For older students, it helps in all areas other than comprehension. Phonics is also needed in order to help beginning readers understand how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes) to form letter-sound correspondences and spelling patterns and to help them learn how to apply this knowledge in their reading.

Vocabulary is needed since it is an essential skill for learning to read and write. Vocabulary strategies are necessary when students are reading to learn. Vocabulary is needed since students need to know words in book to understand what is happening in the book. Students who have lower vocabulary skills will most likely be isolated from their peers and have limited social skills. Vocabulary is also needed because comprehension can't be understood without a clear understanding of the role vocabulary development and vocabulary instruction play in the process

Fluency is needed because it is a critical skill that links word recognition and comprehension, and it enables a student to process meaning. Fluency is an important component in a reading program and should not be neglected. Fluency is needed because fluency and comprehension go hand in hand.

Comprehension is the most important part of reading. Comprehension is needed because it is essential not only to academic learning in all subject areas but also to lifelong learning. To be able to construct meaning from text, a child must have general language comprehensions skills and also the ability to accurately and fluently identify words in print.