Reading literacy overview

Oral language involves the development of speaking and listening skills in order to become an effective communicator, and it forms the basis for learning to read. Involving children in rich, decontextualised, extended conversation is an important strategy for strengthening oral language growth, in order to support reading development.

Phonemic awareness is a crucial component in early reading development. It involves hearing the 44 sounds in the English language, and isolating and identifying these phonemes within words. Students learn to blend, segment and manipulate these sounds. Phonemic awareness is a subset of the broader area of phonological awareness which involves hearing syllables and rhymes as well as individual phonemes.

Phonics is the relationship between the 44 sounds in English and the various ways they can be represented by the 26 letters of the alphabet. The understanding of phonics is crucial for young readers to be able to decode words and access texts.

Having a rich, broad vocabulary is linked to reading success. Teachers can support students in understanding and using new words so as to build an abundant vocabulary, with an increased use of more complex, precise and technical words.

Fluency is being able to read a text accurately and efficiently. When reading aloud, students develop the ability to read smoothly, and with appropriate expression. Fluency is seen as the link between decoding a text and making meaning from this text.

Comprehension is more than just understanding a text. It involves being able to make predictions, analyse, retell, summarise, make inferences, evaluate and critique texts. This involves children accessing their personal knowledge, and combining this with various skills and strategies to interpret a range of written, visual and multimodal texts.