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Decoding
Decoding means using the letters and spelling patterns in a printed word to work out its pronunciation.
Look through the whole word, connect letters or letter groups with their sounds, and blend those sounds. In ship, sh represents one sound, not two separate sounds.
Knowing a word's spoken meaning can help you recognize the result. Context can check whether a reading makes sense, but it does not replace checking the print. Ask for help with a pattern you have not learned.
An example
Authored example: Compare map and mop.
The first and last letters stay the same. Changing the middle vowel changes the word; guessing from m alone misses that difference.
Try it first
Read the printed word fish aloud. Which letters work together?
Check your thinking
Sh works together for the final sound. Fish has three speech sounds.
A common mix-up: Decoding does not mean saying a separate sound for every letter, regardless of letter groups.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendation 3, pp. 22-26: blending and common spelling patterns
Phonics
Phonics concerns the relationships between written letters or letter groups and speech sounds.
These relationships help with reading and spelling. The letter s represents the first sound in sun; the two letters sh represent the first sound in ship. A letter name and a speech sound are different things.
English spelling uses recurring patterns, but one letter can represent different sounds. Compare c in cat and city. Learn a pattern with examples, then check exceptions instead of treating it as a rule without limits.
An example
Authored example: Compare cap and cape.
The final e is part of a pattern associated with the vowel in cape. It is not a universal rule: have keeps a short vowel.
Try it first
In the printed word shop, which letter group represents one sound?
Check your thinking
Sh represents the first sound. The word has four letters but three speech sounds.
A common mix-up: Knowing phonics does not mean that every unfamiliar word can be read without further help.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendations 2 and 3, pp. 14-26: letter-sound relations, digraphs and spelling patterns
Sight Words
A sight word is a word that a particular reader recognizes accurately and automatically from its spelling.
Sight word describes recognition, not a special type of spelling. A regular word such as map and a word with an unusual spelling such as said can both become sight words.
High-frequency means appearing often in texts. It is a different label: an uncommon word can also be familiar to one reader. Learning connects a word's spelling, pronunciation and meaning; it is not simply memorizing an outline.
An example
Authored example: Mina recognizes both cat and said readily from memory, without working them out this time.
Both are sight words for Mina. Another reader might still need to blend cat or examine ai in said.
Try it first
Must a word be irregular to become a sight word?
Check your thinking
No. Regular and irregular words can both be recognized automatically.
A common mix-up: There is no universal word list that every child instantly knows after the same number of practices.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendation 3, pp. 27-29: regular and irregular high-frequency words
Fluency
Fluent oral reading combines accurate words, a suitable pace, and phrasing or expression that fits the meaning.
It is not a race. Fast reading with missed words is not fluent, and a dramatic voice cannot replace accuracy. Notice meaningful groups of words rather than pausing after every word.
A model, specific feedback and supported rereading offer practice. A second reading need not be better than the first, and a familiar passage does not prove equal fluency on new text.
An example
Authored example: Read 'The little dog slept under the table.'
Try grouping The little dog and slept under the table. Keep the words accurate and use a comfortable pace. Other sensible phrasing can work too.
Try it first
A reader races through this sentence but skips under. What needs attention?
Check your thinking
Accuracy. Check the missed word and reread the sentence at a manageable pace.
A common mix-up: Fluency does not mean maximum speed. Choose a pace that keeps the words accurate and helps convey their meaning.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendation 4, pp. 33-36: accuracy, fluency, feedback and rereading
Main Idea
The main idea is the central point a passage makes. Supporting details develop or explain that point.
A topic names a subject, such as our garden. A main idea says something about it, such as our class shares the garden jobs.
Read the whole passage before deciding. A sentence near the beginning may state the point, but sometimes you need to put it into your own words. Choose an idea that covers important details without adding unsupported claims.
An example
Authored passage: 'Our class waters the garden, pulls weeds, and clears the paths.'
The class does several garden jobs is a fitting main idea. Pulling weeds is one supporting detail, not the whole point.
Try it first
Authored passage: 'Our club offers painting, singing, and dance.' Give its main idea.
Check your thinking
The club offers several arts activities. The passage does not say which activity is best.
A common mix-up: The longest or broadest answer is not automatically the main idea. It must fit this passage.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendation 1, pp. 10-11: summarizing main ideas and details
Inference
An inference is an interpretation supported by clues and relevant knowledge, rather than something directly stated.
First identify what the text actually says. Then explain how those clues support your idea. More than one interpretation may be possible, and a later sentence can change your conclusion.
Relevant knowledge helps, but an assumption can also mislead. Saying may or probably is useful when evidence leaves room for another explanation. An inference about now differs from a prediction about what may happen next.
An example
Authored passage: 'Ari checked the clock again and tapped a foot beside the closed door.'
Ari may be impatient while waiting. The actions support that interpretation, but do not prove why Ari is there.
Try it first
Does the passage establish that Ari is waiting at school?
Check your thinking
No. It mentions a clock and door, but does not identify the place as a school.
A common mix-up: Pointing to a sentence is not enough by itself; explain why it supports the inference.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendation 1, Table 3, pp. 10-12: inferring and checking understanding
Fiction and Nonfiction
Fiction includes invented events. Nonfiction presents information or accounts as factual, but its claims still need checking.
Fiction can include real places and accurate facts. Nonfiction can tell a story, as a biography does, or explain a process. Narrative does not mean fiction.
Look at what the text claims to do, not just its appearance. Pictures, maps, headings and chapters can appear in either kind. A photograph does not prove that an accompanying claim is true.
An example
Authored examples: An invented adventure about a talking rabbit; an account explaining real rabbits' food and homes.
The adventure is fiction. The factual account is nonfiction, though its information must still be accurate.
Try it first
A book tells the life story of a real person and presents the events as factual. Must it be fiction because it tells a story?
Check your thinking
No. A biography is nonfiction presented in a narrative form.
A common mix-up: Nonfiction is a statement of factual purpose, not a guarantee that every sentence is correct.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.
Recommendation 2, pp. 16-20: narrative fiction and nonfiction; Recommendation 4, pp. 30-32: text types and accuracy
Summary
A summary gives the most important information in a shorter form while preserving the original meaning.
For an information passage, keep the main point and the details needed to explain it. For a story, keep the central events and their relationships. Do not add an ending or cause that the text does not supply.
A retelling can include more of a story's sequence and detail. Either task needs a check against the original: being shorter does not make an account accurate.
An example
Authored passage: 'Lea lost her mitten, checked the bench, and found it inside her coat pocket.'
Lea searched for a lost mitten and found it in her pocket preserves the central events without copying every word.
Try it first
Would 'Lea found a mitten on the bench' be a faithful summary?
Check your thinking
No. It changes the place where the mitten was found. The bench was searched, but the mitten was in a pocket.
A common mix-up: A successful summary now does not prove complete understanding or guarantee recall later.
Sources and review details
Reference entry reviewed . This date applies to this entry, not a certification of the whole course. Examples and practice are written for Atlas.