NCTE 2021

Building strong reading skills involves many different elements. One often overlooked element in second language reading instruction is building strong bottom-up reading processes. Bottom-up reading processes begin with the smallest units of language and build up from there: phonemic awareness, blending of sounds, sound/symbol knowledge, decoding skills, and sight word recognition. These processes are often classified as part of phonics instruction. To help readers be successful, the explicit instruction of bottom-up processes is essential.
This session will introduce teachers to the rationale for explicit instruction in bottom-up reading processes. We will introduce you to a systematic approach for teaching these processes and provide an interactive tool for learning this approach. We will also share tips for classroom instruction that will support the explicit teaching of bottom-up reading processes.