Vocabulary

In 1986, Philip B. Gough and William E. Turner developed the Simple View of Reading model. The model explains the importance not only of teaching children to read but also of helping them connect with the reading through language comprehension. If a child can successfully decode the word “optimism” but has no idea what it means, the passage is still hard to understand. Author Norene A. Bunt states that the earliest studies found “knowledge of word meanings has a strong relationship with reading comprehension,” “achievement in general,” and “reading proficiency” (Bunt, 2024, p. 43).

The simple view of reading states:

Decoding x Language Comprehension = Reading Comprehension.

To understand the simple view of reading model, values between 0 and 1 are assigned to both the decoding factor and the language comprehension factor. A value of 0 shows that a student is unable to decode or understand words. A value of 1 indicates that the student can decode or understand words. Let’s see how this equation plays out using several scenarios.

Scenario 1: If a child is not able to decode (read) words and is assigned a value of 0, but has vocabulary knowledge and is assigned a 1, then the equation reads:

‍ D (0) x LC (1) = RC (0)

Scenario 2: If a child can decode (read) words and is assigned a value of 1, but has limited vocabulary knowledge and is assigned a 0, then the equation reads:

‍‍ D (1) x LC (0) = RC (0)

With either scenario, the result is the same: reading comprehension is 0.

Scenario 3: If a child is partially able to decode (read) words and is assigned a value of 1/2, and has some vocabulary understanding and is assigned a value of 1/2, then the equation reads:

‍‍ D (1/2) x LC (1/2) = RC (1/4)

In this scenario, reading comprehension is only 1/4.

With this information, it is important to understand that a solid Orton-Gillingham program not only focuses on decoding (reading) words but also on building a child’s vocabulary.

References

Bunt, N. A. (2024). Solving the literacy puzzle: Practical strategies for integrating the science of reading into classroom instruction. Solution Tree.