The elements of reading are defined by Armbruster, Lehr and Osborn (2001) in their
work, Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read.
These elements should be emphasized in childrens’ reading instruction throughout
their early school years.
• Phonemic Awareness is the ability to hear, identify and manipulate the
individual sounds – phonemes – in spoken words.
• Phonics is the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between
phonemes (the sounds of the spoken language) and graphemes (the letters
and spellings that represent those sounds in written language).
• Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. In
general, vocabulary can be described as oral vocabulary and reading
vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words we use in speaking or recognize
in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or use in print.
• Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When fluent
readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words
quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read
aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if
they are speaking.
• Comprehension is the reason for reading. If readers can read the words but
do not understand what they are reading, they are not really reading.