Why Some Smart People Can’t Read Chapter 16 Presented by: Kim Rayl & Darryl Sumida

Paradox of Dyslexia “..profound and persistent difficulties experienced by some very bright people in learning to read” (p. 242). Or, to put it another way, “Clinical picture of dyslexia as it has traditionally been defined: an unexpected difficulty learning to read despite intelligence, motivation, and education” (p. 245).

Dyslexia is symptomatic Regardless, many have strong abilities Terror of reading aloud Problems spelling Difficulty finding right word Mispronouncing words Rote memory difficulties Thinking Reasoning Understanding

Another Myth Busted Then- 1920’s until recently proposed that defects in the visual system were to blame for the reversals of letters and words. Eye training was commonly prescribed. Now- problem within the language system in the brain; do not see letters or words backwards, but rather, have difficulty naming the letters. NOT- overall defect in language, localized weakness within a specific component of the language system: the phonologic module.

The Phonologic Model Phonologic module- is where sounds are combined to form words and words are broken down into rudimentary sounds. Phoneme- smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one word from another; forty-four are combined in the English language. Words must be deconstructed into their individual phonemes before being processed by the language system. Eg. Bat is broken down into the individual phonemes b---aaaa---t

“Learning to read is a developmental process during which students make predictable, gradual, qualitative changes over time” Phonemic awareness phonics

Phonemic Awareness “Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken words can be separated and manipulated as minimally contrastive sound units” (Ukrainetz, Nuspl, Wilkerson & Beddes, 2011, p.50).

Phonics Phonics instruction teaches the sound-letter relationship and how certain letter combinations influence the sounds around it when reading words. For example, the letter “c” followed by an “a”, “o”, or “u” sound will produce a “k”-like sound, as in “cat”, “cot”, and “cut”. Similarly, the letter “c” followed by an “e” or “i” will have use an “s”-like sound, as in “cent” and “city”.

Sound-based Confusions Phonemes are less well developed in children with dyslexia; these children have difficulty selecting the correct phoneme and will retrieve a similar sounding phoneme instead, and may order the phonemes incorrectly. Eg. Saying emeny instead of enemy This does not reflect a lack of understanding of the word.

Reading Confusions Dyslexics have difficulty perceiving the underlying structure or component parts (sounds) of words, thus difficulty linking the spoken and written word.

Acquiring the phonemic knowledge to read “The Alphabetic Principle” 1.Awareness that words are not “whole envelopes of sound” (p. 249). 2.Awareness of parts of words 3.Awareness of individual sounds represented by letters 4.Link letters one sees (on paper) to what one hears (spoken language) 5.Printed word has same number and sequence of phonemes as the spoken word 6.Printed word and spoken word are related; both can be deconstructed by sound and those sounds are represented by letters in the printed word

What is “authentic” reading ? “If school definitions of literacy were broadened to promote the kinds of literacy that are valued in the home and in the workplace, such as reading for information and computer literacy, boys would be motivated to succeed and improve” (Taylor, 2004, p.293).

What is “ authentic ” reading ? Classic literature?Learner interests?

“ Personal interest in a subject motivates and facilitates the student to process on a deeper level” (Taylor, p.293)

Illiteracy ≠ dumb Students know the material. Were not formally taught how to read. – Read to by others – Use of audiobooks and video

Phonemic Awareness Implications Students who cannot blend the individual phonemes “/c/-/a/-/t/” together into the word “cat” are likely to have difficulty connecting the sounds of the associated letters into a word.

References Dunn, M.W., & Finley, S. (2010). Children’s struggles with the writing process. Multicultural Education, 18(1), Hoien-Tengesdal, I., & Tonnessen, F-E. (2011). The relationship between phonological skills and word decoding. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 52(1), doi: /j x Immordino-Yang, M.H., & Damasio, A. (2008). The Jossey-Bass Reader on the Brain and Learning. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Mesmer, H.A.E., & Griffith, P.L. (2005). Everybody’s selling it-But just what is explicit, systematic phonics instruction. The Reading Teacher, 59, doi: /RT Taylor, D. (2004). “Not just boring stories”: Reconsidering the gender gap for boys. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(4), Ukrainetz, T.A., Nuspl, J.J., Wilkerson, K., & Beddes, S.R. (2011). The effects of syllable instruction on phonemic awareness in preschoolers. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26(1), doi: /j.ecresq Yopp, H.K. (1995). A test for assessing phonemic awareness in young children. The Reading Teacher, 49(1), Yopp, H.K., & Yopp, R.H. (2000). Supporting phonemic awareness development in the classroom. The Reading Teacher, 54(2),