Module 3: Reading Reflection

Marilyn Adams made a bold claim to say that rather than rely on context to read, good readers process individual letters and words in a text. I do not agree with this statement. Although this statement sounds accurate at first glance, there are large amounts of research that argue the opposite. As a reader, I would think I read letter by letter, word by word, and line by line as I go about reading a text. This however is much less efficient and takes more time. As a skillful reader, I in fact don't read the way Marilyn Adams believes I would.

Researchers have studied eye movements and fixations to prove Marilyn Adams wrong. Some key findings show how a skillful reader's eyes actually move during reading. First, "good readers do not read word-by-word if this means fixating on every word of reading every word as it is printed on the page" (Weaver, 2002). A good reader is able to understand the meaning of the text, without fixating on every word as it is printed on the page. Second, "good readers do not read word-by-word as if the words were in a list rather than in a context" (Weaver, 2002). Good readers use the context of words before and after in order to identify words. This allows readers to move at a greater speed and fixate on fewer words. Lastly, research shows that "good readers do not read strictly left to right" (Weaver, 2002). Skillful readers often look ahead or go back to repeat words and confirm their meaning. Readers go ahead in the text to identify words and clarify meaning.

The techniques of looking back in the text and looking forward, show that a reader is extremely skillful and is able to use resources in the text to derive the correct meaning. When readers read letter by letter, word by word, and line by line, they are not using all the possible resources available to them in order to grasp the meaning of the text. It takes that type of reader more time to gain meaning and comprehension, because their eyes are fixating on every word rather than checking their reading and looking ahead.

I would argue that beginning and emergent readers are the ones reading the way Marilyn Adams believes skillful readers do. When children are learning to read, they need to look at the letters for sounds in order to put them into words and then form sentences. This process reflects early reading rather than the type of reading skillful readers participate in. Marilyn Adams was more so describing this stage of reading rather than how skillful readers use previous words as well as upcoming words to read quickly and efficiently. As readers become more skillful, they too will read this way, rather than the way Marilyn Adams described.

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process & practice. (3rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.