Reading in Science

CPD: Literacy in Science for Teachers (by Amanda Fleck), topic 3.1.1

To have a greater understanding of science, students need to be able to read and understand complex technical literature.

Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound. Phonemes can be put together to make words. There are 44 sounds in the English alphabet.
Grapheme: A way of writing down a phoneme. Graphemes can be made up of:
1 letter: e.g p.
2 letters: e.g. sh.
3 letters: e.g. tch.
4 letters: e.g ough.
Decode: To read a word.
Encode: To spell a word.

As students learn to read, they move through three phases:
When students meet an unfamiliar word or phrase, they decode it using their phonic knowledge and their understanding of similar word patterns.
Once they recognise what the word says, they move towards the visual recall of this word and be able to read it as a whole, on sight.
Later, when they have read and understood the word on multiple occasions, it becomes automatic for them, and they become fluent.

Test yourself on Reading in Science

The three phases of learning to read
What is the correct sequence of phases a child goes through when learning how to read?