Reading Mastery Theory

John Steinbeck once said that "Learning to read is probably the most difficult and revolutionary thing that happens to the human brain." Developmental brain stages that begin as early as birth in turn affect one 's ability to read and read well. Through auditory language infants begin to recognize sounds and speech patterns, and yet this is only the very first phase in literacy development. These beginning skills will be built upon so that language both written and spoken can be understood. Sounds become words, words begin to have meaning, with meaning words can form sentences until eventually the act of true reading, comprehending, relating and reacting to what has been read is developed. When this foundation is not established or when …show more content…
The theory behind this program is that in order for anyone to truly enjoy reading they must be able to analyze and understand the semantics and pragmatics of language and not just the overall picture. By analyzing sentences, this program teaches comprehension so that meaning can be grasped through smaller excerpts of text and so that the author 's intentions are not missed. A great book can make someone laugh and cry, but these emotions will not necessary be felt because a reader understands the overall theme of a story. The programs encourage critical thinking skills as well as the development of background knowledge. This program begins with phonemic awareness skills, focuses on auditory understanding and discrimination of sounds before moving onto letter identification. It then works through vocabulary, sentence structure, reading fluency to high order comprehension skills. Some defining aspects of this program is its distinct use of orthography. Reading Mastery uses a different font for letters so that "sounds" can be visually differentiated by learners and words more easily decoded. Along with this are code based reading words that work on the sounds students have learned. Gradually, this font is changed so that students read using a regular font. Elementary level readings expose students to vast forms of literature such as poetry to biographies. Vocabulary is taught by building sentences with a given word and partner readings allow students to practice fluency together while recording errors. This program uses direct instruction, follows common core standards and offers fully scripted lessons for teachers which can be used for intervention, supplementary or stand alone literacy