Decoding is when readers translate printed words into speech. Readers who have learned to associate letters with sounds can blend the sounds together, and determine what the word is. We also call this “sounding it out.”

Sight words are small words that occur often in any text and cannot be sounded out because the phonetic association between the letters and how the word sounds do not align. Therefore, sight words are usually memorised. Words like “the” or “was” are examples of sight words. They’re also called “red words.”

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. It forms the foundation for understanding how letters represent sounds in written language.

Structured Literacy, which we use in our programming, means that reading lessons are systematic and go from simple skills, like learning the sound a letter makes, to understanding how to phonetically read a string of letters as a word. It’s a gradual, but sequential process that builds kids’ skills and confidence over time.

The Science of Reading is a body of research on how people learn to read and the most effective methods for teaching reading. It pulls insights from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and education research. The results indicate that systematic, explicit instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary is key to reading success.

Teaching new reading concepts can be done through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways. That way, kids learn language with four senses—listening, speaking, seeing, and writing.