Theories in reading instruction EDUC 551

1. Theories in reading
instruction
Maria Antonette C. Andres
Jeannel Soco
EFR3-4

2. TOP-DOWN READING MODEL
• Emphasizes what the reader brings to the
text
• Says reading is driven by meaning
• Proceeds from whole to part

3. Views from some researchers
1. Frank Smith – Reading is not decoding
written language to spoken language
2. reading is a matter of bringing
meaning to print

4. FEATURES OF TOP-DOWN
APPROACH
1. Readers can comprehend a selection even though
they do not recognize each word.
2. Readers should use meaning and grammatical cues
to identify unrecognized words.
3. Reading for meaning is the primary objective of
reading, rather than mastery of letters,
letters/sound relationships and words.

5. 4. Reading requires the use of meaning activities
than the mastery of series of word- recognition
skills.
5. The primary focus of instruction should be the
reading of sentences, paragraphs, and whole
selections
6. The most important aspect about reading is the
amount and kind of information gained through
reading.
FEATURES OF TOP-DOWN
APPROACH

6. BOTTOM UP
• Emphasizes a single direction
• Emphasizes the written or printed texts
• Part to whole model
• Reading is driven by a process that results in meaning

7. PROPONENTS OF THE BOTTOM UP
1. Flesch 1955
2. Gough 1985

8. FEATURES OF BOTTOM-UP
Believes the reader needs to:
1. Identify letter features
2. Link these features to recognize letters
3. Combine letter to recognize spelling patterns
4. Link spelling patterns to recognize words
5. Proceed to sentence, paragraph, and text- level
processing

9. INTERACTIVE READING
MODEL
• It recognizes the interaction of bottom-up and top-
down processes simultaneously throughout the
reading process.
• Reading as an active process that depends on reader
characteristics, the text, and the reading situation
(Rumelhart, 1985)
• Attempts to combine the valid insights of bottom-up
and top-down models.

10. PROPONENTS OF THE INTERACTIVE
READING MODEL
1. Rumelhart, D. 1985
2. Barr, Sadow, and Blachowicz 1990
3. Ruddell and Speaker 1985