Components on Skilled Reading

The Reading Rope (Hollis Scarbough, 2001)

Introduction

  • Visual representation illustrating components for skilled reading.

  • Appeared in: Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities.

Left Side: Language Comprehension Skills

  1. Background Knowledge

    • Application of facts and experiences to reading.

  2. Vocabulary

    • Use of lexicon in both breadth and depth.

  3. Language Structures

    • Knowledge of syntax and morphology applied to reading.

  4. Verbal Reasoning

    • Use of analogies and metaphors in comprehension.

  5. Literary Knowledge

    • Understanding of print concepts and genres.

Right Side: Word Recognition Skills

  1. Phonological Awareness

    • Sound-level knowledge applied in reading.

  2. Decoding

    • Application of the alphabetic principle to reading.

  3. Sight Recognition

    • Recognition of highly familiar words in text.

Interrelationship of Skills

  • Integration of language comprehension and word recognition for strategic and automatic reading.

  • Development leads to skilled reading and text comprehension (reading AND listening).