The ALL Model of Language & Literacy

Analysis begins with observation, with noticing.

What are the labels inside the three "bubbles" – the circled components – in the image to the left?

What do you notice about the pictures behind these components?

Which labels describe the relationships, or connections, between these components?

To read well, a person needs to (1) “get the words off the page” and turn them into speech (not necessarily spoken out loud, just using the speech processing part of the brain).  (2) Then, the reader needs to make associations in his/her brain between the 'spoken' words and their meanings, just as he/she does when listening (that is, when processing actual spoken language).

Part (1) is knowing the CODE (and using it when reading): that is, being able to decode, which is to sound out accurately, consistently, and repeatedly until word recognition becomes automatic.

Part (2) is COMPrehending – knowing what the spoken words refer to in the world (their meanings), at the word level and also at the phrase, clause, paragraph (and beyond = contextual) levels.

In the Word Revelation activities, students will learn to do both (1) and (2) in a direct, systematic way which they will ultimately apply when reading real texts.

People maximize their reading and spelling skills when they become automatic, habitual decoders who reliably apply their skills when reading actual texts.