Simple view of reading

The simple view of reading is a scientific theory that a student's ability to understand written words depends on how well they sound out (decode) the words and understand the meaning of those words. Specifically, their reading comprehension can be predicted by multiplying their skill in decoding the written words by their ability to understand the meaning of those words. It is expressed in this equation: Decoding (D) x (Oral) Language Comprehension (LC)= Reading Comprehension (RC) The parts of the equation are: (D) Decoding: the ability of the student to sound-out or decode the written words using the principles of phonics (e.g. /k - æ - t/= cat). (LC) language (listening) comprehension: the ability of the student to understand the meaning of the words (as if they had been spoken out loud). (RC) Reading comprehension: the ability of the student to understand the meaning of the written words. To be clear, all of this can be done while doing silent reading. The equation asserts the following: If students can decode (i.e. sound-out) the words accurately (so they make sense) and understand the meaning of those words, they will be able to understand the written words (i.e. reading comprehension). If students can decode the words accurately, but do not understand the meaning of the words, they will not have reading comprehension. (e.g. A reader who can decode the word “etymology” but does not know what it means, will not achieve reading comprehension.) If students cannot decode the words accurately, yet understands the meaning of those words, they will not have reading comprehension. (e.g. A reader who knows what a tyrannosaurus rex is, but cannot decode the words, will not achieve reading comprehension.) The simple view of reading was originally described by psychologists Philip Gough and William Tunmer in 1986 and modified by Wesley Hoover and Philip Gough in 1990; and has led to significant advancements in our understanding of reading comprehension.