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Visual processing
The visual processing system gradually builds up detailed visual images of a growing number of
words and word parts that can be processed and named automatically, with the aid of the other
processing systems. Accuracy, fluency and automaticity in word recognition (ie words become
‘sight’ words) depend greatly on the completeness and rapidity of a student’s visual memory.
Students’ visual processing is supported by their knowledge of the conventions of print.
Conventions of print
Learning the conventions of print can begin during shared reading prior to letter–sound
instruction.
The teacher:
• provides students with opportunities to hear and see the text simultaneously with
the teacher pointing to each word as it is read during shared reading
• explicitly teaches students:
– that words are made up of letters and are of different lengths (eg models writing
the individual letters to make up a word)
– that the spaces between words indicate that a new word is coming up
– the meaning of punctuation (eg ‘a comma tells me to pause’)
• provides students with guided practice in identifying words:
– pointing to each word as it is read aloud by the teacher during shared reading
– clapping each word in a printed sentence as it is read aloud by the teacher
– cutting a printed sentence into individual words and reconstructing the sentence
• provides guided practice by asking individual students to come and point to where
the teacher should start to read a text during shared reading
• models text directionality, for example:
– where to go at the end of a line of print when there is only one line, or when
there are two or more lines on a page
– where to start reading and which direction to go for a range of texts
• asks students to move their finger from left to right until they reach the end of the
sentence (identifying the full stop)
• starts with texts that have a conventional layout of print, progressing to texts with
a range of layouts (eg text in bubbles or text arranged haphazardly on the page)
• uses scaffolding, where necessary, by identifying where to start reading using a visual
prompt (eg placing a star on the left of the word)
• provides sufficient practice for students to use directional rules during guided and
independent reading
• teaches the terminology of print units (eg letter, word, sentence, exclamation mark).
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Support Materials for Students with Special Education Needs
English K–6
R
eading
IMPLEMENTATION