Which option describes the order of the two early reading steps?

Which option describes the order of the two early reading steps?

• A. Encoding first, decoding second.
• B. Decoding first, encoding second.
• C. Comprehension first, decoding second.
• D. Fluency first, encoding second.

Answer: (B)

In early reading, the first focus is on turning print into spoken language, which is decoding. Decoding means sounding out letters and blending those sounds to read words. This builds the core ability to read and understand text. Encoding comes next—spelling words by matching sounds to letters. Because a reader needs to recognize and blend sounds before they can confidently map those sounds to written letters when writing, decoding is done first and encoding second. The other options place encoding first or shift to a different skill, which doesn’t fit the typical progression of learning to read and then write. So the sequence is decoding first, encoding second.

In early reading, the first focus is on turning print into spoken language, which is decoding. Decoding means sounding out letters and blending those sounds to read words. This builds the core ability to read and understand text. Encoding comes next—spelling words by matching sounds to letters. Because a reader needs to recognize and blend sounds before they can confidently map those sounds to written letters when writing, decoding is done first and encoding second. The other options place encoding first or shift to a different skill, which doesn’t fit the typical progression of learning to read and then write. So the sequence is decoding first, encoding second.