Top to Bottom - Literacy Reflection

The Bottom-Up theory of literacy and the Top-Down theory of literacy are both blatantly obvious in their differences, and the fact that they are opposites of each other led me first to my belief that either one or the other may be employed in a classroom. The more I think about it though; I find that both of these models can be used in conjunction with one another in a classroom.

I think that many educators, myself included, when they plan the process for their students to learn to read immediately go to the Bottom-Up view. Literacy is associated with learning the letters of the alphabet, learning their sounds, how to sound out words and then, later, how to understand what the words that they are reading actually mean. I know that in my own schooling experience, a phonics based approach, like this one, was how I was taught to read. Even now, when I try to read a new word, I think of how to sound it out and once I have figured out how to read it, I will assign meaning to the word.

The Top-Down view, conversely, looks as the learner first. It tries to access their previous knowledge, their personal learning styles, their lives outside of the classroom and what fits a leaner’s needs best. It seems to me that students who learn in using the Top-Down process may learn to write more efficiently than those taught using Bottom-Up methods. They are exposed to many different types of literature and understand the semantics and syntax that goes into reading and writing.

I can see how these two strategies could easily fit together. All readers need to understand the alphabetic principle and have phonemic awareness. Additionally, all readers need to have their own learning styles and previous knowledge accessed. By combining these two processes together, I can see a student having a successful and positive learning experience.