What is explicit instruction in teaching reading?

• A. From whole to parts
• B. Address specific skills, progressively from part to whole
• C. Breaking down words to decode them
• D. Recognition of book cover

Answer: (B)

Explicit instruction in reading means teaching reading skills directly and clearly with a planned sequence of steps. It focuses on identifying specific skills—such as phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—and teaching them in small, manageable parts, moving from simple, concrete tasks to more complex reading tasks. The teacher models each strategy, guides students through guided practice with feedback, and gradually releases responsibility to independent practice. This part-to-whole progression helps students master each component before applying it to whole reading tasks. For example, you might first show how to blend sounds to read simple words, then practice blending in sentences, and finally use decoding skills in longer texts. Other options describe approaches that don’t emphasize this clear, skill-by-skill progression.