Skills are acquired through drill and practice. In basketball, soccer, football, or other activities, children are taught basic, fundamental skills that are needed in order to be able to play the game. Once they acquire the basic skills, coaches begin to design plays and prepare the athletes for competition. Much like these sports, in reading, one must develop fundamental skills in order to be able to be able to move from simplistic text to more difficult text. Practicing these skills is pertinent to the development of comprehension and understanding. Thus, the skills are taught explicitly prior to being practiced “on the field”…in a book.

---

---