[verdverm]

The correct idea is Phonics, explained in detail further down.

The section "this is not reading" blew my mind, that people will make up words from pictures that aren't even on the page. Then I thought about social media.

Fascinating article, ColinWright is on fire today (3 front page posts).

[wahern]

> The correct idea is Phonics, explained in detail further down.

That seems too narrow. I think the general idea is that there's no substitute for rote memorization of the basic characteristics of the writing system and its association to pre-existing language knowledge (usually spoken language). Phonics is simply one way to help speed that along in some scripts, though you still need to memorize the alphabet and basic syllables. In Chinese script (logograms), for example, the process is a little different and more laborious, including more initial memorization.

It's like when learning basic arithmetic. One has to learn by rote memorization the numbers 1-10 and their association to the abstract counting groups (2 of this, 4 of that, etc). No phonics involved. Then you similarly need to learn, through rote memorization, basic sums--1+1=2, etc. The concept of summation comes later. Without having that very basic foundation, you can't begin systematically exploring and building abstractions (through inference and, later, deduction) in the language of numbers.

[zaphar]

Phonics is memorizing the alphabet and basic syllables as well as learning how to combine them into a spoken word. It's not narrow since phonics is by definition what you describe.

[wahern]

I was considering the distinguishing characteristic of phonics as sounding out a word so you can make an aural association to a word you already know. So rather than memorizing whole words you can memorize some basic syllables and rules to speed up the recognition and memorization process. You can't do that with a logogram script, or if your first language is sign language. (I'm sure remembering and identifying phonemes is still important for deaf children in the context of a phonetic language, but I'd bet it's a more arduous process, more akin to learning strokes in Chinese logograms.)

[verdverm]

It's about orthographic mapping, discussed near the end

https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2019/08/22/whats-wrong-ho...

[em-bee]

montessori teaches the basic number system by counting beads.

get a pile of beads, count them. get another pile, count them. put the two piles together, count.

they have beads that let you count up to 1000. i don't know at which point they introduce written numbers, but they certainly learn to say and use the numbers, and experience them through counting before reading and writing them.