Connecticut State Department of Education

Teacher of the Year Ceremony
Due to inclement weather, the Teacher of the Year Ceremony has been postponed to December 16, 2025 from 5-7pm. Doors will open at 4pm. The Ceremony will take place at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, and the order of events will remain the same.

The Four-Part Processing Model

Diagram showing the four-part processing model with interconnected sections.
Adams, M. A. (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Reprinted with permission from MIT Press.

The four-part processing model is a conceptual framework that illustrates the process of word recognition in the brain. The dual arrows go both ways to show how all four processors work together simultaneously to support the work of those around them. When teaching students to deconstruct words, all four processors should be engaged to maximize learning.

  • The orthographic processor filters through the letters (graphemes) in the word.
  • The phonological processor connects the letters (graphemes) with their sounds (phonemes) and blends them together to make a word. It is activated by speech and can be reactivated when the student subvocalizes or repeats the word.
  • The meaning processor connects the word with knowledge that the reader has accumulated about it, including related words (e.g., have, had, having, has, etc.) and past experiences. This is how vocabulary can be an important part of decoding words.
  • The context processor compares the word with the reader’s overall interpretation of the text.

References

  • Adams, M. A. (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning About Print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  • Scarborough, H. (2023). The Reading Rope: Key Ideas Behind the Metaphor. Retrieved from The Reading League: https://www.thereadingleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/TRLC-Educators-and-Specialists-The-Reading-Rope-Key-Ideas-Behind-the-Metaphor.pdf
  • Seidenberg, M. (2017). Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It. New York: Basic Books.
  • Seidenberg, M.S. & McClelland, J. L., 1989. A distributed, developmental model of word recognition and naming. Psychological Review, 96(4), 523-568.