Decoding is the strategy to make sense of printed words and pronounce them correctly. Which option best describes decoding?

• A. The strategy to map letters to sounds to pronounce words.
• B. Creating new words from scratch.
• C. Guessed word approach without letter knowledge.
• D. A technique used only in advanced reading.

Answer: (A)

Decoding is the ability to map letters to their sounds and blend those sounds to pronounce a word. This foundational skill lets a reader sound out unfamiliar words by using letter-sound relationships, so the description that best fits decoding is about linking letters to sounds to say the word aloud. Creating new words from scratch isn’t about reading text; it doesn’t involve decoding. A guessed-word approach without letter knowledge relies on context or memory rather than sounding out letters, so it doesn’t describe decoding. And decoding isn’t something only used in advanced reading; it’s taught early and used at all levels.