How do we learn to read words on a page?
Squiggle Code Unlocked
How do we learn to read words on a page?
Right now, your eyes are doing something almost magical. These little black squiggles aren't pictures of anything. And yet, somehow, a voice is speaking inside your head. How did that happen? Nobody is born knowing how to read. So let's rewind to the very beginning and watch a brain learn to turn squiggles into words.
It starts long before letters. A baby hears thousands of spoken words — "milk," "doggy," "more" — and slowly learns that mouth-sounds carry meaning. By the time a kid meets a book, their brain already holds a huge cupboard of spoken words. Reading is really about connecting those familiar sounds to a brand-new code: the shapes on the page.
