This article first expresses the concern that the "top-down" approach is built on sight words and "guessing" through reading. It highlights 4 major advantages of the "bottom-up" approach. The first is the necessity of phonological awareness and the strategies needed to decode words/ break down sounds. This section points out that it is critical that children are able to blend sounds, even if it does not create a full word. The next advantage is that if a student has the ability to blend and use phonological skills, reading comprehension will come much quicker. The final two advantages go into the power of decoding over guessing, and why breaking down the steps of reading into small parts (phonics) can be very effective and helpful for young learners.

While this article does place importance on balancing multiple approaches for student success, it highlights the benefits of the "bottom-up" approach by explaining the effectiveness of this practice for lower-performing subgroups. It says that Gough's simple view of reading makes it easy to digest the sequences and linear progression that is needed for a young reader. It explains that taking the "bottom-up" approach allows for early intervention and specific needs being met. For example, if a student is struggling with blending a certain set of letters, you are easily able to assess that and apply interventions to correct it. The main idea here is that the "bottom-up" theory allows for necessary early intervention and benefits young readers by supporting them early on in their reading experience.

Much like the Georgia Journal of Literacy article, here we read about the foundational skills needed in grade K-3rd that ultimately lead to comprehension growth throughout the rest of a students life. There is a progression from learning to read, into reading to learn. It highlights the benefit of a step-by-step, highlight structured, reading process. The mastery of phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension all play a vital role in a readers development. The "bottom-up" approach allows for a sequence to be followed, creating stability and predictability for both the teacher and student.

This article highlights that the top-down model works towards creating a reader that process and thinks deeply about meaning, not just codes or symbols on a page. The end goal is strong comprehension and understanding as they not only navigate books, but also signs, codes, and other comprehension based opportunities in the real world. With the top-down approach, students should be heavily engaged in the text or story being read. This means there should be connection, not just decoding. It takes a more abstract form than bottom-up and is a less predicable system. Friedman writes about the importance of purpose in reading and the long lasting effects it can have on a learner.

Beginning on page 38, this article describes the need for a top-down approach in ELLs development. It describes the pros of auditory learning and how it is connected to the top-down approach to reading instruction. Especially for ELLs, hearing the language and processing interesting information is key to making those necessary connections to the English language. This article points out that as students are striving to learn English as more mature students (middle school, etc), they are able to identify strategies that can help. To best assist in application of these skills, we must constantly model and walk students through previewing texts, identifying topics, and other top-down strategies.