Master Ohio's Reading Challenge 2026 – Ace Your OAE Foundations of Reading!

Phonic decoding refers to the ability to convert written letters into sounds, which is a crucial skill in the reading process. This involves recognizing the letter-sound relationships in words, enabling a reader to blend sounds together to form words. When children learn to decode phonetically, they can take individual letter sounds and combine them to read unfamiliar words, thereby enhancing their overall reading fluency and comprehension. This foundational skill is vital for developing proficient reading abilities.

The other options do not accurately describe phonic decoding. For instance, summarizing a text involves understanding and condensing information rather than breaking down the words themselves into phonetic sounds. Guessing words from pictures relies on visual cues, which is unrelated to the phonetic breakdown of words. Similarly, reading aloud accurately focuses on pronunciation and expression rather than the fundamental process of decoding the written text into sounds. Thus, option B clearly aligns with the definition of phonic decoding.