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TALENTS IN THE LEFT BRAIN
Instead of one bird song meaning "territory," we have pages of words on a estate agents
contract. (If complexity of vocabulary and grammar is a measure of human evolution, then this
implies that, on the average, left-brained women who talk a lot are more "human" than most
men who do more grunting, and lawyers, poets, and talk-show hosts may represent more
evolutionarily advanced, human careers.)

Books give children exposure to much more complex vocabulary, and proper grammar, than
children will ever hear from oral language in normal family or school life. This is especially true if
parents read to the children, which gives young children access to language and ideas years
ahead of their own reading ability. Encourage your children to read, read, read!!!!

Vision and Reading Vision in the human left brain is specialized for reading. The left brain learns
to see arrangements of lines we call alphabet letters.
For example...

The visual cortex looks for simple things such as " l o / "

Then the brain learns to perceive arrangements of lines as letters "dbpqv "

Then the brain learns to perceive arrangements of letters as words.
Phonics and Spelling We think in the sounds of a language -- and can even think with a foreign
accent. Reading is merely a visual gimmick tacked onto our oral vocabulary and grammar. It is
common to have people who can speak but not read; it is impossible to have a person who
can read but not understand the same language when spoken.
Children at age 6 years have a good oral vocabulary and grammar. Also, their visual cortex has
usually developed enough to distinguish the visual shapes of letters. Now they are ready for
reading.

There is a special part of the cortex, called the "angular gyrus" which has evolved to match
sounds with letters. (A "gyrus" is simply a fold in the cortex that bulges up, while a "sulcus" is a
valley.) This is the area so important for spelling.

Existing oral vocabulary ------> phonics <--- visual perception of letters
||
ability to read

The angular gyrus develops from about age 6 to 9, then it is mostly finished for most people.
Done. If children are exposed to good phonics training in early schooling, they will tend to be
much better at spelling and reading. For example, the term "word attack skills" means using
phonics to sound out letters until they trigger a match with the sound of a word already in the
brain.