Not exactly. Most models of reading involve at least two steps: (i) decoding and (ii) assigning meaning. Decoding is translating written letters into blended so

Not exactly. Most models of reading involve at least two steps: (i) decoding and (ii) assigning meaning. Decoding is translating written letters into blended sounds, then meaning is assigned. There is very strong evidence that skilled, fast readers rarely rely on context for decoding, and conversely, that students who are only taught context-based strategies for decoding rather than phonics tend to struggle with reading, find it a chore, and have trouble reading quickly. But for the next step, assigning meaning, context is valuable. Skilled readers do use a variety of context clues, including images, to infer meaning of words they have not encountered before or whose meaning is potentially ambiguous.