The first two chapters of Weaver's "Reading Process and Practice" explore the differences between the skills approach to literacy and the comprehensive sociopsycholinguistic approach. It demonstrates that the skills approach is a "bottom up" model in which students are taught the graphic symbols and letter sounds, then that these sounds can be blended together to create words that have a meaning. This approach consists of discrete sequential steps which result in gaining meaning through text as a natural occurrence after text is read fluently. This is the model adopted by many phonics based programs available in schools; it stresses phonemic awareness as one of the most important factors related to literacy instruction.
The sociopsycholinguistic model of literacy takes into account several more factors in regards to how a reader gains meaning in a textual transaction, namely pragmatics. Pragmatics refers to the "situational, social, and cultural factors" that influence a reader's schema. A reader will use different cuing systems based on the purpose for their reading and the situation in which it occurs. Social and cultural factors affect a readers prior knowledge of content and language. In contrast with the skills approach, this comprehensive model operates on a "top down" theory, in that the most important thing to gain from text is the meaning and the phonics related skills can be taught within that context.
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