In the model known in reading instruction as the three cueing systems, which relates most to how sounds are used to communicate meaning?

• A. Visual cues
• B. Semantic cues
• C. Phonological cues
• D. Syntactic cues

Answer: (C)

Sounds guide reading by linking phonemes to letters so we can pronounce and recognize words. In the three cueing systems, phonological cues focus on the sound structure of language and how those sounds map to written symbols. This lets a reader decode unfamiliar words by blending sounds together and hearing the word in context, which is how sounds are used to communicate meaning in real time. Other cues deal with different aspects of reading—semantic cues draw on meaning from the sentence, syntactic cues rely on grammar and word order, and visual cues involve the appearance or pattern of the word. The emphasis on sound-letter relationships and blending is what makes phonological cues the best fit for explaining how sounds are used to convey meaning.