After all, reading may be the most important skill children learn in school. Reading fluency opens endless opportunities for lifelong learning. That’s why schools and teachers everywhere are constantly striving to improve the way they teach this fundamental skill. There is a term that has come up in recent years, “the science of reading.” But what is the science of reading? How does it help teachers and students? Here’s an overview:
What is the science of reading?
Learning Disabilities and ADHD Network
Over the past 40 years or so, tens of thousands of studies have been conducted on the teaching and learning of reading in multiple languages and countries. The Science of Reading brings together evidence from these studies to help us truly understand the best ways to teach and learn reading. The NWEA website describes this as follows: “The science of reading is a converging body of evidence organized around models that explain how and why what matters and what works in reading and writing instruction.”
The science of reading is an important foundation designed to support all children in becoming proficient readers. Literacy must be inclusive, diverse, and equitable so that all students have what they need to become successful readers.
—Dr. Maria Murray, Reading League CEO
Rather than guessing or experimenting with what will work, teachers use structured learning approaches that are proven to be successful. Students learn research-backed methods to help them master this important skill. Most importantly, this method works well with all types of students, including (perhaps especially) those who are struggling.
The ultimate goal for students is reading comprehension, in which they are able to identify words individually and understand their meanings as a whole fluently and efficiently.
Are there any videos about the science of reading?
We created a video on this topic featuring teacher and reading expert Hilary Statham. She is an ESL teacher and regularly speaks on this topic. Learn more about her here. Her videos are summarized in just 2 minutes, making them perfect to share with family and community members.
What are the key elements of reading science?
Learning Disabilities and ADHD Network
After analyzing all the studies, the National Reading Panel identified five factors as important to reading comprehension:
phonics
Phonics is recognizing letters and letter mixtures and the sounds they make. Imagine your students practicing pronouncing letters individually and pronouncing things like “ch” and “sh.”
Showing your students videos like this one from Reading Buddies is a great way to explain how to use your mouth to make sounds.
Click here to watch a video from Reading Buddies that combines the science of reading with inclusivity to teach reading more effectively to children of all abilities.
phoneme recognition
Phonemic awareness is the recognition that letter sounds and their mixtures combine to form words. When we speak the word “cat,” we don’t say “quaatu.” But if you need to understand how to spell or pronounce a word, slow down and pronounce each letter or combination of letters. That is phonological awareness.
vocabulary
Phonics and phonemic awareness are being able to say or spell words, while vocabulary is knowing the meanings of words. It’s part of language understanding. The more vocabulary you have, the easier it will be to read and the more fluent you will be.
understanding
Global understanding means not only understanding words individually, but also sentences, paragraphs, and entire texts. It’s one thing to be able to hear the words, but there’s no point in reading if you can’t understand them. The Science of Reading reminds us that comprehension is actually one of the fastest skills children learn. They practice this skill even when others are reading to them.
fluency
Fluency brings everything together at once. Fluent readers effortlessly pronounce words and value understanding and meaning as second nature. They can read expressively and explain what they read without parroting the text.
Which model demonstrates the science of reading?
Think beyond literacy
Several popular models can help you solve all this. One popular option is a simple view of reading comprehension: Decoding (D) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC)
Decoding is the process of translating written words into speech and incorporates phonics, phonemic awareness, spelling, and sight words. Language comprehension includes vocabulary, language structure, background knowledge, and fluency. source of wisdom
Another well-known model is the Scarborough reading rope. This shows how many threads are woven together to form a skilled reading. All skills are equally important, as one weak strand can affect the entire rope. Find out more about Scarborough Reading Ropes here.
What is it like inside the classroom?
reading rocket
Reading science classrooms typically follow a structured, sequential curriculum with an emphasis on phonics. Children spend a lot of time learning sounds, blends, phonemes, and more. This will help you quickly decipher the words as they come up.
Practical practice and repetition are key. Children see models of reading fluency and try them out on their own. They read one text multiple times and focus on different elements. For example, the first reading may be about decoding, or saying the words out loud. Next we might focus on vocabulary. And in the final reading, you can work on understanding the meaning of the text as a whole.
Additionally, clearly teaching learners how the tongue and lips work when they need to make different sounds is critical to the science of reading and writing. This helps children understand the relationship between spoken sounds (phonemes) and the written letters that represent them, allowing them to more effectively decode words when reading and spell accurately when writing. You will be able to do it. This part can be difficult for children who have difficulty reading. Therefore, it is important to find as many ways as possible to teach children how to make these sounds. One way teachers can do this is by showing videos like Reading Buddies. Children can also get motivated by earning free alpha badges and practice hard to make a difference in their reading.
How is balanced literacy different from the science of reading?
Hegarty
Balanced literacy is not easy to define, but it often includes an emphasis on “reading cues.” You may hear the phrase MSV, which stands for meaning, sentence structure, and visual information.
In other words, when readers encounter an unfamiliar word, they look at the word and surrounding clues (such as pictures) to understand the word, rather than studying the word itself. The idea is to help children understand the words quickly so they can move on while maintaining their interest in the text. Leveled reading is another important part of balanced literacy and is often done alongside teaching reading and writing as separate subjects.
If you’ve been teaching reading for a while, you might be wondering, “But I like a balanced approach to reading and writing. I teach phonics, but first I want kids to love reading. I want them to learn the sounds and letters over and over again.” It’s no fun having to concentrate on.” Maybe. However, it is important to note that there is no scientific evidence to support balanced literacy practices. Study after study shows that focusing on phonics and vocabulary builds reading comprehension much faster and more effectively than the MSV method.
Of course, we want our children to love reading. But if you can learn it without too much effort, you’re more likely to enjoy it. And proponents of the science of reading approaches say that their structured method is more successful. It’s possible to give children the basics of phonics and teach them to love books at the same time.
Where can I learn more?
This is just an overview of a very comprehensive topic. Anyone who teaches reading should spend more time learning about the science of recommended reading strategies. Let’s start with:
