What is the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading 

The Science of Reading or Structured Literacy refers to the body of research that has been done over the last several decades by reading experts and cognitive scientists who study the brain and how people learn to read. This research has shown us some of the best methods for teaching our students how to read. The good news is that our teachers have already been teaching many of these methods and working on implementing even more of them into their classrooms.

New York State Literacy Briefs 

One of our most important missions as educators is to ensure that all students become proficient, confident and engaged readers, writers, speakers and listeners. The New York State Next Generation English Language Arts Learning Standards can be found here and serve as the foundation of the development of the work we do in the areas of reading and writing.

On January 11, 2024, the New York State Department of Education released 7 Literacy Briefs. These briefs are to be viewed as guidance documents to ensure our literacy curriculum, instruction, and assessments are aligned to the Science of Reading. The Arlington Central School District is well on its way to ensuring this alignment. 

THE BIG 6 AREAS OF READING:

Simply put, reading is making meaning from print.  And yet, this seemingly simple process of reading does not develop naturally in human beings.  Rather, it requires the integration of various areas of the brain working together in new ways. A solid understanding of the concepts of print and strong oral language fluency combine to create a strong foundation upon which students can become successful readers.  Upon this foundation, there are specific skills that must be developed to lead to proficient reading.  These are known as The Big 6 Components of reading:

Strong phonemic awareness, combined with phonics knowledge, allows students to develop the process of orthographic mapping, which is essential for readers to become fluent readers and comprehenders of print.

What Can I Do At Home? 


Work on DECODING SKILLS: 

• Ask your child what letter a specific sound represents 

           o “What letter would represent /ă/? – A 

           o “What letter would represent /k/? – C or K 

          o Segment words to build phonemic awareness 


• Start with simple words for young students or struggling students - say “cat” 

• Talk about the meaning of the word, how to use it in a sentence. 

• Tap out each phoneme (/k/ /ă/ /t/) • Ask how may sounds the word has - 3 (3 taps = 3 sounds) 

• Say the word again 


Work on LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION SKILLS: 


★ There are two different types of reading that may come home with your child this year. 


• DECODABLE BOOKS/SHORT PASSAGES- This means that most of the words in the text are words that the student can tap out or sound out on their own with little to no help from the teacher or the adult at home. The student should be able to read mostly independently then read again to the adult at home. 


• STUDENT INTEREST BOOKS - Your child may come home with a book or books that seem far above or far below his or her reading level or it may be JUST RIGHT. Please know that THIS IS OKAY. These are books that the student chose because they had interest in them. These are the types of books and stories that we want students to share with the adult or older sibling at home. Simply spend a few minutes reading together. Make it fun! 


OTHER WAYS TO HELP WITH LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION: 

• Help expand your child’s vocabulary and try using higher level vocabulary around the house 

- Instead of asking them to “clean” their bedroom, ask them to “tidy” up. 

• As a parent or caregiver, you can choose a book that is above their reading level to read aloud to them a little each day. This will provide high level vocabulary exposure, discuss what the words mean. Characters are also more complex and may lead to more discussion.