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Learning about the science of reading can be overwhelming! Google searches may bring a variety of resources and weeding through them can be challenging. Here is some of the basic information guiding our literacy instruction best practices today.
Let's start with the basics
Let's start with the basics
None of this information is new. This graphic has been around since the 1990s. It is a graphic that makes our understanding of successful reading simple to understand. First, what is the goal of reading? Reading Comprehension! Yes, the goal is not to just say the words. We want students to read with understanding. To do this successfully, students must have two components of reading down pat: word recognition AND language comprehension. It becomes a basic math problem. Without one of the other, students cannot read successfully.
This graphic also guides our intervention focus. We analyze students who are struggling with reading comprehension to narrow down which category is holding them back. Do they need support in language comprehension or word recognition? By using data to guide our intervention and classroom instruction, we can help students read successfully.
Here is a link with more information: The Simple View of Reading
What does neuroscience say about how the brain learns to read?
What does neuroscience say about how the brain learns to read?
This image shows the overview. While this image can be complicated to learn, here are the take aways.
Reading is not a natural process like language development. We need to learn this process through instruction.
Proficient reading looks the same in each brain.
We can teach in a way that helps students build the necessary neuro pathways to connect speech to print.
If you'd like to learn more about this concept, click here.
The Reading Rope
The Reading Rope
The reading rope highlights all the components that are involved in skilled reading. As we transition to this type of instruction, our literacy block will include all of these portions of learning to read.
When those who don't understand the science of reading movement argue against this transition, they often don't understand this. Please remember, teaching based on the science of reading is not just teaching phonics. It is not just teaching our students to be word callers. It is teaching phonics as a component of the reading process. It is teaching students more advanced phonetic concepts and how phonics (sounds) and morphology (meaning) guide our spelling and decoding. How many of us or our students struggle to spell? That's because we didn't learn this way.
But teaching based on neuroscientific research is SO much more than teaching phonetics. It is teaching the layers of language with a focus on vocabulary and building knowledge. Research has taught us the importance of background knowledge and vocabulary instruction. Once teachers know this, they can teach students to be inquisitive learners of the English language, noticing interesting words and taking steps to learn more about them.
Click here to learn more about The Reading Rope and its segments.
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