What is the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading is a research-based approach to teach literacy, focusing on how people learn to read. It shares concepts with Every Child Ready to Read @ Your Library (ECRR) with themes of letter recognition and sounds, vocabulary, comprehension and telling stories.  Click here to learn more about ECRR and upcoming workshops.

How Does HPL Support the Science of Reading?

1. Storytimes at the Hammond Library are designed around ECRR, assisting with early literacy skills.  

2. Hammond Library’s 1000 Books Before Kindergarten is a reading program with the goal of reading 1000 books to your child.  Children receive prizes for reading.  (And yes, you can repeat books!) 

a. Children who read one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words than those who aren’t read to at home by the time they are 5 years old. 

b. Children who read five books a day enter kindergarten having heard 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to. 

c. A rich vocabulary is key to early literacy.

3. Our collection of books for young readers reinforce the Science of Reading approach.

Early Literacy Books

Board books are a great way to introduce babies and toddlers to books. Created with sturdy pages that hold up to tiny hands, young ones learn about holding a book and how to turn pages.  By getting their hands on books and mimicking their grown-ups, babies learn these basics not just by seeing, but by doing! Click here for a list of board books that encourage exploration.

Picture books can be read aloud to children. They offer a great way to introduce preschool-age and kindergarten-age children to reading, helping them develop understanding and vocabulary-building. Click here for some of our language-rich picture books.

Decodable books help children learn phonics.  While all books are technically decodable because decoding simply means recognizing letter patterns, matching them to sounds, and blending the sounds to pronounce words, these books focus on particular practices that build upon each other as a reader progresses through the series.  Click here for decodable books available at Hammond Public Library.

Beginning Reader books are designed for children have started to read independently. HPL's beginning reader books, called On My Own, have three levels that increase in sentence complexity to challenge early readers and build confidence.   Click here for beginning reader and early chapter books.