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proficient reader and can be used to identify ways that you can assist your child as
they learn to read. The rope is shown as an intertwining of 2 braided cords; both
braided cords (Language Comprehension and Word Recognition) are made up of
several individual strands.
As a parent, you are ideally situated to assist your child with the Language
Comprehension (Upper) Cord. Your main role with the Word Recognition (lower)
cord is to ensure that the schooling you choose for your child explicitly and
systematically addresses these three Word Recognition strands.
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The lower cord: Word Recognition
Effective reading instruction must include developing a student’s
a) awareness of the sounds in words,
b) knowledge of how these sounds are encoded and decoded by the alphabet,
and
c) automaticity with frequently occurring words, and especially with those whose
spelling patterns are irregular.
The Orton-Gillingham Practical Linguistics Program at Claremont School
addresses all three of these strands with a highly systematic program that is
delivered by trained teachers.
The upper cord: Language Comprehension
Your child’s schooling should also include the strands shown in the Language
Comprehension strand; additionally however, as parent, you play a crucial and
significant role in helping your child acquire and develop the language
comprehension skills that are necessary for readers to read with fluency and
understanding, to read for learning and pleasure.
1) Background knowledge
Imagine you are being asked to read something about a topic that you have little
to no knowledge of – 11
th
century poetic devices or theoretical quantum physics for
example. Imagine how demanding that reading task could feel. Imagine how
distracted your brain could become and how challenging it would be to stick with
the text and absorb its meaning.
Readers rely on background knowledge to attend to and make sense of what they
are reading. When a reader has background knowledge of a subject to draw on,
they are more likely to find the text more interesting, easier to remain focused on,
and less taxing on their hard-working brains. This is especially important for
readers who are still relying heavily on word decoding rather than rapid word
recognition. The more knowledge they have about a variety of subjects, topics and
ideas, the more likely they will be able to make sense of what they are reading, and
the more likely they will add to their body of knowledge.
2) Vocabulary
Perhaps you will remember reading Shakespeare as a student and finding the
words and phrases being used particularly challenging to read and understand. If
this was the case, how challenging was it to understand or appreciate the plot,
themes or humour of these plays?
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Similar to background knowledge, an extensive and rich vocabulary enables
readers to make sense of what they are reading. Being able to decode words is one
thing; being able to match that string of sounds to a thought, idea or concept is
another. The richer a reader’s listening and spoken vocabulary, the easier they will
find it to read through texts that contain words they have not seen before. If the
student can use their growing decoding skills and match their result with a word
they already know the meaning of, they will be more confident with their abilities
and spend less overall effort on reading a text. Also, there is a greater chance that
they will store the way this word looks on a page and will likely be able to access it
more easily the next time they come across it.
3) Language Structures
(syntax, semantics...)
Syntax is the arrangement of words in a phrase or sentence. The English language
has patterns and rules to the way we order our words. It also has some flexibility
and variety in acceptable patterns, and even then, speakers and writers are
allowed some leeway with these patterns.
Of Yoda from Star Wars you should think!
Although Yoda’s speech pattern is
unique, his meaning is generally understood by those who have experience with
varied syntax structures.
Children acquire varied syntax structures over time, through meaningful exposure
to, and discussion of, language being spoken, read to them and presented to them
in text. The greater and richer the exposure, the better they will be able to read
and understand texts they are reading.
4) Verbal Reasoning
(inference, metaphor...)
Reading is not restricted to merely decoding and comprehending the words on a
page. More often than not, just as in spoken language, the reader must look
beyond to the words to infer meaning from what is being said, what is not being
said and how it is being said (or not said). A reader must be able to grasp when
words are being used literally or figuratively. For instance, a reader must use verbal
reasoning skills to understand that “the supermarket was a zoo” likely means that
the supermarket was like a zoo because it was noisy, chaotic and crowded and not
that it actually was a zoo. In a similar vein, we often use words as part of an
idiomatic phrase; you may be familiar with the Amelia Bedelia children’s books
and her infamous literal interpretations of commands given to her (dressing the
turkey, drawing the curtains...). By talking with your child about the meaning of
words, phrases, tones of voice and even body language, and about what they are
observing in the world, (current events, social interactions, books you are reading
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together etc) you are helping your child develop and practice their verbal
reasoning skills.
5) Literary Knowledge
(print concepts, stories...)
A wide exposure to a variety of literary styles gives students a more developed
framework on which they can rely as they read more and more for themselves.
The same is true for being exposed to a variety of stories, stories with different
themes, from different cultures and for different purposes. When a student is able
to connect something they are reading to a story/text/theme/purpose they have
already internalized, they will be better able to understand and stick with it
through challenges.
What you can do
As much as you are able, give your child opportunities to learn about and
appreciate a variety of subjects, topics, stories and literary styles in ways that work
for them:
o
read to them, from a variety of sources (books, newspapers, poems, scripts,
instructions, recipes...)
o
listen to radio programs or watch documentaries with them
o
take them to museums, observatories, wildlife sanctuaries
o
go on guided tours
o
discuss your interests with your child
o
introduce them to interesting people with varied interests
As appropriate:
o
spend family time playing games such as “Balderdash”, “Taboo” or
“Scattegories” with your child.
o
discuss interesting words that come up in conversations, books, audio and
video programs.
o
rephrase sentences your child (or someone else) uses, “dressing them up”
with interesting synonyms (or “dressing them down” with less interesting
ones!),
o
play with different sentence structures in fun ways during everyday
conversations “To bed go you must!”
Dr. Hollis Scarborough invented the concept of the Reading Rope in the early 1990s. She used it to help parents understand the various skills their children needed to master to become proficient readers. Originally, she twisted together a model made of pipe cleaners to demonstrate her point.
In 2001, the model was published in the Handbook of Early Literacy Research (Neuman/Dickinson). Reading teachers immediately saw how useful it was, and it became a staple for educating new teachers and parents alike.
Scarborough’s Reading Rope contains two main sections: Word Recognition and Language Comprehension. Each of these comprises several smaller strands. Woven together, these strands become the rope that represents complete skilled reading. All the components are interconnected and interdependent. If just one strand is weak, it affects the rope (and the reader) as a whole.
Lower Section: Word Recognition
A pipe cleaner model of Scarborough's Reading Rope
The lower section of Scarborough’s Reading Rope focuses on word recognition skills. These are the skills we tend to think of most when we talk about teaching kids how to read. Imagine a kid sounding out the letters on a page or putting together phonics sounds and syllables. These are the basics of word recognition.
Phonological Awareness
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Put simply, phonological awareness is about understanding that words are made up of sounds. Kids learn to speak without ever needing to see a written word. But when they learn reading, they need to recognize that the sounds they make with their mouths correspond with the words they see on the page. This is a very early skill that sets the stage for what follows.
Decoding
Decoding is what we picture when we see beginning readers: kids sounding out the words letter by letter. It includes things like phonics, letter blends, silent letters, and more. Kids proficient at decoding can sound out all the words they see on a page, even if they don’t know what the words mean.
Sight Words
Some words, called sight words, are used so frequently that it makes more sense to teach kids to recognize them on sight. This is an extremely common method used in pretty much every early elementary classroom today.
Upper Section: Language Comprehension
B
Word recognition on its own doesn’t create fluent readers. If kids don’t know what the words themselves mean, they’re not really reading. Furthermore, understanding the meaning of words on their own isn’t really useful. Fluent readers understand the text they’re reading as a whole, drawing meaningful conclusions and finding important takeaways. The upper strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope are incredibly key in creating strong readers.
Background Knowledge
The background knowledge strand of the rope is where cross-curriculum learning can really come into play. Kids reading a novel set in World War II Germany will get a lot more out of it when they understand more about WWII in general. For teachers, this means placing reading choices in context. Use reading (at any age) as part of a larger lesson on any topic. Kids will develop a deeper understanding and improve literacy skills at the same time.
Vocabulary
Building a rich vocabulary means kids can enjoy reading a wider variety of books. When you have to stop every few sentences to look up a word, you’re likely to give up on reading a lot faster. Even worse is when kids don’t stop to find out the meaning of a word, since they’ll have “read” something without understanding it fully—or at all.
Language Structure
When we talk about language structure, we generally mean syntax (the order of words) and semantics (the meaning of the text). English has a lot of rules for the patterns and order of words, known as syntax. Semantics delves deep into how words and phrases combine to create meaning and how an author’s word choice affects that meaning. It’s a complicated topic, which good readers continue to consider throughout their lives.
Verbal Reasoning
When it comes to Scarborough’s Reading Rope, verbal reasoning refers to understanding when and how words are being figurative and literal. It includes things like metaphors, analogies, idioms, and figurative language. Kids pick up some of these things as they grow, but classroom instruction can be helpful too.
Literacy Knowledge
Kids gain literacy knowledge by exposure to a wide array of literary genres and styles. This is why a strong curriculum covers fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in all their forms. Generally speaking, the more types of reading a child encounters, the more advanced their literacy knowledge becomes.
How can teachers use Scarborough’s Rope?
Chart showing how various literacy skills relate to Scarbrough's Rope upper and lower strands
Brainspring
Many teachers find Scarborough’s Reading Rope useful in two main ways. First, it helps teachers themselves identify where struggling readers may need more help. For instance, a student may be very good at sounding out the words on the page but lack the vocabulary or verbal reasoning to make sense of what they’re reading. Once they identify the weak strands, a teacher can make adjustments or offer enrichment to help that student succeed.
Second, teachers can (and should) share this model with parents. It can help them understand why their child is struggling or why teachers use such a variety of methods in the classroom. It’s a good tool to reinforce that reading at home is essential to building the literacy skills kids need in school and throughout their lives.
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