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The Five Strands of Reading
An Introduction to the Five Strands of Reading
Resources
Readings and Viewings on The Science of Reading
- The Science of Reading | RISE ArkansasThis poster summarises the what, why and how of the five components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
The Ladder of Reading and Writing
The Ladder of Reading and Writing
- Ladder of Reading & Writing
Used with Nancy Young’s permission. ""Reading, spelling and writing English entails learning the secrets of the alphabetic code. For most children this means systematic and explicit instruction - and lots of practice. Code mastery can be so much fun!"" - Why do some children learn to read without explicit teaching?" ... Learning to read in an alphabetic language such as English is a complex task
and, for most children, requires explicit teaching. In particular, an extensive body of research has demonstrated that, in the initial stages of learning to read, children benefit from systematic teaching about the connections between letters and sounds, known as phonics ... " - What is structured literacy?Structured literacy is "[a]n approach to teaching the structure of written text for reading and writing. WHAT (content) & HOW (process – how systematic & explicit) are based on student need (data-informed instruction, repetition and extended learning) ... "
Resources
Readings and More on The Science of Reading
- What Research Tells Us About Reading Instruction"Parents, educators, reading researchers, and policy makers all agree that children must learn to read to participate fully in a modern society. ... There have been many debates about how children should learn to read ... What can psychological science tell us about the issues? ... " TICK
- The Simple View of Reading: Still Conclusive After 35 Years"In 1986, Whole Language, a philosophy for teaching reading that rejected systematic phonics, was approaching peak popularity. The two founders of Whole Language, Ken Goodman and Frank Smith, had little patience for decoding, that is, for matching a sound with each letter (or letter group) in a word and then blending those sounds together, left to right, in order to produce a full pronunciation (also known as "sounding out" a word.) Goodman believed that “Matching letters with sounds is a flat-earth view of the world, since it rejects modern science about reading and writing and how they develop.” ... " TICK
- At a Loss for Words How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers"For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't know there's anything wrong with it ... "
- Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert"There is intense public interest in questions surrounding how children learn to read and how they can best be taught. Research in psychological science has provided answers to many of these questions but, somewhat surprisingly, this research has been slow to make inroads into educational policy and practice. Instead, the field has been plagued by decades of “reading wars." ... "
- Why Jaydon Can’t Read: A Forum on Fixing LiteracyThis collection of edited speeches is from a CIS policy forum held on 14 November 2013 to discuss the article ‘Why Jaydon Can’t Read: Te Triumph of Ideology over Evidence in Teaching Reading’ published in the Spring 2013 issue of Policy. TICK
- The way we teach most children to read sets them up to fail"A new batch of Australian five-year-olds has just started school, eager to learn to read and write. Unfortunately for them, English has one of the most difficult spelling systems of any language, thanks to the way it developed ... "
- Teaching Reading is Rocket Science"The science of reading is inextricably linked to the love of reading. To teach and inspire the next generation, we simply can’t have one without the other ... "
- Is the Science of Reading Influencing Mainstream Educational Practices? Not Enough.Scroll down the page to locate this recorded webinar. "Scientific study of how children learn to read has been underway in the U.S. and around the world for several decades. Much has been discovered about the language and cognitive abilities related to success or difficulty in reading, about the neurological pathways that must be developed, and about implications for instruction. Yet, unfortunately, for the most part, mainstream education has not benefitted from these important developments. Join this fascinating and enlightening discussion that will target why and how this has happened. Dr. Susan Brady, with special guest Louisa Moats, will identify steps to bring the gains from science to teachers and their students."
- Hard Words: What Teachers Don't Know About Teaching Reading and What to Do About ItScroll down the page to locate this recorded webinar. "Millions of American students do not read at even a basic level for their grade. Students often fall behind to the extent that they are recommended for interventions or assessed as having a learning disability, when in fact, the problem is they did not receive adequate and appropriate reading instruction. The truth is—and research proves this—that effectively teaching reading is a science in and of itself, and teachers need proper training. If educators are prepared to teach all five essential components of literacy instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) the result is higher student success rates."
- International Foundation for Effective Reading Instruction"The International Foundation for Effective Reading Instruction (IFERI) is a not-for-profit organisation. It includes researchers, educators and parents from around the world. The aim of the International Foundation for Effective Reading Instruction is to contribute to raising standards of literacy in the English language based on robust research and high-quality instruction in the teaching of reading, spelling and writing ... "
- Tackling the misalignment between evidence-based research and literacy approaches in schools: opinion"On the first day of the school year as a graduate teacher I encountered a slap in the face. My day started brimming with confidence but that all changed when one boy walked through the door. His name was Jacob and I quickly discovered that he could not read a single word. A Year 4 student, with four years of full time schooling under his belt and he had somehow ‘slipped through the cracks’ of education. How could this be? ... "
Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement
Almost this entire guide has been populated by suggestions and recommendations made via the Facebook Group: Reading Science in Schools. I highly recommend joining and collaborating with this incredible community of professionals. The administrators of the group are: Jasmyn Hall, Stephanie Le Lievre and Natalie Campbell. Leah Alyce, Teresa Conradt and Jasmine Fleur Shannon are the group's moderators ... https://www.facebook.com/groups/readingscienceinschools/
The Why
This LibGuide details WHAT we should do, as teachers, to teach reading. But this guide also details WHY we should teach reading in this way. And this is why ...
Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope
Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope
- Scarborough’s Reading Rope: A Groundbreaking Infographic" ... The Reading Rope consists of lower and upper strands. The word-recognition strands (phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition of familiar words) work together as the reader becomes accurate, fluent, and increasingly automatic with repetition and practice. Concurrently, the language-comprehension strands (background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge) reinforce one another and then weave together with the word-recognition strands to produce a skilled reader. This does not happen overnight; it requires instruction and practice over time ... "
- A 20th Celebration of Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope- THIS PADLET MAY NOT BE REMADE"Recordings and Resources Related to PaTTAN's 20th Celebration of Scarborough's Reading Rope"
Amplify
Amplify's Science of Reading Handbook
- Science of reading handbook"Watching students learn to read: magic. Knowing how they get there: science. What does the science of reading really mean? What does it tell us about how to teach? How can we bring those insights and practices into our classrooms (remote or otherwise)? Our handbook has the answers—based on the latest science and adaptable to every shift in the educational landscape ... "
Data
Why aren't our kids being taught to read?
TICK
Video
- A Research-Based Explanation of How Children Learn to Read Words"With over 150 published papers, Linnea Ehri has been one of the most influential and cited reading scientists in the past 40 years. One of 14 members of the U.S. National Reading Panel (1997-2000), she served as Chair of both the Phonemic Awareness and the Phonics subgroups of the Panel ... "