The Science of Reading or Reading Instruction That Works
Here are some key points:
Reading is not a natural process: Unlike spoken language, which humans acquire naturally, reading must be explicitly taught.
Reading is the product of decoding and comprehension.
Reading involves multiple skills: phonemic awareness (awareness of individual sounds in words), phonics (the relationship between sounds and letters), fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- 1. Overview of Reading Development:
- 2. Multi-Sensory Structured Phonics:
- 3. Importance of Explicit Instruction:
Phonics: Phonics is the method of teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between sounds and letters. It involves understanding the phonetic code (how individual sounds or phonemes correspond to written letters or letter combinations) and using this knowledge to decode words.
Fluency: As children progress in reading, they develop fluency, which involves reading with speed, accuracy, and appropriate expression. Vocabulary and
Comprehension: Building and comprehension skills are crucial for understanding and deriving meaning from written text.
Structured approach: A structured phonics program follows a systematic sequence, introducing letters and their corresponding sounds in a logical order. It provides explicit instruction, guiding students through the process of decoding words and building reading skills step by step.
Closing the achievement gap: Explicit instruction in reading helps to close the achievement gap, ensuring that all students, including those from diverse backgrounds, have equitable access to effective reading instruction.
Skill transfer: Explicit instruction provides students with the tools and strategies they need to apply their reading skills to different texts and contexts.