You may have heard the idea called “The Science of Reading.” What does that mean? Today, we’ll summarize this concept to understand what it means for your students and the classroom.
The Science of Reading is an extensive collection of research and statistics that help us understand how we learn to read. Through all the gathered knowledge, the Science of Reading leads to identifying best practices to teach children the foundations of literacy. Specifically, the teaching methods based on the Science of Reading look especially to assist readers who struggle with reading in the classroom or have specific disabilities, such as dyslexia.
According to research from the University of Texas, effective reading comes from recognizing, analyzing, and interpreting words, also known as decoding, and comprehending language. Being unable to do decoding or comprehending leads to reading difficulties.
Through research, there is also strong consensus on focus areas to help students become efficient and effective readers. According to the National Reading Panel, there are five concepts to address that lead to effective reading:
1. Phonemic Awareness
This refers to the student’s ability to use phonemes, which are distinct units of sound, to differentiate between different words. This can include understanding the order of sounds in a word, the differences between similar sounds, and the understanding of rhyming words.
2. Phonics
Phonics is related to knowing how letters in written language sound when spoken. It involves understanding the relationship between letters and spellings and the sounds they create.
3. Vocabulary
This refers to understanding what spoken or printed words mean. By understanding different parts of vocabulary words, students can recognize other words that share similar word parts.
4. Comprehension
Comprehension is understanding what has been read. This includes identifying the purpose, searching for meaning, and creating inferences not explicitly written in the text.
5. Fluency
This is reading and speaking a text without stopping to think about each word. It involves accuracy and comprehension of what the reading says and means.
Having identified what needs to be taught, how is this research applied in the classroom? Here are three areas we consider essential:
Assessment
To identify a student's skills and needs, there needs to be a baseline of data to compare to monitor growth. That’s why assessment matter to understand what parts of reading to learn and what to master. This can include universal screenings a few times a year to gauge learning and questions and tests before, during, and after the instruction of a lesson or unit.
Comprehensive Curriculum
Choosing the correct curriculum is essential for implementing the Science of Reading, especially finding those specifically targeting the above-mentioned concepts. A good curriculum will include learning activities, multisensory learning, and technology integration to address the needs of various learners.
Trained Instructors
Even with the proper tools, educators need to know how to use them. That’s where informational trainings, workshops, and more come into play. A teacher needs to know what to look for through assessments and how to address it through the curriculum and tactics to enforce learning.
To support the whole child, TeachTown will host a free webinar about the Science of Reading in special education. Join us to hear how to start to give every student the power to read!
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The Science of Reading for Students with Mod/Sev Disabilities
The Science of Reading is a hot topic in special education right now. In this webinar, Dr. Jessica Godsey will discuss the Science of Reading and how educators can reference the research to implement effective reading instruction in the classroom. TeachTown's K-12 ELA is aligned to the 5 principles in the Science of Reading.
Date/Time: Wednesday, August 23rd, 12:00 PM CDT
Presenter - Jessica Godsey, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Senior Editorial Director –
Jessica Godsey, Ph.D., currently serves as TeachTown’s Senior Editorial Director of Curriculum Development. She received her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Memphis and her Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. Prior to joining TeachTown, Jessica served students with language and literacy disorders in a variety of clinical and school settings. She also taught courses in language development and disorders and supervised students at Western Michigan University. Additionally, Jessica has co-authored a reading program for students with dyslexia and speaks frequently about the Science of Reading.