DONT READ NOT A CHAPTER
Print-to-Speech and Speech-to-Print: Mapping Early Literacy
By: Jeannine Herron, et al.In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words.
First Rule of Reading: Keep Your Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAll kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers — as well as reading interventionists — should teach students to keep their eyes on the words on the page so that they do not have to later struggle with breaking a habit that hampers effective, efficient reading.
Helping Students Keep Their Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAn almost universal habit that struggling readers exhibit is looking up from the words when reading. Learn the three primary reasons why students look up as they read, and then find out how to respond to each case in the most effective way.
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Tina OsengaIntegrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words.
The Simple View of Reading
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Marcia Davidson, Tina OsengaThe Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student's reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known.
Three Recommendations for Greater Reading Proficiency
By: Susan PimentelIn addition to explicit phonics instruction, teachers need to support students' ability to understand complex text and build background knowledge. Teachers also deserve access to high-quality curriculum materials — a thoughtfully arranged, comprehensive, sequential curriculum that embeds standards, the science of reading, and key instructional shifts.
Structured Literacy Instruction: The Basics
By: International Dyslexia AssociationStructured Literacy prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner. This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers. Get the basics on the six elements of Structured Literacy and how each element is taught.
Improving Practice: Four Essential Components Supporting Quality Reading Instruction
By: U.S. Department of EducationFour strategies and practices are common to effective reading instruction programs: multi-tiered systems of support; universal screening, progress monitoring, and collaboration between special education and general education. This article provides links to tools that support implementation in each area.
Every Teacher, Every Day: What Teachers Need to Implement Effective Reading Instruction
By: Donna MeccaA veteran reading teacher shares takeaways from her 'Teachers as Readers' learning group. What teachers need: enough time to teach language arts, well-stocked classroom libraries, student input, and meaningful professional development.
Best Practices in Reading: A 21st Century Skill Update
By: Kathleen Roskos, Susan NeumanFor years, the field of reading education has been engaged in thinking about best practices. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, rereading and using digital textbooks to motivate children's reading are among some of these updated best practices. Those in the reading community are urged to consider best practices, and how we may promote their uses, with high fidelity in classroom instruction.
How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
By: Reading RocketsIs your school using the new Common Core standards? This is a big change for students — and their parents. Get to know what the four main areas of the Common Core reading standards mean and simple things you can do at home to help your child build skills in these areas.
The Effects of Mandatory Retention
By: Saga BriggsIn many states, third graders who cannot read proficiently are required to repeat that year. This policy, known as mandatory retention, can greatly impact students' emotional and cognitive development. In an effort to reconcile the academic and social needs of young learners, this article addresses the pros and cons of mandatory retention, global treatment of the problem, and possible solutions.
Q&A with Dr. Daniel Willingham
By: Daniel T. WillinghamDr. Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, answers questions about effective teaching, reading comprehension, cognitive science, and more.
Lead for Literacy
By: The Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Harvard Graduate School of EducationThe Lead for Literacy initiative is a series of one-page memos for policymakers and early literacy leaders on how to improve young children's literacy, birth to age 9. Using evidence from research, these briefs are designed to help leaders avoid common mistakes and present solutions and strategies for scalability and impact.
Building Reading Stamina
By: Reading RocketsReading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Find out how you can help your child develop reading stamina.
10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader
By: Reading RocketsParents are a child's first teacher, and there are many simple things you can do every day to share the joy of reading while strengthening your child's literacy skills.
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Reading
By: Reading RocketsGet the basic facts about what it takes for a young child to learn to read, best practices in teaching reading, the importance of oral language in literacy development, why so many children struggle, and more in this overview.
Speaking Is Natural; Reading and Writing Are Not
By: Louisa Moats, Carol TolmanHuman brains are naturally wired to speak; they are not naturally wired to read and write. With teaching, children typically learn to read at about age 5 or 6 and need several years to master the skill.
Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!
By: Reading RocketsMany New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler. Try this menu of reading activities.
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
By: Suzanne IrujoIn this article, a seasoned ELL teacher synthesizes her own classroom experience and the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth to make recommendations for effective literacy instruction of ELL students.
Beginning Readers: Look! I Can Read This!
By: Reading RocketsAs a parent of a beginning reader, it's important to support your child's reading efforts in a positive way and help them along the reading path. Here's a little information about beginning readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
By: Reading RocketsEven the youngest child is somewhere on the path to becoming a reader. As a parent, it's important to support your child's efforts in a positive way and help him or her along the reading path. Here's a little information about emergent readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Ready to Read
By: U.S. Department of EducationParents — you are your child's most important teacher! Using a few of these ideas, you can help your child enter the classroom ready to read.
What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song
By: Sebastian WrenThis article illustrates the difference between being able to decode words on a page and being able to derive meaning from the words and the concepts they are trying to convey.
Learning to Read and Write: What Research Reveals
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life. Long before they can exhibit reading and writing production skills, they begin to acquire some basic understandings of the concepts about literacy and its functions.
What Is Scientifically Based Research? A Guide For Teachers
By: National Institute for LiteracyTeachers can strengthen instruction and protect their students' valuable time in school by scientifically evaluating claims about teaching methods and recognizing quality research when they see it. This article provides a brief introduction to understanding and using scientifically based research.
Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt
By: American Federation of TeachersA look at three pivotal longitudinal studies that clearly show: Late bloomers are rare; skill deficits are almost always what prevent children from blooming as readers.
Ready to Read: Heading for the Classroom
By: U.S. Department of EducationWhat parents do or don't do in the preschool years has a lasting impact on children's reading ability. Learn some facts about the importance and need for literacy experiences in the primary grades.
Some Principles from the Reading Research
By: Partnership for ReadingThese findings of the National Reading Panel offer a wealth of detailed information on strategies that have proven to work in reading instruction.
Ten Myths About Learning to Read
By: Sebastian WrenThere are many beliefs and a great deal of dogma associated with reading acquisition, and people are often reluctant to let go of their beliefs despite contradictory research evidence. Here are 10 of the most popular and most potentially pernicious myths that influence reading education.
Boys and Books
By: Jane McFannThe statistics are consistent: Young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. This article looks at the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why, and suggests solutions — including the need for more men to become role models for reading.
The Alphabetic Principle
By: Texas Education AgencyChildren's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read. Knowing letter names is strongly related to children's ability to remember the forms of written words and their ability to treat words as sequences of letters.
What Is Scientifically Based Reading Research?
By: U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesScientifically based reading research applies the scientific method to learn about about how young children develop reading skills, how children can be taught to read, and how children can overcome reading difficulties. Discover the basic elements to look for in science-based reading research.
How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?
By: Laura BushQuality can look different in individual primary grade classrooms. However, there are certain characteristics of effective early reading programs that parents can look for in their children's classrooms. First Lady Laura Bush presents a list of these characteristics in this guide for parents.
Effective Reading Instruction
By: National Institute for Literacy
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
By: Judith Gold, Akimi GibsonThis article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
What Is Reading?
By: Diane Henry LeipzigReading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print.
What Science Offers Teachers of Reading
By: Louise Spear-Swerling, Robert SternbergReview well-established scientific findings about reading and their practical implications, for children with and without reading disabilities. In addition, consider some broader ways that science may be useful to educators and get suggestions for individual teachers interested in becoming more familiar with scientific research on reading.
How Can Something as Simple as Reading to a Child Be So Effective?
By: Jim TreleaseWe read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.
About Reading: An Introduction
By: Diane Henry LeipzigIt's not an easy thing, learning to read. This article provides a brief overview of what is involved and what parents, teachers, and everyone else who touches the life of a child can do to help those who struggle.
Why Some Children Have Difficulties Learning to Read
By: G. Reid LyonChildren may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons, including limited experience with books, speech and hearing problems, and poor phonemic awareness.
Findings of the National Reading Panel
By: Donald N. LangenbergAccording to research, some instructional methods for teaching reading are more effective than others. Find out what the National Reading Panel's review of the research revealed about best practices in reading instruction.
The Right Kind of Reading War
By: U.S. Department of EducationThe phrase "reading war" has been the popular description for long-running disagreements about the best way to teach children to read. Fierce battles have been waged by academics and theorists since the late 1800s (McCormick, 1999), with classroom teachers often spinning like weathervanes as they tried to align classroom practices with the prevailing winds.
First Grade Instruction
By: Learning First AllianceWhen it comes to reading, the nine months of first grade are arguably the most important in a student's schooling.
Yum: A Word in My Soup
By: Kerry HempenstallDr. Kerry Hempenstall, now a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia, recalls that magic time when he first learned how to read.
Identifying Risk Factors to Prevent Difficulties
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThere are certain characteristics of groups and individual children that increase their likelihood of struggling with reading. Find out how to use knowledge of these risk factors to help prevent reading problems for these children.
What Are the Skills for Reading?
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinReading ability is determined by many factors, and requires the development of certain skills through early reading instruction to attain initial success and build on it.
Research-Based Principles for Improving the Reading Achievement of America's Children
By: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading AchievementLearn ten lessons from research about the home and school experiences necessary for reading success in this concise overview.
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children: Executive Summary
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThis influential 1998 report was developed by The Committee for the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, established by the National Academy of Sciences to study the comparative effectiveness of interventions for young children who are at risk of having problems learning to read. The primary goal of the project was to translate the research findings about reading into advice and guidance for parents, educators, and others involved in the literacy development of young children.
Goals for Kindergarten: Experimental Reading and Writing
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children go through phases of reading development from preschool through third grade — from exploration of books to independent reading. In kindergarten, children develop basic concepts of print and begin to engage in and experiment with reading and writing. Find out what parents and teachers can do to support kindergarten literacy skills.
Simple Things Principals Can Do to Help All Children Read Well
By: U.S. Department of EducationSchools play a pivotal role in helping young children learn how to read. This collection of tips will help administrators, teachers, and other school staff members set children on the path to reading.
Why Are So Many Children Having Difficulties?
By: G. Reid LyonA child's background and prior experiences can contribute to increased risk of reading problems. However, the are four factors that hinder reading development regardless of a child's background. Find out what they are in this brief overview.
25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun
By: U.S. Department of EducationDoing activities with your children allows you to promote their reading and writing skills while having fun at the same time. These activities for pre-readers, beginning readers, and older readers includes what you need and what to do for each one.
The Challenge of Learning to Read
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonChildren from a variety of backgrounds struggle with learning to read. However, as described in this article, research points to one common reason they struggle, and common strategies to help them succeed.
Literacy Tips for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonThese tips for parents of children with learning disabilities emphasize to all parents the importance of helping children learn about letters and sounds. Get concrete advice for teaching the alphabet, raising awareness about sounds, and promoting letter-sound knowledge.
Learning to Read and Write
By: International Literacy Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Developmentally appropriate research-based literacy instruction in the primary grades includes attention to a variety of areas. Learn what reading instruction looks like in such areas as word identification, writing, and spelling in this overview.
The Need to Change the Way Children Are Taught to Read
By: Susan Brady, Louisa MoatsRecent research has provided a clearer picture about reading difficulties and how to prevent them. This position paper of the International Dyslexia Association argues for reform in teacher preparation to reflect these research-based understandings.
How Do Children Learn to Read?
By: G. Reid LyonLearning how to read requires several complex accomplishments. Read about the challenges children face as they learn how sounds are connected to print, as they develop fluency, and as they learn to construct meaning from print.
The Foundations for Reading
By: Susan Burns, Peg Griffin, Catherine SnowThree main accomplishments characterize good readers. Find out what these accomplishments are, and what experiences in the early years lay the groundwork for attaining them.
How Most Children Learn to Read
By: Derry Koralek, Ray CollinsPlay is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.
Sounds and Letters
By: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted EducationEarly literacy activities help young children develop many skills. One of these skills is phonological awareness. Learn about phonological awareness and how parents can help children develop it.
Learning to Read, Reading to Learn
By: National Center to Improve the Tools of EducatorsFrom decades of research about how young children can best learn to read, we know that there are core skills and cognitive processes that need to be taught. In this basic overview, you'll find concrete strategies to help children build a solid foundation for reading.
Strategies for Achieving the Goal of Every Child Reading
By: Learning First AllianceIf 40 percent of all third-graders are not reading adequately today, reducing this substantially by the time children being born today reach third grade will be an enormous undertaking.
Print-to-Speech and Speech-to-Print: Mapping Early Literacy
By: Jeannine Herron, et al.In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words.
First Rule of Reading: Keep Your Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAll kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers — as well as reading interventionists — should teach students to keep their eyes on the words on the page so that they do not have to later struggle with breaking a habit that hampers effective, efficient reading.
Helping Students Keep Their Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAn almost universal habit that struggling readers exhibit is looking up from the words when reading. Learn the three primary reasons why students look up as they read, and then find out how to respond to each case in the most effective way.
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Tina OsengaIntegrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words.
The Simple View of Reading
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Marcia Davidson, Tina OsengaThe Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student's reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known.
Three Recommendations for Greater Reading Proficiency
By: Susan PimentelIn addition to explicit phonics instruction, teachers need to support students' ability to understand complex text and build background knowledge. Teachers also deserve access to high-quality curriculum materials — a thoughtfully arranged, comprehensive, sequential curriculum that embeds standards, the science of reading, and key instructional shifts.
Structured Literacy Instruction: The Basics
By: International Dyslexia AssociationStructured Literacy prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner. This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers. Get the basics on the six elements of Structured Literacy and how each element is taught.
Improving Practice: Four Essential Components Supporting Quality Reading Instruction
By: U.S. Department of EducationFour strategies and practices are common to effective reading instruction programs: multi-tiered systems of support; universal screening, progress monitoring, and collaboration between special education and general education. This article provides links to tools that support implementation in each area.
Every Teacher, Every Day: What Teachers Need to Implement Effective Reading Instruction
By: Donna MeccaA veteran reading teacher shares takeaways from her 'Teachers as Readers' learning group. What teachers need: enough time to teach language arts, well-stocked classroom libraries, student input, and meaningful professional development.
Best Practices in Reading: A 21st Century Skill Update
By: Kathleen Roskos, Susan NeumanFor years, the field of reading education has been engaged in thinking about best practices. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, rereading and using digital textbooks to motivate children's reading are among some of these updated best practices. Those in the reading community are urged to consider best practices, and how we may promote their uses, with high fidelity in classroom instruction.
How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
By: Reading RocketsIs your school using the new Common Core standards? This is a big change for students — and their parents. Get to know what the four main areas of the Common Core reading standards mean and simple things you can do at home to help your child build skills in these areas.
The Effects of Mandatory Retention
By: Saga BriggsIn many states, third graders who cannot read proficiently are required to repeat that year. This policy, known as mandatory retention, can greatly impact students' emotional and cognitive development. In an effort to reconcile the academic and social needs of young learners, this article addresses the pros and cons of mandatory retention, global treatment of the problem, and possible solutions.
Q&A with Dr. Daniel Willingham
By: Daniel T. WillinghamDr. Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, answers questions about effective teaching, reading comprehension, cognitive science, and more.
Lead for Literacy
By: The Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Harvard Graduate School of EducationThe Lead for Literacy initiative is a series of one-page memos for policymakers and early literacy leaders on how to improve young children's literacy, birth to age 9. Using evidence from research, these briefs are designed to help leaders avoid common mistakes and present solutions and strategies for scalability and impact.
Building Reading Stamina
By: Reading RocketsReading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Find out how you can help your child develop reading stamina.
10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader
By: Reading RocketsParents are a child's first teacher, and there are many simple things you can do every day to share the joy of reading while strengthening your child's literacy skills.
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Reading
By: Reading RocketsGet the basic facts about what it takes for a young child to learn to read, best practices in teaching reading, the importance of oral language in literacy development, why so many children struggle, and more in this overview.
Speaking Is Natural; Reading and Writing Are Not
By: Louisa Moats, Carol TolmanHuman brains are naturally wired to speak; they are not naturally wired to read and write. With teaching, children typically learn to read at about age 5 or 6 and need several years to master the skill.
Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!
By: Reading RocketsMany New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler. Try this menu of reading activities.
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
By: Suzanne IrujoIn this article, a seasoned ELL teacher synthesizes her own classroom experience and the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth to make recommendations for effective literacy instruction of ELL students.
Beginning Readers: Look! I Can Read This!
By: Reading RocketsAs a parent of a beginning reader, it's important to support your child's reading efforts in a positive way and help them along the reading path. Here's a little information about beginning readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
By: Reading RocketsEven the youngest child is somewhere on the path to becoming a reader. As a parent, it's important to support your child's efforts in a positive way and help him or her along the reading path. Here's a little information about emergent readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Ready to Read
By: U.S. Department of EducationParents — you are your child's most important teacher! Using a few of these ideas, you can help your child enter the classroom ready to read.
What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song
By: Sebastian WrenThis article illustrates the difference between being able to decode words on a page and being able to derive meaning from the words and the concepts they are trying to convey.
Learning to Read and Write: What Research Reveals
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life. Long before they can exhibit reading and writing production skills, they begin to acquire some basic understandings of the concepts about literacy and its functions.
What Is Scientifically Based Research? A Guide For Teachers
By: National Institute for LiteracyTeachers can strengthen instruction and protect their students' valuable time in school by scientifically evaluating claims about teaching methods and recognizing quality research when they see it. This article provides a brief introduction to understanding and using scientifically based research.
Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt
By: American Federation of TeachersA look at three pivotal longitudinal studies that clearly show: Late bloomers are rare; skill deficits are almost always what prevent children from blooming as readers.
Ready to Read: Heading for the Classroom
By: U.S. Department of EducationWhat parents do or don't do in the preschool years has a lasting impact on children's reading ability. Learn some facts about the importance and need for literacy experiences in the primary grades.
Some Principles from the Reading Research
By: Partnership for ReadingThese findings of the National Reading Panel offer a wealth of detailed information on strategies that have proven to work in reading instruction.
Ten Myths About Learning to Read
By: Sebastian WrenThere are many beliefs and a great deal of dogma associated with reading acquisition, and people are often reluctant to let go of their beliefs despite contradictory research evidence. Here are 10 of the most popular and most potentially pernicious myths that influence reading education.
Boys and Books
By: Jane McFannThe statistics are consistent: Young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. This article looks at the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why, and suggests solutions — including the need for more men to become role models for reading.
The Alphabetic Principle
By: Texas Education AgencyChildren's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read. Knowing letter names is strongly related to children's ability to remember the forms of written words and their ability to treat words as sequences of letters.
What Is Scientifically Based Reading Research?
By: U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesScientifically based reading research applies the scientific method to learn about about how young children develop reading skills, how children can be taught to read, and how children can overcome reading difficulties. Discover the basic elements to look for in science-based reading research.
How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?
By: Laura BushQuality can look different in individual primary grade classrooms. However, there are certain characteristics of effective early reading programs that parents can look for in their children's classrooms. First Lady Laura Bush presents a list of these characteristics in this guide for parents.
Effective Reading Instruction
By: National Institute for Literacy
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
By: Judith Gold, Akimi GibsonThis article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
What Is Reading?
By: Diane Henry LeipzigReading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print.
What Science Offers Teachers of Reading
By: Louise Spear-Swerling, Robert SternbergReview well-established scientific findings about reading and their practical implications, for children with and without reading disabilities. In addition, consider some broader ways that science may be useful to educators and get suggestions for individual teachers interested in becoming more familiar with scientific research on reading.
How Can Something as Simple as Reading to a Child Be So Effective?
By: Jim TreleaseWe read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.
About Reading: An Introduction
By: Diane Henry LeipzigIt's not an easy thing, learning to read. This article provides a brief overview of what is involved and what parents, teachers, and everyone else who touches the life of a child can do to help those who struggle.
Why Some Children Have Difficulties Learning to Read
By: G. Reid LyonChildren may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons, including limited experience with books, speech and hearing problems, and poor phonemic awareness.
Findings of the National Reading Panel
By: Donald N. LangenbergAccording to research, some instructional methods for teaching reading are more effective than others. Find out what the National Reading Panel's review of the research revealed about best practices in reading instruction.
The Right Kind of Reading War
By: U.S. Department of EducationThe phrase "reading war" has been the popular description for long-running disagreements about the best way to teach children to read. Fierce battles have been waged by academics and theorists since the late 1800s (McCormick, 1999), with classroom teachers often spinning like weathervanes as they tried to align classroom practices with the prevailing winds.
First Grade Instruction
By: Learning First AllianceWhen it comes to reading, the nine months of first grade are arguably the most important in a student's schooling.
Yum: A Word in My Soup
By: Kerry HempenstallDr. Kerry Hempenstall, now a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia, recalls that magic time when he first learned how to read.
Identifying Risk Factors to Prevent Difficulties
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThere are certain characteristics of groups and individual children that increase their likelihood of struggling with reading. Find out how to use knowledge of these risk factors to help prevent reading problems for these children.
What Are the Skills for Reading?
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinReading ability is determined by many factors, and requires the development of certain skills through early reading instruction to attain initial success and build on it.
Research-Based Principles for Improving the Reading Achievement of America's Children
By: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading AchievementLearn ten lessons from research about the home and school experiences necessary for reading success in this concise overview.
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children: Executive Summary
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThis influential 1998 report was developed by The Committee for the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, established by the National Academy of Sciences to study the comparative effectiveness of interventions for young children who are at risk of having problems learning to read. The primary goal of the project was to translate the research findings about reading into advice and guidance for parents, educators, and others involved in the literacy development of young children.
Goals for Kindergarten: Experimental Reading and Writing
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children go through phases of reading development from preschool through third grade — from exploration of books to independent reading. In kindergarten, children develop basic concepts of print and begin to engage in and experiment with reading and writing. Find out what parents and teachers can do to support kindergarten literacy skills.
Simple Things Principals Can Do to Help All Children Read Well
By: U.S. Department of EducationSchools play a pivotal role in helping young children learn how to read. This collection of tips will help administrators, teachers, and other school staff members set children on the path to reading.
Why Are So Many Children Having Difficulties?
By: G. Reid LyonA child's background and prior experiences can contribute to increased risk of reading problems. However, the are four factors that hinder reading development regardless of a child's background. Find out what they are in this brief overview.
25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun
By: U.S. Department of EducationDoing activities with your children allows you to promote their reading and writing skills while having fun at the same time. These activities for pre-readers, beginning readers, and older readers includes what you need and what to do for each one.
The Challenge of Learning to Read
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonChildren from a variety of backgrounds struggle with learning to read. However, as described in this article, research points to one common reason they struggle, and common strategies to help them succeed.
Literacy Tips for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonThese tips for parents of children with learning disabilities emphasize to all parents the importance of helping children learn about letters and sounds. Get concrete advice for teaching the alphabet, raising awareness about sounds, and promoting letter-sound knowledge.
Learning to Read and Write
By: International Literacy Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Developmentally appropriate research-based literacy instruction in the primary grades includes attention to a variety of areas. Learn what reading instruction looks like in such areas as word identification, writing, and spelling in this overview.
The Need to Change the Way Children Are Taught to Read
By: Susan Brady, Louisa MoatsRecent research has provided a clearer picture about reading difficulties and how to prevent them. This position paper of the International Dyslexia Association argues for reform in teacher preparation to reflect these research-based understandings.
How Do Children Learn to Read?
By: G. Reid LyonLearning how to read requires several complex accomplishments. Read about the challenges children face as they learn how sounds are connected to print, as they develop fluency, and as they learn to construct meaning from print.
The Foundations for Reading
By: Susan Burns, Peg Griffin, Catherine SnowThree main accomplishments characterize good readers. Find out what these accomplishments are, and what experiences in the early years lay the groundwork for attaining them.
How Most Children Learn to Read
By: Derry Koralek, Ray CollinsPlay is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.
Sounds and Letters
By: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted EducationEarly literacy activities help young children develop many skills. One of these skills is phonological awareness. Learn about phonological awareness and how parents can help children develop it.
Learning to Read, Reading to Learn
By: National Center to Improve the Tools of EducatorsFrom decades of research about how young children can best learn to read, we know that there are core skills and cognitive processes that need to be taught. In this basic overview, you'll find concrete strategies to help children build a solid foundation for reading.
Strategies for Achieving the Goal of Every Child Reading
By: Learning First AllianceIf 40 percent of all third-graders are not reading adequately today, reducing this substantially by the time children being born today reach third grade will be an enormous undertaking.
Print-to-Speech and Speech-to-Print: Mapping Early Literacy
By: Jeannine Herron, et al.In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words.
First Rule of Reading: Keep Your Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAll kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers — as well as reading interventionists — should teach students to keep their eyes on the words on the page so that they do not have to later struggle with breaking a habit that hampers effective, efficient reading.
Helping Students Keep Their Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAn almost universal habit that struggling readers exhibit is looking up from the words when reading. Learn the three primary reasons why students look up as they read, and then find out how to respond to each case in the most effective way.
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Tina OsengaIntegrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words.
The Simple View of Reading
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Marcia Davidson, Tina OsengaThe Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student's reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known.
Three Recommendations for Greater Reading Proficiency
By: Susan PimentelIn addition to explicit phonics instruction, teachers need to support students' ability to understand complex text and build background knowledge. Teachers also deserve access to high-quality curriculum materials — a thoughtfully arranged, comprehensive, sequential curriculum that embeds standards, the science of reading, and key instructional shifts.
Structured Literacy Instruction: The Basics
By: International Dyslexia AssociationStructured Literacy prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner. This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers. Get the basics on the six elements of Structured Literacy and how each element is taught.
Improving Practice: Four Essential Components Supporting Quality Reading Instruction
By: U.S. Department of EducationFour strategies and practices are common to effective reading instruction programs: multi-tiered systems of support; universal screening, progress monitoring, and collaboration between special education and general education. This article provides links to tools that support implementation in each area.
Every Teacher, Every Day: What Teachers Need to Implement Effective Reading Instruction
By: Donna MeccaA veteran reading teacher shares takeaways from her 'Teachers as Readers' learning group. What teachers need: enough time to teach language arts, well-stocked classroom libraries, student input, and meaningful professional development.
Best Practices in Reading: A 21st Century Skill Update
By: Kathleen Roskos, Susan NeumanFor years, the field of reading education has been engaged in thinking about best practices. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, rereading and using digital textbooks to motivate children's reading are among some of these updated best practices. Those in the reading community are urged to consider best practices, and how we may promote their uses, with high fidelity in classroom instruction.
How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
By: Reading RocketsIs your school using the new Common Core standards? This is a big change for students — and their parents. Get to know what the four main areas of the Common Core reading standards mean and simple things you can do at home to help your child build skills in these areas.
The Effects of Mandatory Retention
By: Saga BriggsIn many states, third graders who cannot read proficiently are required to repeat that year. This policy, known as mandatory retention, can greatly impact students' emotional and cognitive development. In an effort to reconcile the academic and social needs of young learners, this article addresses the pros and cons of mandatory retention, global treatment of the problem, and possible solutions.
Q&A with Dr. Daniel Willingham
By: Daniel T. WillinghamDr. Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, answers questions about effective teaching, reading comprehension, cognitive science, and more.
Lead for Literacy
By: The Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Harvard Graduate School of EducationThe Lead for Literacy initiative is a series of one-page memos for policymakers and early literacy leaders on how to improve young children's literacy, birth to age 9. Using evidence from research, these briefs are designed to help leaders avoid common mistakes and present solutions and strategies for scalability and impact.
Building Reading Stamina
By: Reading RocketsReading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Find out how you can help your child develop reading stamina.
10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader
By: Reading RocketsParents are a child's first teacher, and there are many simple things you can do every day to share the joy of reading while strengthening your child's literacy skills.
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Reading
By: Reading RocketsGet the basic facts about what it takes for a young child to learn to read, best practices in teaching reading, the importance of oral language in literacy development, why so many children struggle, and more in this overview.
Speaking Is Natural; Reading and Writing Are Not
By: Louisa Moats, Carol TolmanHuman brains are naturally wired to speak; they are not naturally wired to read and write. With teaching, children typically learn to read at about age 5 or 6 and need several years to master the skill.
Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!
By: Reading RocketsMany New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler. Try this menu of reading activities.
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
By: Suzanne IrujoIn this article, a seasoned ELL teacher synthesizes her own classroom experience and the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth to make recommendations for effective literacy instruction of ELL students.
Beginning Readers: Look! I Can Read This!
By: Reading RocketsAs a parent of a beginning reader, it's important to support your child's reading efforts in a positive way and help them along the reading path. Here's a little information about beginning readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
By: Reading RocketsEven the youngest child is somewhere on the path to becoming a reader. As a parent, it's important to support your child's efforts in a positive way and help him or her along the reading path. Here's a little information about emergent readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Ready to Read
By: U.S. Department of EducationParents — you are your child's most important teacher! Using a few of these ideas, you can help your child enter the classroom ready to read.
What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song
By: Sebastian WrenThis article illustrates the difference between being able to decode words on a page and being able to derive meaning from the words and the concepts they are trying to convey.
Learning to Read and Write: What Research Reveals
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life. Long before they can exhibit reading and writing production skills, they begin to acquire some basic understandings of the concepts about literacy and its functions.
What Is Scientifically Based Research? A Guide For Teachers
By: National Institute for LiteracyTeachers can strengthen instruction and protect their students' valuable time in school by scientifically evaluating claims about teaching methods and recognizing quality research when they see it. This article provides a brief introduction to understanding and using scientifically based research.
Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt
By: American Federation of TeachersA look at three pivotal longitudinal studies that clearly show: Late bloomers are rare; skill deficits are almost always what prevent children from blooming as readers.
Ready to Read: Heading for the Classroom
By: U.S. Department of EducationWhat parents do or don't do in the preschool years has a lasting impact on children's reading ability. Learn some facts about the importance and need for literacy experiences in the primary grades.
Some Principles from the Reading Research
By: Partnership for ReadingThese findings of the National Reading Panel offer a wealth of detailed information on strategies that have proven to work in reading instruction.
Ten Myths About Learning to Read
By: Sebastian WrenThere are many beliefs and a great deal of dogma associated with reading acquisition, and people are often reluctant to let go of their beliefs despite contradictory research evidence. Here are 10 of the most popular and most potentially pernicious myths that influence reading education.
Boys and Books
By: Jane McFannThe statistics are consistent: Young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. This article looks at the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why, and suggests solutions — including the need for more men to become role models for reading.
The Alphabetic Principle
By: Texas Education AgencyChildren's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read. Knowing letter names is strongly related to children's ability to remember the forms of written words and their ability to treat words as sequences of letters.
What Is Scientifically Based Reading Research?
By: U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesScientifically based reading research applies the scientific method to learn about about how young children develop reading skills, how children can be taught to read, and how children can overcome reading difficulties. Discover the basic elements to look for in science-based reading research.
How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?
By: Laura BushQuality can look different in individual primary grade classrooms. However, there are certain characteristics of effective early reading programs that parents can look for in their children's classrooms. First Lady Laura Bush presents a list of these characteristics in this guide for parents.
Effective Reading Instruction
By: National Institute for Literacy
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
By: Judith Gold, Akimi GibsonThis article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
What Is Reading?
By: Diane Henry LeipzigReading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print.
What Science Offers Teachers of Reading
By: Louise Spear-Swerling, Robert SternbergReview well-established scientific findings about reading and their practical implications, for children with and without reading disabilities. In addition, consider some broader ways that science may be useful to educators and get suggestions for individual teachers interested in becoming more familiar with scientific research on reading.
How Can Something as Simple as Reading to a Child Be So Effective?
By: Jim TreleaseWe read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.
About Reading: An Introduction
By: Diane Henry LeipzigIt's not an easy thing, learning to read. This article provides a brief overview of what is involved and what parents, teachers, and everyone else who touches the life of a child can do to help those who struggle.
Why Some Children Have Difficulties Learning to Read
By: G. Reid LyonChildren may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons, including limited experience with books, speech and hearing problems, and poor phonemic awareness.
Findings of the National Reading Panel
By: Donald N. LangenbergAccording to research, some instructional methods for teaching reading are more effective than others. Find out what the National Reading Panel's review of the research revealed about best practices in reading instruction.
The Right Kind of Reading War
By: U.S. Department of EducationThe phrase "reading war" has been the popular description for long-running disagreements about the best way to teach children to read. Fierce battles have been waged by academics and theorists since the late 1800s (McCormick, 1999), with classroom teachers often spinning like weathervanes as they tried to align classroom practices with the prevailing winds.
First Grade Instruction
By: Learning First AllianceWhen it comes to reading, the nine months of first grade are arguably the most important in a student's schooling.
Yum: A Word in My Soup
By: Kerry HempenstallDr. Kerry Hempenstall, now a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia, recalls that magic time when he first learned how to read.
Identifying Risk Factors to Prevent Difficulties
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThere are certain characteristics of groups and individual children that increase their likelihood of struggling with reading. Find out how to use knowledge of these risk factors to help prevent reading problems for these children.
What Are the Skills for Reading?
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinReading ability is determined by many factors, and requires the development of certain skills through early reading instruction to attain initial success and build on it.
Research-Based Principles for Improving the Reading Achievement of America's Children
By: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading AchievementLearn ten lessons from research about the home and school experiences necessary for reading success in this concise overview.
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children: Executive Summary
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThis influential 1998 report was developed by The Committee for the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, established by the National Academy of Sciences to study the comparative effectiveness of interventions for young children who are at risk of having problems learning to read. The primary goal of the project was to translate the research findings about reading into advice and guidance for parents, educators, and others involved in the literacy development of young children.
Goals for Kindergarten: Experimental Reading and Writing
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children go through phases of reading development from preschool through third grade — from exploration of books to independent reading. In kindergarten, children develop basic concepts of print and begin to engage in and experiment with reading and writing. Find out what parents and teachers can do to support kindergarten literacy skills.
Simple Things Principals Can Do to Help All Children Read Well
By: U.S. Department of EducationSchools play a pivotal role in helping young children learn how to read. This collection of tips will help administrators, teachers, and other school staff members set children on the path to reading.
Why Are So Many Children Having Difficulties?
By: G. Reid LyonA child's background and prior experiences can contribute to increased risk of reading problems. However, the are four factors that hinder reading development regardless of a child's background. Find out what they are in this brief overview.
25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun
By: U.S. Department of EducationDoing activities with your children allows you to promote their reading and writing skills while having fun at the same time. These activities for pre-readers, beginning readers, and older readers includes what you need and what to do for each one.
The Challenge of Learning to Read
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonChildren from a variety of backgrounds struggle with learning to read. However, as described in this article, research points to one common reason they struggle, and common strategies to help them succeed.
Literacy Tips for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonThese tips for parents of children with learning disabilities emphasize to all parents the importance of helping children learn about letters and sounds. Get concrete advice for teaching the alphabet, raising awareness about sounds, and promoting letter-sound knowledge.
Learning to Read and Write
By: International Literacy Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Developmentally appropriate research-based literacy instruction in the primary grades includes attention to a variety of areas. Learn what reading instruction looks like in such areas as word identification, writing, and spelling in this overview.
The Need to Change the Way Children Are Taught to Read
By: Susan Brady, Louisa MoatsRecent research has provided a clearer picture about reading difficulties and how to prevent them. This position paper of the International Dyslexia Association argues for reform in teacher preparation to reflect these research-based understandings.
How Do Children Learn to Read?
By: G. Reid LyonLearning how to read requires several complex accomplishments. Read about the challenges children face as they learn how sounds are connected to print, as they develop fluency, and as they learn to construct meaning from print.
The Foundations for Reading
By: Susan Burns, Peg Griffin, Catherine SnowThree main accomplishments characterize good readers. Find out what these accomplishments are, and what experiences in the early years lay the groundwork for attaining them.
How Most Children Learn to Read
By: Derry Koralek, Ray CollinsPlay is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.
Sounds and Letters
By: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted EducationEarly literacy activities help young children develop many skills. One of these skills is phonological awareness. Learn about phonological awareness and how parents can help children develop it.
Learning to Read, Reading to Learn
By: National Center to Improve the Tools of EducatorsFrom decades of research about how young children can best learn to read, we know that there are core skills and cognitive processes that need to be taught. In this basic overview, you'll find concrete strategies to help children build a solid foundation for reading.
Strategies for Achieving the Goal of Every Child Reading
By: Learning First AllianceIf 40 percent of all third-graders are not reading adequately today, reducing this substantially by the time children being born today reach third grade will be an enormous undertaking.
Print-to-Speech and Speech-to-Print: Mapping Early Literacy
By: Jeannine Herron, et al.In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words.
First Rule of Reading: Keep Your Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAll kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers — as well as reading interventionists — should teach students to keep their eyes on the words on the page so that they do not have to later struggle with breaking a habit that hampers effective, efficient reading.
Helping Students Keep Their Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAn almost universal habit that struggling readers exhibit is looking up from the words when reading. Learn the three primary reasons why students look up as they read, and then find out how to respond to each case in the most effective way.
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Tina OsengaIntegrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words.
The Simple View of Reading
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Marcia Davidson, Tina OsengaThe Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student's reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known.
Three Recommendations for Greater Reading Proficiency
By: Susan PimentelIn addition to explicit phonics instruction, teachers need to support students' ability to understand complex text and build background knowledge. Teachers also deserve access to high-quality curriculum materials — a thoughtfully arranged, comprehensive, sequential curriculum that embeds standards, the science of reading, and key instructional shifts.
Structured Literacy Instruction: The Basics
By: International Dyslexia AssociationStructured Literacy prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner. This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers. Get the basics on the six elements of Structured Literacy and how each element is taught.
Improving Practice: Four Essential Components Supporting Quality Reading Instruction
By: U.S. Department of EducationFour strategies and practices are common to effective reading instruction programs: multi-tiered systems of support; universal screening, progress monitoring, and collaboration between special education and general education. This article provides links to tools that support implementation in each area.
Every Teacher, Every Day: What Teachers Need to Implement Effective Reading Instruction
By: Donna MeccaA veteran reading teacher shares takeaways from her 'Teachers as Readers' learning group. What teachers need: enough time to teach language arts, well-stocked classroom libraries, student input, and meaningful professional development.
Best Practices in Reading: A 21st Century Skill Update
By: Kathleen Roskos, Susan NeumanFor years, the field of reading education has been engaged in thinking about best practices. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, rereading and using digital textbooks to motivate children's reading are among some of these updated best practices. Those in the reading community are urged to consider best practices, and how we may promote their uses, with high fidelity in classroom instruction.
How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
By: Reading RocketsIs your school using the new Common Core standards? This is a big change for students — and their parents. Get to know what the four main areas of the Common Core reading standards mean and simple things you can do at home to help your child build skills in these areas.
The Effects of Mandatory Retention
By: Saga BriggsIn many states, third graders who cannot read proficiently are required to repeat that year. This policy, known as mandatory retention, can greatly impact students' emotional and cognitive development. In an effort to reconcile the academic and social needs of young learners, this article addresses the pros and cons of mandatory retention, global treatment of the problem, and possible solutions.
Q&A with Dr. Daniel Willingham
By: Daniel T. WillinghamDr. Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, answers questions about effective teaching, reading comprehension, cognitive science, and more.
Lead for Literacy
By: The Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Harvard Graduate School of EducationThe Lead for Literacy initiative is a series of one-page memos for policymakers and early literacy leaders on how to improve young children's literacy, birth to age 9. Using evidence from research, these briefs are designed to help leaders avoid common mistakes and present solutions and strategies for scalability and impact.
Building Reading Stamina
By: Reading RocketsReading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Find out how you can help your child develop reading stamina.
10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader
By: Reading RocketsParents are a child's first teacher, and there are many simple things you can do every day to share the joy of reading while strengthening your child's literacy skills.
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Reading
By: Reading RocketsGet the basic facts about what it takes for a young child to learn to read, best practices in teaching reading, the importance of oral language in literacy development, why so many children struggle, and more in this overview.
Speaking Is Natural; Reading and Writing Are Not
By: Louisa Moats, Carol TolmanHuman brains are naturally wired to speak; they are not naturally wired to read and write. With teaching, children typically learn to read at about age 5 or 6 and need several years to master the skill.
Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!
By: Reading RocketsMany New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler. Try this menu of reading activities.
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
By: Suzanne IrujoIn this article, a seasoned ELL teacher synthesizes her own classroom experience and the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth to make recommendations for effective literacy instruction of ELL students.
Beginning Readers: Look! I Can Read This!
By: Reading RocketsAs a parent of a beginning reader, it's important to support your child's reading efforts in a positive way and help them along the reading path. Here's a little information about beginning readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
By: Reading RocketsEven the youngest child is somewhere on the path to becoming a reader. As a parent, it's important to support your child's efforts in a positive way and help him or her along the reading path. Here's a little information about emergent readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Ready to Read
By: U.S. Department of EducationParents — you are your child's most important teacher! Using a few of these ideas, you can help your child enter the classroom ready to read.
What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song
By: Sebastian WrenThis article illustrates the difference between being able to decode words on a page and being able to derive meaning from the words and the concepts they are trying to convey.
Learning to Read and Write: What Research Reveals
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life. Long before they can exhibit reading and writing production skills, they begin to acquire some basic understandings of the concepts about literacy and its functions.
What Is Scientifically Based Research? A Guide For Teachers
By: National Institute for LiteracyTeachers can strengthen instruction and protect their students' valuable time in school by scientifically evaluating claims about teaching methods and recognizing quality research when they see it. This article provides a brief introduction to understanding and using scientifically based research.
Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt
By: American Federation of TeachersA look at three pivotal longitudinal studies that clearly show: Late bloomers are rare; skill deficits are almost always what prevent children from blooming as readers.
Ready to Read: Heading for the Classroom
By: U.S. Department of EducationWhat parents do or don't do in the preschool years has a lasting impact on children's reading ability. Learn some facts about the importance and need for literacy experiences in the primary grades.
Some Principles from the Reading Research
By: Partnership for ReadingThese findings of the National Reading Panel offer a wealth of detailed information on strategies that have proven to work in reading instruction.
Ten Myths About Learning to Read
By: Sebastian WrenThere are many beliefs and a great deal of dogma associated with reading acquisition, and people are often reluctant to let go of their beliefs despite contradictory research evidence. Here are 10 of the most popular and most potentially pernicious myths that influence reading education.
Boys and Books
By: Jane McFannThe statistics are consistent: Young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. This article looks at the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why, and suggests solutions — including the need for more men to become role models for reading.
The Alphabetic Principle
By: Texas Education AgencyChildren's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read. Knowing letter names is strongly related to children's ability to remember the forms of written words and their ability to treat words as sequences of letters.
What Is Scientifically Based Reading Research?
By: U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesScientifically based reading research applies the scientific method to learn about about how young children develop reading skills, how children can be taught to read, and how children can overcome reading difficulties. Discover the basic elements to look for in science-based reading research.
How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?
By: Laura BushQuality can look different in individual primary grade classrooms. However, there are certain characteristics of effective early reading programs that parents can look for in their children's classrooms. First Lady Laura Bush presents a list of these characteristics in this guide for parents.
Effective Reading Instruction
By: National Institute for Literacy
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
By: Judith Gold, Akimi GibsonThis article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
What Is Reading?
By: Diane Henry LeipzigReading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print.
What Science Offers Teachers of Reading
By: Louise Spear-Swerling, Robert SternbergReview well-established scientific findings about reading and their practical implications, for children with and without reading disabilities. In addition, consider some broader ways that science may be useful to educators and get suggestions for individual teachers interested in becoming more familiar with scientific research on reading.
How Can Something as Simple as Reading to a Child Be So Effective?
By: Jim TreleaseWe read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.
About Reading: An Introduction
By: Diane Henry LeipzigIt's not an easy thing, learning to read. This article provides a brief overview of what is involved and what parents, teachers, and everyone else who touches the life of a child can do to help those who struggle.
Why Some Children Have Difficulties Learning to Read
By: G. Reid LyonChildren may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons, including limited experience with books, speech and hearing problems, and poor phonemic awareness.
Findings of the National Reading Panel
By: Donald N. LangenbergAccording to research, some instructional methods for teaching reading are more effective than others. Find out what the National Reading Panel's review of the research revealed about best practices in reading instruction.
The Right Kind of Reading War
By: U.S. Department of EducationThe phrase "reading war" has been the popular description for long-running disagreements about the best way to teach children to read. Fierce battles have been waged by academics and theorists since the late 1800s (McCormick, 1999), with classroom teachers often spinning like weathervanes as they tried to align classroom practices with the prevailing winds.
First Grade Instruction
By: Learning First AllianceWhen it comes to reading, the nine months of first grade are arguably the most important in a student's schooling.
Yum: A Word in My Soup
By: Kerry HempenstallDr. Kerry Hempenstall, now a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia, recalls that magic time when he first learned how to read.
Identifying Risk Factors to Prevent Difficulties
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThere are certain characteristics of groups and individual children that increase their likelihood of struggling with reading. Find out how to use knowledge of these risk factors to help prevent reading problems for these children.
What Are the Skills for Reading?
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinReading ability is determined by many factors, and requires the development of certain skills through early reading instruction to attain initial success and build on it.
Research-Based Principles for Improving the Reading Achievement of America's Children
By: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading AchievementLearn ten lessons from research about the home and school experiences necessary for reading success in this concise overview.
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children: Executive Summary
By: Catherine Snow, Susan Burns, Peg GriffinThis influential 1998 report was developed by The Committee for the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children, established by the National Academy of Sciences to study the comparative effectiveness of interventions for young children who are at risk of having problems learning to read. The primary goal of the project was to translate the research findings about reading into advice and guidance for parents, educators, and others involved in the literacy development of young children.
Goals for Kindergarten: Experimental Reading and Writing
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children go through phases of reading development from preschool through third grade — from exploration of books to independent reading. In kindergarten, children develop basic concepts of print and begin to engage in and experiment with reading and writing. Find out what parents and teachers can do to support kindergarten literacy skills.
Simple Things Principals Can Do to Help All Children Read Well
By: U.S. Department of EducationSchools play a pivotal role in helping young children learn how to read. This collection of tips will help administrators, teachers, and other school staff members set children on the path to reading.
Why Are So Many Children Having Difficulties?
By: G. Reid LyonA child's background and prior experiences can contribute to increased risk of reading problems. However, the are four factors that hinder reading development regardless of a child's background. Find out what they are in this brief overview.
25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun
By: U.S. Department of EducationDoing activities with your children allows you to promote their reading and writing skills while having fun at the same time. These activities for pre-readers, beginning readers, and older readers includes what you need and what to do for each one.
The Challenge of Learning to Read
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonChildren from a variety of backgrounds struggle with learning to read. However, as described in this article, research points to one common reason they struggle, and common strategies to help them succeed.
Literacy Tips for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
By: Ed Kame'enui, Marilyn Jager Adams, G. Reid LyonThese tips for parents of children with learning disabilities emphasize to all parents the importance of helping children learn about letters and sounds. Get concrete advice for teaching the alphabet, raising awareness about sounds, and promoting letter-sound knowledge.
Learning to Read and Write
By: International Literacy Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Developmentally appropriate research-based literacy instruction in the primary grades includes attention to a variety of areas. Learn what reading instruction looks like in such areas as word identification, writing, and spelling in this overview.
The Need to Change the Way Children Are Taught to Read
By: Susan Brady, Louisa MoatsRecent research has provided a clearer picture about reading difficulties and how to prevent them. This position paper of the International Dyslexia Association argues for reform in teacher preparation to reflect these research-based understandings.
How Do Children Learn to Read?
By: G. Reid LyonLearning how to read requires several complex accomplishments. Read about the challenges children face as they learn how sounds are connected to print, as they develop fluency, and as they learn to construct meaning from print.
The Foundations for Reading
By: Susan Burns, Peg Griffin, Catherine SnowThree main accomplishments characterize good readers. Find out what these accomplishments are, and what experiences in the early years lay the groundwork for attaining them.
How Most Children Learn to Read
By: Derry Koralek, Ray CollinsPlay is the work of children – through play and interaction, children learn how to talk, listen, read, and write. Read about typical behaviors of emergent and beginning readers, and how each of these behaviors relate to reading and writing.
Sounds and Letters
By: ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted EducationEarly literacy activities help young children develop many skills. One of these skills is phonological awareness. Learn about phonological awareness and how parents can help children develop it.
Learning to Read, Reading to Learn
By: National Center to Improve the Tools of EducatorsFrom decades of research about how young children can best learn to read, we know that there are core skills and cognitive processes that need to be taught. In this basic overview, you'll find concrete strategies to help children build a solid foundation for reading.
Strategies for Achieving the Goal of Every Child Reading
By: Learning First AllianceIf 40 percent of all third-graders are not reading adequately today, reducing this substantially by the time children being born today reach third grade will be an enormous undertaking.
Print-to-Speech and Speech-to-Print: Mapping Early Literacy
By: Jeannine Herron, et al.In this overview, learn how early literacy benefits from both print-to-speech and speech-to-print instruction, creating connections in the brain that link new knowledge about the alphabet to what children already know and are continuously learning about words.
First Rule of Reading: Keep Your Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAll kindergarten, first-grade, and second-grade teachers — as well as reading interventionists — should teach students to keep their eyes on the words on the page so that they do not have to later struggle with breaking a habit that hampers effective, efficient reading.
Helping Students Keep Their Eyes on the Words
By: Linda FarrellAn almost universal habit that struggling readers exhibit is looking up from the words when reading. Learn the three primary reasons why students look up as they read, and then find out how to respond to each case in the most effective way.
A New Model for Teaching High-Frequency Words
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Tina OsengaIntegrating high-frequency words into phonics lessons allows students to make sense of spelling patterns for these words. To do this, high-frequency words need to be categorized according to whether they are spelled entirely regularly or not. This article describes how to "rethink" teaching of high-frequency words.
The Simple View of Reading
By: Linda Farrell, Michael Hunter, Marcia Davidson, Tina OsengaThe Simple View of Reading is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension. Research studies show that a student's reading comprehension score can be predicted if decoding skills and language comprehension abilities are known.
Three Recommendations for Greater Reading Proficiency
By: Susan PimentelIn addition to explicit phonics instruction, teachers need to support students' ability to understand complex text and build background knowledge. Teachers also deserve access to high-quality curriculum materials — a thoughtfully arranged, comprehensive, sequential curriculum that embeds standards, the science of reading, and key instructional shifts.
Structured Literacy Instruction: The Basics
By: International Dyslexia AssociationStructured Literacy prepares students to decode words in an explicit and systematic manner. This approach not only helps students with dyslexia, but there is substantial evidence that it is effective for all readers. Get the basics on the six elements of Structured Literacy and how each element is taught.
Improving Practice: Four Essential Components Supporting Quality Reading Instruction
By: U.S. Department of EducationFour strategies and practices are common to effective reading instruction programs: multi-tiered systems of support; universal screening, progress monitoring, and collaboration between special education and general education. This article provides links to tools that support implementation in each area.
Every Teacher, Every Day: What Teachers Need to Implement Effective Reading Instruction
By: Donna MeccaA veteran reading teacher shares takeaways from her 'Teachers as Readers' learning group. What teachers need: enough time to teach language arts, well-stocked classroom libraries, student input, and meaningful professional development.
Best Practices in Reading: A 21st Century Skill Update
By: Kathleen Roskos, Susan NeumanFor years, the field of reading education has been engaged in thinking about best practices. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, rereading and using digital textbooks to motivate children's reading are among some of these updated best practices. Those in the reading community are urged to consider best practices, and how we may promote their uses, with high fidelity in classroom instruction.
How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
By: Reading RocketsIs your school using the new Common Core standards? This is a big change for students — and their parents. Get to know what the four main areas of the Common Core reading standards mean and simple things you can do at home to help your child build skills in these areas.
The Effects of Mandatory Retention
By: Saga BriggsIn many states, third graders who cannot read proficiently are required to repeat that year. This policy, known as mandatory retention, can greatly impact students' emotional and cognitive development. In an effort to reconcile the academic and social needs of young learners, this article addresses the pros and cons of mandatory retention, global treatment of the problem, and possible solutions.
Q&A with Dr. Daniel Willingham
By: Daniel T. WillinghamDr. Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, answers questions about effective teaching, reading comprehension, cognitive science, and more.
Lead for Literacy
By: The Language Diversity and Literacy Development Research Group, Harvard Graduate School of EducationThe Lead for Literacy initiative is a series of one-page memos for policymakers and early literacy leaders on how to improve young children's literacy, birth to age 9. Using evidence from research, these briefs are designed to help leaders avoid common mistakes and present solutions and strategies for scalability and impact.
Building Reading Stamina
By: Reading RocketsReading stamina is a child's ability to focus and read independently for long-ish periods of time without being distracted or without distracting others. Find out how you can help your child develop reading stamina.
10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader
By: Reading RocketsParents are a child's first teacher, and there are many simple things you can do every day to share the joy of reading while strengthening your child's literacy skills.
Top 10 Things You Should Know About Reading
By: Reading RocketsGet the basic facts about what it takes for a young child to learn to read, best practices in teaching reading, the importance of oral language in literacy development, why so many children struggle, and more in this overview.
Speaking Is Natural; Reading and Writing Are Not
By: Louisa Moats, Carol TolmanHuman brains are naturally wired to speak; they are not naturally wired to read and write. With teaching, children typically learn to read at about age 5 or 6 and need several years to master the skill.
Start the New Year Off Right: Resolve to Raise a Reader!
By: Reading RocketsMany New Year's resolutions focus on developing healthy habits. Here's one that is important to make and keep: provide a regular diet of books and reading for your preschooler. Try this menu of reading activities.
What Does Research Tell Us About Teaching Reading to English Language Learners?
By: Suzanne IrujoIn this article, a seasoned ELL teacher synthesizes her own classroom experience and the findings of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth to make recommendations for effective literacy instruction of ELL students.
Beginning Readers: Look! I Can Read This!
By: Reading RocketsAs a parent of a beginning reader, it's important to support your child's reading efforts in a positive way and help them along the reading path. Here's a little information about beginning readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Emergent Readers: Look! That's My Letter!
By: Reading RocketsEven the youngest child is somewhere on the path to becoming a reader. As a parent, it's important to support your child's efforts in a positive way and help him or her along the reading path. Here's a little information about emergent readers, and a few pointers to keep in mind.
Ready to Read
By: U.S. Department of EducationParents — you are your child's most important teacher! Using a few of these ideas, you can help your child enter the classroom ready to read.
What Is Reading? Decoding and the Jabberwocky's Song
By: Sebastian WrenThis article illustrates the difference between being able to decode words on a page and being able to derive meaning from the words and the concepts they are trying to convey.
Learning to Read and Write: What Research Reveals
By: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life. Long before they can exhibit reading and writing production skills, they begin to acquire some basic understandings of the concepts about literacy and its functions.
What Is Scientifically Based Research? A Guide For Teachers
By: National Institute for LiteracyTeachers can strengthen instruction and protect their students' valuable time in school by scientifically evaluating claims about teaching methods and recognizing quality research when they see it. This article provides a brief introduction to understanding and using scientifically based research.
Waiting Rarely Works: Late Bloomers Usually Just Wilt
By: American Federation of TeachersA look at three pivotal longitudinal studies that clearly show: Late bloomers are rare; skill deficits are almost always what prevent children from blooming as readers.
Ready to Read: Heading for the Classroom
By: U.S. Department of EducationWhat parents do or don't do in the preschool years has a lasting impact on children's reading ability. Learn some facts about the importance and need for literacy experiences in the primary grades.
Some Principles from the Reading Research
By: Partnership for ReadingThese findings of the National Reading Panel offer a wealth of detailed information on strategies that have proven to work in reading instruction.
Ten Myths About Learning to Read
By: Sebastian WrenThere are many beliefs and a great deal of dogma associated with reading acquisition, and people are often reluctant to let go of their beliefs despite contradictory research evidence. Here are 10 of the most popular and most potentially pernicious myths that influence reading education.
Boys and Books
By: Jane McFannThe statistics are consistent: Young male readers lag behind their female counterparts in literacy skills. This article looks at the social, psychological, and developmental reasons why, and suggests solutions — including the need for more men to become role models for reading.
The Alphabetic Principle
By: Texas Education AgencyChildren's knowledge of letter names and shapes is a strong predictor of their success in learning to read. Knowing letter names is strongly related to children's ability to remember the forms of written words and their ability to treat words as sequences of letters.
What Is Scientifically Based Reading Research?
By: U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesScientifically based reading research applies the scientific method to learn about about how young children develop reading skills, how children can be taught to read, and how children can overcome reading difficulties. Discover the basic elements to look for in science-based reading research.
How Do I Know a Good Early Reading Program When I See One?
By: Laura BushQuality can look different in individual primary grade classrooms. However, there are certain characteristics of effective early reading programs that parents can look for in their children's classrooms. First Lady Laura Bush presents a list of these characteristics in this guide for parents.
Effective Reading Instruction
By: National Institute for Literacy
Reading Aloud to Build Comprehension
By: Judith Gold, Akimi GibsonThis article discusses the power of reading aloud and goes a step further to discuss the power of thinking out loud while reading to children as a way to highlight the strategies used by thoughtful readers.
What Is Reading?
By: Diane Henry LeipzigReading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print.
What Science Offers Teachers of Reading
By: Louise Spear-Swerling, Robert SternbergReview well-established scientific findings about reading and their practical implications, for children with and without reading disabilities. In addition, consider some broader ways that science may be useful to educators and get suggestions for individual teachers interested in becoming more familiar with scientific research on reading.
How Can Something as Simple as Reading to a Child Be So Effective?
By: Jim TreleaseWe read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.
About Reading: An Introduction
By: Diane Henry LeipzigIt's not an easy thing, learning to read. This article provides a brief overview of what is involved and what parents, teachers, and everyone else who touches the life of a child can do to help those who struggle.
Why Some Children Have Difficulties Learning to Read
By: G. Reid LyonChildren may struggle with reading for a variety of reasons, including limited experience with books, speech and hearing problems, and poor phonemic awareness.
Findings of the National Reading Panel
By: Donald N. LangenbergAccording to research, some instructional methods for teaching reading are more effective than others. Find out what the National Reading Panel's review of the research revealed about best practices in reading instruction.
The Right Kind of Reading War
By: U.S. Department of EducationThe phrase "reading war" has been the popular description for long-running disagreements about the best way to teach children to read. Fierce battles have been waged by academics and theorists since the late 1800s (McCormick, 1999), with classroom teachers often spinning like weathervanes as they tried to align classroom practices with the prevailing winds.