The Science of Reading

When we started our work in the prison back in 2013, we were using methods grounded in science and good evidence. That’s why we got the great results we did! But back then, the term ‘Science of Reading’ wasn’t yet being used in the way it is now. It’s a term that has trended over the past couple of years. And a great hashtag has emerged along with it – #ScienceOfReading.

When a concept has a name, and we learn that name, our minds then use that vocabulary as an efficient ‘handle’ to grab onto the new idea. That’s the power of vocabulary.

There are plenty of minds around the world now, grabbing onto the idea of the #ScienceOfReading This means teaching reading and writing using only those methods that have been shown, through excellent scientific process, to be efficacious. Efficacious means that the methods are both effective AND efficient.

Our kids deserve nothing less than effective and efficient. Not many would argue with this.

So, these are exciting times! As an entire community, we are about to get a whole lot better at being effective and efficient at building reading and writing skills in our children – and in anyone else who missed the opportunity to get these skills under their belts when they were children.   

But what are the methods of the science of reading?

Here’s a bit of a summary. For more, head to the Five from Five website. It’s got everything you need on this topic.

• Explicit, direct teaching of phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to discern and discriminate the individual speech sounds (phonemes). If you are one of the lucky 70% (ish) of people who learned to read without difficulty, you may find it almost impossible to understand that many people, through no fault of their own, are not able to easily discern the individual speech sounds within a word. But this is an essential skill if they are to link sounds to letters.

• Explicit, direct teaching of phonics.

Phonics is the process by which we learn to link the phonemes (speech sounds) to letters and letter-patterns. The letters are the characters of the visual code of English. The alphabetic characters represent the phonemes on the page. They are the code that represents the speech sounds.

To write spoken language on a page, we need such a code. Because speech sounds are auditory. They are just vibrations in the air. They are not in the right medium to stick to a page. Phonemes are vibrations in the air. They are there in the moment they are spoken and then the vibrations are forever gone*. Unless we capture them in a code.

All around the ancient world at different times in history, visual codes were invented to capture and represent spoken language in a visual form. Through coding spoken language into a visual medium, a message could be carried across long distances and preserved through time. These codes are the different forms of writing. English came to be represented by the Roman alphabet. And so here we are in 2021, using these alphabetic characters to code our spoken language in writing.

To teach children to read and write we need to teach them how the visual characters and the phonemes are connected in this code – that’s phonics. That’s what phonics is all about.

* Of course, nowadays we can record the speech sounds on audio-recording technologies. But when reading and writing were invented, there were no such technologies.

• Explicit, direct practice at decoding and encoding the code of written language.

When we read, we are actively decoding the code of written English. Staged, ‘decodable readers’ are efficacious for building mastery in this skill of decoding written language (aka reading). These ‘readers’ are books that are written in such a way that a person – child, adolescent or adult – is presented only with words that they can independently work out by using their knowledge of the letters or letter-patterns. And by using their knowledge of how the speech sounds are represented by the letters. Using decodable readers builds their decoding competence. When one level is mastered, then they can be introduced to new letters and letter patterns to read at the next level. And so on.

The explicit practice must also involve encoding. This means writing words and sentences. A structured approach to literacy means writing words and sentences that are structured in such a way that a person – child adolescent or adult – practices encoding the code of written language at a level at which they can be entirely and independently successful. When one level is mastered, then they can be introduced to new letters and letter patterns to write at the next level. And so on.

The code of written language is like the tool of the master craftsman. It needs to be used over and over, gradually building complexity, until its use is effortless. And then the tool’s use can be turned to creation!

• Explicit, direct following of a thorough and systematic teaching sequence.

There are several excellent systematic sequences that have been developed to thoroughly teach the code of written English. They gradually introduce an increasing complexity of letter patterns and language.  They start with the most consistent patterns. Then gradually introduce the more complex patterns once earlier patterns are mastered.

• Explicit, direct teaching of vocabulary.

The etymology of the word ‘vocabulary’ is so interesting: voc (to call) + abul (able) + ary (place to keep). So, vocabulary is the place we keep the words we are able to call. It refers to the words we can understand and use.

Words are symbols that our brains use to store and process meaning. So vocabulary is the cognitive toolbox for building knowledge. It is possible to decode and say words even when you don’t know what the word means. And it is possible to know the meaning of words that you can’t decode. (The Simple View of Reading is a model that explains this well).

We are at the sweet spot when decoding and meaning come together effortlessly. Actually, it’s a spot that is more than sweet. It’s the point of power, pleasure, and enabling literacy freedom. To help reach and then expand that sweet spot, it is essential to actively build the reader’s vocabulary. We need these knowledge-packed word-symbols to understand what we read. And we also need them to express our meaning when we write.

• Explicit, direct teaching of comprehension.

Meaning is also encoded in language in other ways. Meaning is not just in the words themselves. The order of the words gives meaning too. Also, the way in which words can be used to imply meaning without openly stating that meaning. Or the way words combine in ‘expressions’ to mean something entirely different to the meanings of the individual words – ‘pull your socks up’ for example. If a reader is to understand the meaning intended by an author, these conventions in language use (and other conventions) must be taught.

Decoding and encoding serve the reader in obtaining meaning. When decoding and encoding are effortless and automatic, they don’t distract from the higher order extraction or creation of meaning. Rather, they entwine with vocabulary and meaning to make it possible to understand effortlessly and to write effortlessly. This is fluency.

• Explicit, direct teaching of fluency.

When we do an activity fluently, we do it effortlessly, and with high automaticity. The subskills of reading and writing need to be effortless and automatic. When they are, the learner can use all of their thinking to focus on the meaning that is being shared. They don’t have to compromise the meaning by wasting their mental effort on the subskills.

You may have noticed that ‘explicit’ and ‘direct’ are the instructional methods of choice for every skill. Nothing is left to chance. Every skill that is needed is taught. It is taught in a way that gives the learner conscious awareness of what it is they are learning. This supports them to bring their intention, knowledge and thinking to the task. It supports them to notice their responses, their successes, and their errors. Such ‘noticing’ opens awareness, contrast, and choice. And this is how learning is supported to happen deeply, to embed, and to become its own reward.

Voila! #100PercentLiteracy.

Rosalie Martin is a Hobart-based speech pathologist. She was 2017 Tasmanian of the Year. Here she writes for the Connect42 Colleagues @ The Heart of Literacy initiative. Find more at connect42.org.