Despite strong theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that word meaning knowledge plays a critical role in word reading, interventions for students with word reading difficulties and disabilities frequently target word reading instruction in isolation. This article connects reading theory to practice by describing one approach to integrate…

Recently, the term "science of reading" has been used in public debate to promote policies and instructional practices based on research on the basic cognitive mechanisms of reading, the neural processes involved in reading, computational models of learning to read, and the like. According to those views, such data provide convincing…

The What Works Clearinghouse™ is a federally funded source of scientific evidence for what works in education. The What Works Clearinghouse aims to disseminate findings from rigorous education research to the education community. One mechanism for accomplishing this aim is the production of practice guides. Panels of national content experts,…

Many adolescent readers experience difficulties comprehending informational text, which may result from underlying difficulties with foundational skills (e.g., word recognition and fluency), knowledge demands (e.g., background, text structure, and vocabulary), and/or reading motivation. Supplemental interventions for adolescents targeting only…

The goals of LETRS are to build teachers' knowledge of language structure and the processes involved in learning to read words, spell, and comprehend, and then to help teachers apply these understandings in their classrooms. The LETRS courses, which are designed for teachers in grades K-3, are to be implemented over two years. In the first year of…

The simple view of reading is commonly presented to educators in professional development about the science of reading. The simple view is a useful tool for conveying the undeniable importance--in fact, the necessity--of both decoding and linguistic comprehension for reading. Research in the 35 years since the theory was proposed has revealed…

Despite abundant research on effective reading instruction, many teachers struggle to meet the diverse needs of their students, particularly those with dyslexia. Even though reading is an essential skill for academic success, according to the 2019 "Nation's Report Card" published by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP),…

It has been more than 50 years since Clay (1966) first introduced the concepts about print (CAP). Emergent readers, aged 4-5, must acquire an understanding of basic and hierarchical concepts of letters, words, and sentences; they must also learn basic knowledge about texts and books; they must develop an awareness of book orientation,…

For many English Learners (ELs), access to post-secondary education has been limited. Of particular concern to post-secondary educators is that lack of access has been attributed in part to deficits in reading proficiency. Many postsecondary education programs do not adequately differentiate and scaffold instruction, suggesting that these are…

"Science of reading" is a term that has been used variously, but its use within research, policy, and the press has tended to share one important commonality: an intensive focus on assessed reading proficiency as the primary goal of reading instruction. Although well intentioned, this focus directs attention toward a problematically…

A hallmark of skilled reading is recognizing written words automatically from memory by sight. How beginning readers attain this skill is explained. They must acquire foundational knowledge, including phonemic segmentation, grapheme-phoneme knowledge, decoding, and spelling skills. When these skills are applied, spellings of words become bonded to…

To meet the growth in learner diversity in today's classroom, a new paradigm for improving the precision and accuracy of "personalization" is critical to address the needs of students who are held back by traditional pathways designed for the mythical "average" learner. In response to this challenge, Digital Promise Global has…

The alphabetic principle is a critical skill that involves connecting letters with their sounds to read and write. Learning and applying the alphabetic principle takes time and is difficult for most children. Explicit phonics instruction and extensive practice are important when teaching children to learn the alphabetic principle.

This article describes four key principles from Targeted Reading Instruction (TRI, formerly called Targeted Reading Intervention), an evidence-based early reading intervention and professional development program. Focused on accelerating the growth of students not yet meeting grade-level expectations, one-on-one 15-minute daily TRI lessons engage…

Reading fluency is one of several components of an effective reading program. One way to increase a student's reading fluency is teaching word attack skills as a way to break words down into smaller parts. Strategies, such as direct teaching of word attack skills, can make it easier for students to read unknown words. Understanding and applying…