The Basics
Want to understand the basics? The research behind Structured Literacy and the teaching practices that stem from that research?
On this page we have curated for you a selection of resources we have found to do the best job of introducing people to the research and practice. Enjoy!
Videos and Podcasts:
How the Brain Learns to Read (short version) - Prof Stanislas Dehaene, a French cognitive neuroscientist
How the Brain Learns to Read (long version) - Prof Stanislas Dehaene, a French cognitive neuroscientist
These short videos by Neuroscientist Dr Jared Cooney Horvath do a good job of simply explaining the ‘Reading Wars’ and what effective literacy instruction needs. Video 1: Phonics vs Whole Words and Video 2: Q&A.
Specifically for parents, this 45 minute webinar by Dr Jennifer Buckingham (Five from Five and MultiLit) explains the five main components of the reading process and gives ways you can support your child’s reading progress at home.
The Podcasts and Documentaries by Emily Hanford, a US journalist are also a go-to and eye opening resource for many. While she reports about the situation in America, a similar situation exists in New Zealand.
And if you are interested in the history of reading instruction (in the US at least) and the so called ‘Reading Wars’, this video by Steven Dykstra is fascinating.
Go to summary resources:
This website (R.I.S.E Arkansas) does a great job of summarising the research and teaching approach, and the differences between a structured literacy approach and a balanced literacy approach. Lots of great graphics.
And this new website (Feb 2021): What is the Science of Reading: A Defining Moment has been launched to bring together numerous reading science advocates in the US from various organizations to craft a common, simple definition of the Science of Reading. Sign up to receive updates from them.
This short infographic video (EducationNC, 8mins) presents the key findings clearly.
For further reading, this ‘Reading List’, compiled by Sarah Cockcroft is also a great collection (includes some of the below as well).
Seminal reports:
The Science of Reading. Evidence for a New Era of Reading Instruction - Laura Stewart
Teaching Reading is Rocket Science, 2020. What Expert Teachers of Reading Should Know and Be Able to Do - Louisa C. Moats
Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition from Novice to Expert - Anne Castles, Kathleen Rastle and Kate Nation, 2018
What Research Tells us about Reading Instruction - Rebecca Treiman, University of Illinois
Effective Reading Instruction in the Early Years of School - NSW Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, 2016
NZ-based research:
Why the New Zealand National Literacy Strategy has failed and what can be done about it - Massey University Institute of Education, July 2013
Massey University Early Literacy Research Project - James W. Chapman, Alison W. Arrow, Christine Braid, Keith T. Greaney, and William E. Tunmer, August 2019
Definitions:
The Science of Reading:
The Science of Reading is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing.
This research has been conducted over the last five decades across the world, and it is derived from thousands of studies conducted in multiple languages. The science of reading has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to inform how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties.
The Science of Reading is derived from researchers from multiple fields:
cognitive psychology,
communication sciences,
developmental psychology,
education,
implementation science,
linguistics,
neuroscience,
school psychology.
This gold-standard research has important implications for helping children to succeed, but it has generally not been incorporated in how teachers are trained or how children are taught.
The Science of Reading is not:
an ideology or philosophy,
a fad, trend, new idea, or pendulum swing,
a political agenda,
a one-size-fits-all approach,
a program of instruction
a single, specific component of instruction such as phonics.
Source: Defining Movement. (2021, February 21). The science of reading: A defining guide. https://www.whatisthescienceofreading.org/science-of-reading-guide
Reading is not a natural skill
Fundamental to knowing how to teach children to learn to read, is understanding that, unlike speaking, reading is not something humans are born to do. To become an independent reader, the brain of each child must undergo change. French neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene describes this process as “neuronal conversion” (Dehaene, 2010).
There is a wide range of ease in learning to read
There is a wide range of ease when it comes to rewiring the brain to decipher written text (Buckingham, Castles). Nancy Young’s Ladder of Reading (Lyon, 1998; NRP, 2000; IDA, 2015; & Hempenstall, 2016) depicts this wide range. A small number of children (5%) will be reading before school begins. In contrast, for other children (10-15%) learning to read is very difficult, and for the remainder (75%) learning requires broad instruction and is advantaged with a structured literacy approach. It is important for teachers to know that a child who has great difficulty learning to read may be very intelligent – but the difficulty learning to master the skill needed for academic success can mask the intellectual ability (see 2e Operational Definition in Gifted Child Quarterly).
Structured Literacy:
Classroom methodologies for teaching reading and writing that are informed by the Science of Reading are termed “Structured Literacy” and follow these principles:
Systematic and Cumulative - the organisation of material follows the logical order of language. The sequence begins with the most basic concepts and elements and progresses methodically to the more difficult.
Explicit - direct teaching of concepts with continuous teacher-student interaction and does not assume that students deduce concepts.
Multisensory - decades of clinical results support the efficacy of simultaneous association of auditory, visual, kinesthetic-motor modalities for enhancing memory and learning.
Needs based - Initial screening and ongoing progress monitoring (both informal and formal) determines instruction. This instruction is differentiated to serve the wide range of needs, enabling every child to progress, whether their skills are weak or advanced. Instruction is provided primarily in small groups to effectively address those needs. More extensive assessment is carried out as needed.
Content must be mastered to the degree of automaticity needed to free attention and cognitive resources for the next concepts and elements to be learnt, and ultimately comprehension and oral/written expression. Teaching explicitly, using diagnostic tools, and sequentially and cumulatively allows increasing automaticity at each stage.
Structured Literacy further encompasses five essential instructional components:
Phonology: Awareness of the sound structures within spoken language underlies reading and spelling mastery, from awareness of individual words and syllables to the individual speech sounds (phonemes) within words. Explicit instruction/practice strengthens phonemic awareness, from identification and segmentation to the higher-level skill of phoneme manipulation.
Orthography: Reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding) require knowledge of the written code. Written symbols (graphemes) which represent the phonemes in spoken words are taught in a sequence (read-aloud materials aligned as needed), addressing features such as allowable grapheme positions, syllable types, word origin, and the rationale for certain spellings.
Morphology: As well as learning about phonemes and graphemes, learning about the units of meaning – morphemes – in words underlies reading/spelling mastery. This includes understanding words can be made up of just one or combined units of meaning (e.g. adding one or more affixes to a free or bound base), possibly resulting in changed grapheme pronunciation.
Syntax: Reading and writing proficiently requires knowing that words can be arranged in various ways. Instruction addresses parts of speech (e.g. verb, noun, preposition), how written words are organized into sentences and paragraphs in different forms of text, and the role of punctuation. Writing is a vital part of reading instruction, building from the foundational stages.
Semantics: Instruction focuses on the many different meanings that words can represent in various forms of text. As reading and writing skills grow, vocabulary and background knowledge are continually built up. Comprehension (both spoken and written language) is steadily developed and strengthened. A rich language learning environment grounds all learning.
Theoretical models underpinning Structured Literacy:
Structured Literacy methodologies are built on the Simple View of Reading Framework (Gough and Tunmer, 1986; Hoover and Gough, 1999) and have been further proven by 20 years of extensive research now referred to as the ‘Science of Reading’. In this Framework Reading Comprehension is the product of decoding (word recognition) and linguistic comprehension (language comprehension).
Reading comprehension = word recognition x language comprehension
While learning to read involves more than just decoding, decoding is critical to reading success. Many readers learn to decode by way of deduction (implicitly), however 40-60% of readers require explicit, systematic and sequential instruction in the decoding of words to enable accurate word recognition at an appropriate pace. This type of instruction is particularly important in the early primary school years, if not received many students will fall behind in their literacy acquisition.
Few teachers are aware that, from the foundational stages, spelling and writing should be essential parts of reading instruction provided for children at risk. Fewer teachers still know that some children who learn to read without difficulty (those in the light and dark green in Young’s Ladder of Reading) still may need explicit instruction to spell and write proficiently, including children identified as intellectually gifted. Most teachers have no idea how and why providing explicit instruction in morphology can strengthen reading and spelling. Effective instruction in semantics (vocabulary) is critical for children who are from a low socio-economic background or those whose language of instruction is not their first language.
The three-cueing system:
The Science of Reading does not support the three-cueing system of reading instruction commonly used in reading instruction in NZ. The three-cueing system is a seriously flawed conception of the processes involved in skilled reading. It is expected that learners will integrate the three-cueing mechanisms simultaneously as they read. It teaches learners to use picture cues, word shape, first letter(s) and context to identify unknown words, as well as memorising a large number of high frequency words. The three-cueing system is a substandard, and in some cases, counterproductive form of literacy instruction as the cues deflect learners from the word itself and encourages them to use context, due to their lack of the decoding skills necessary to recognise unknown words.