What is the Science of Reading?
The Science of Reading provides guidelines and strategies for teaching students to read based on research, how the brain learns, and what works for kids, including those with dyslexia. At it’s core, the Science of Reading tells us balanced literacy (which is what we’ve been doing) isn’t working for our students. Instead, thousands of studies tell us students need systematic phonics instruction to best learn to read. This shift will bring us new strategies to learn like orthographic mapping, new ways to view the work we’ve been doing (decodable readers replace leveled readers), and opportunities to know better so we can do better.
Resources:
- What Teachers Should Know About the Science of Reading (30 min video)
- Hard Words Podcast: Why Aren’t Kids Being Taught to Read? (The podcast referenced in the video above – includes an article you can read instead of listening)
- What is the Science of Reading? (from a curriculum company, but provides a great overview of all the different components we’ll be discussing)
Personal Professional Development Opportunities
- 95 Live! Science of Reading On-Demand Webinar Series
You’ll need to provide your name, school phone, and school address to access these resources.
- What is Orthographic Mapping and Why Is It Important?
- Teaching with Decodable Text
- How the Brain Reads
- Mastering the Questioning Process (engaging readers during discussions)
- Scarborough’s Rope (how all the skills come together to create a grade-level reader)
- Phonemic Awareness for Older Readers
- Balanced Literacy and Structured Literacy: What’s the Difference?
- Morphological Awareness: Does It Really Matter?
Curriculum Materials
- Heggerty Phonemic Awareness (K-2 and intervention)
- Introductory Training Slides (4J PD)
- Introduction to Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Video
- Hand Motion Videos
- Heggerty Assessments (Baseline, Mid Year, End of Year, and Screeners)
- Articulating Sounds Video
- Phonemic Awareness vs. Phonics Video & Website