Is the Science of Reading a Fad?
It is everywhere! Podcasts, Facebook groups, blogs. Quick! Get on board or you’ll be behind the times!
What exactly, is the science of reading? Here is a definition from the Reading League: The science of reading is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing.
How students become skilled readers.
In the most basic of terms it means we have research to back up this newest method of teaching. But what does that mean in the classroom? It means we should:
Teach phonics and phonemic awareness everyday.
Teach phonics in a structured sequence using explicit instruction.
Give children books and passages that contain (with a few sight words thrown in) only the words they can decode.
Teach (serious) comprehension to new readers through read alouds.
Ditch the guessing games such as, “Look at the picture to find out the word.” Or, “What word makes sense here?” Or, “Skip the word and come back to it.” Decode don’t guess.
Teach sight words by pointing out the parts of the word that can be decoded.
Connect spelling and writing to what we are teaching in phonics.
Now that we know all that, what in the world were we actually teaching? In the 90s and 2000s it was predominately Balanced Literacy.
That sounds lovely! Doesn’t that include everything?
Not really. Balanced literacy actually turned out to be a hot mess.
Balanced literacy was developed to teach reading and writing combining both explicit instruction and authentic, meaningful reading and writing experiences.
This is a WHOLE LANGUAGE approach that emphasizes context and meaning over phonics and decoding skills. But in practice, Balanced Literacy saw phonics as not so important, but comprehension through great (and often undecodable) literature very important.
In theory it looks wonderful! Children are reading and writing in small groups in cozy reading areas. They are exposed to real literature, not boring decodable books like: Nat the cat sat on a mat.
You can’t read if you can’t decode.
The dirty little secret is that many of those children were not reading. They were looking at pictures, they were guessing words, and they were ending up in intervention programs.
Here’s a thought: yes, those decodable books and passages look boring to us as adults. Yes, they are boring to teach, but guess what? They are highly engaging to children who are learning to “crack the code.” They aren’t faking it anymore!
I can read! Structured phonics gives students true independence in reading.
Now that we agree that the Science of Reading is legit, let’s look at some of the potential negatives.
The Science of Reading is a powerful force in education right now. As a result, there are a lot of new converts with loud voices. Some are saying THROW OUT THOSE BALANCED LITERACY BOOKS! (the ones with the “authentic stories” that kids can’t decode) and GET RID OF THOSE GUIDED READING BOOKS! (you know the little Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Readers A, B, C, D etc.)
DON’T DO IT!
Use those “authentic” stories from balanced literacy for thoughtful read alouds that focus on comprehension.
Use those A and B leveled readers for students who are struggling with phonics. The stories follow patterns like I see a dog, I see a boy, I see a train, etc. These books are often beautifully illustrated or have full color photographs. These are not bad books. They give some children enormous satisfaction. Are they memorizing the words? Yes. Are all the words decodable? No.
Use those leveled readers C and up for your classroom library and cover the lettered levels with a piece of tape.
Let’s back up a bit. Full disclosure. As a special education teacher I always taught explicit phonics instruction.
We used a Wilson based product that I had to beg, borrow and steal to get the components to. I created my own magnet boards and letters and bought used copies of books I didn’t have. As we all know, that is not unique in the special (and general!) education world.
I also used a program called MATCH, SELECT, NAME for my students who were not making progress with phonics because of different cognitive abilities. This is a program based on learning sight words over decoding. Oh no, heresy! It is not aligned with the Science of Reading!
For many of my students this was life changing. Were they memorizing words? YES. Can you memorize all the words in the English language? NO. But is it fair to frustrate a child who may have hearing, speech, and cognitive abilities to wait years to read? What is the answer?
YOU DO BOTH! Those beautifully illustrated books that say, I see a dog, I see a boy, I see a train also have a place in the classroom. For many of my students with Down Syndrome, reading these patterned books gave them much needed success! Then we went back to learning phonics after they knew about 50 words by sight.
So is the SCIENCE OF READING a fad? Absolutely not. Research has shown that children learn to read through systematic phonics instruction. As teachers, whether general or special education educators, we should be teaching this way. BUT…. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
You probably have been teaching phonics and phonemic awareness all along. The Science of Reading just asks you to do it in a systematic way.
So, how I start?
Follow a structured scope and sequence for daily phonics. This should be included in your district’s reading curriculum. If not you can click here for a comprehensive scope and sequence from UFLI.
Follow a structured scope and sequence for phonemic awareness.
Pair the phonics sounds you are teaching with decodable passages and books.
Encourage decoding, not guessing at unknown words.
Connect spelling and writing instruction to phonics and word patterns.
Use read alouds to teach comprehension. Listening is a way to comprehend too!
Show how to decode parts of sight words. The technical term for it is orthographic mapping.
Happy Reading! (and don’t forget to dust off those old decodables from the book room.)
Check out these decodable products:
Decodable Readers Passages and Word Work SCIENCE OF READING Phonics Bundle
Phonics skills units include: a decodable passage, blending sheet, decoding sheet, word chain, word sort, and roll a word game. This product follows a specific scope and sequence. 106 units in all!
Printable Decodable Readers Books SCIENCE OF READING Bundle
Phonics skills include: cvc words, blends, floss rule (ff, ll, ss, zz), digraphs, VCe long vowel words, soft C and G, trigraphs, word endings, r-controlled words, vowel teams, and diphthongs. The books follow a specific scope and sequence. 46 books in all!