Some Principles from the Reading Research

The Partnership for Reading encourages educators and parents to go deeper into the research to discover what really works and to learn how to activate those concepts in the classroom and at home. Here are some of the fundamental findings of the NRP:

• Certain instructional methods are more effective than others. Many of the more effective methods are ready for implementation in the classroom.
• To teach reading well, teachers must use a combination of strategies, incorporated in a coherent plan with specific goals. A teacher who addresses only one area of reading or uses one instructional approach will probably not be successful.
• To become good readers, children must develop phonemic awarenessThe ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. An example of how beginning readers show us they have phonemic awareness is combining or blending the separate sounds of a word to say the word (/c/ /a/ /t/ – cat.) (an understanding of the sounds that make up spoken language), phonicsPhonics is a form of instruction to cultivate the understanding and use of the alphabetic principle. It emphasizes the predictable relationship between phonemes (the sounds in spoken language) and graphemes (the letters that represent those sounds in written language) and shows how this information can be used to read or decode words. See also: Analogy-based phonics, Analytic phonics, Embedded phonics, Onset-rime phonics instruction, Phonics through spelling, Synthetic phonics, Systematic and explicit phonics instruction. skills (an understanding of the sounds that letters and letter combinations make), the ability to read fluently and accurately, and the ability to comprehend what is read.
• Systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness directly causes improvement in children’s reading and spelling skills.
• Systematic and explicit phonics instructionThe most effective way to teach phonics. A program is systematic if the plan of instruction includes a carefully selected set of letter-sound relationships that are organized into a logical sequence. Explicit means the programs provide teachers with precise directions for the teaching of these relationships. produces significant benefits for children from kindergarten through sixth grade and for children having difficulty learning to read. Effective phonics instruction involves teaching a sequence of phonics elements, not just highlighting elements as they appear in a text.
• Guided repeated oral reading is important to developing reading fluencyThe ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with proper expression and comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. – the ability to read with efficiency and ease. Guided repeated oral reading helps students recognize new words and understand what they read.
• The research is not conclusive on whether reading silently helps to improve reading fluency. It is not yet clear whether independent sileA student performance done without scaffolding from a teacher, other adult, or peer; in the Standards, often paired with proficient(ly) to suggest a successful student performance done without scaffolding; in the Reading standards, the act of reading a text without scaffolding, as in an assessment; see also proficient(ly), scaffolding.nt reading by itself improves reading skills or whether good readers simply like to read silently more than poor readers. Therefore, reading silently should be combined with other types of reading instruction.
• VocabularyVocabulary refers to the words a reader knows. Listening vocabulary refers to the words a person knows when hearing them in oral speech. Speaking vocabulary refers to the words we use when we speak. Reading vocabulary refers to the words a person knows when seeing them in print. Writing vocabulary refers to the words we use in writing. should be taught both directly (apart from a narrative or text) and indirectly (as words are encountered in a text). Repetition and multiple exposures to words contribute to the understanding of word meaning.
• Reading comprehensionSee text comprehension. – understanding what is read – is best supported when teachers use a variety of techniques and systematic strategies to assist in recall of information, question generation, and summarizingSummarizing is a process in which a reader synthesizes the important ideas in a text. Teaching students to summarize helps them generate main ideas, connect central ideas, eliminate redundant and unnecessary information, and remember what they read. of information.
• Teachers must be provided with appropriate and intensive training to ensure that they know when and how to teach specific strategies. Teachers must know how children learn to read, why some children have difficulty reading, and how to identify and implement instructional strategies for different children.
• Computer technology can contribute to the improvement of reading instruction. Early indications from the research suggest that additional studies and further analysis are necessary to determine the specific, proven contributions computer technology can make in this area.