8/15/2024

How to Put Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction Into Action

For decades, reading experts have clashed over the best methods to teach children to read, with passionate supporters on each side of the so-called “reading wars” touting the benefits of balanced literacy and Structured Literacy.

During the past few years, more schools and districts have transitioned to curricula and instruction rooted in the “science of reading,” a term that refers to decades of research in various fields, including brain science, which identifies effective strategies for teaching reading. As of April 29, 2024, 38 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws or implemented new policies related to evidence-based reading instruction since 2013, according to an Education Week analysis.  

Evidence-based literacy instruction based on the science of reading is particularly vital for struggling readers, yet many teacher training programs have been slow to adopt it. Thankfully, more proven, evidence-based professional development courses that follow the science of reading are becoming accessible to educators at all levels. 

Integrating the science of reading into instructional practices using a Structured Literacy approach is the best way to address gaps in student literacy across all grade levels and content areas. The science of reading also supports educators’ classroom instruction by providing the research and tools needed to teach reading and address in-class challenges.

Structured Literacy: A Research-Based Reading Curriculum

The science of reading refers to the accumulated evidence of gold-standard research about the process of literacy acquisition and reading instruction. This body of evidence combines research from multiple disciplines, including neuroscience, linguistics, education, and psychology. The science of reading and Structured Literacy go hand in hand—Structured Literacy is the in-class application of the science of reading.

While most children will learn to read naturally, more than five decades of research have established the components of explicit, scientifically based reading instruction that help most students become successful readers. Research suggests that more than 90% of students could learn to read if their teachers used instructional methods grounded in the science of reading.

Many programs claim to be research—or evidence-based—but they often cherry-pick the science of reading evidence to accommodate certain beliefs. That’s why it’s critical to understand what the term Structured Literacy really means—because it provides differentiation among reading programs and instructional approaches.

How to Teach Reading: Components of Structured Literacy

Structured Literacy instruction is characterized by the following pedagogical principles: Explicit, systematic, cumulative, diagnostic, and responsive instruction. These teaching principles distinguish Structured Literacy as being informed by the science of reading, and should all be implemented when teaching reading.

Explicit

Teachers clearly and directly explain new concepts to students and guide their practice. After receiving instruction and practice, students apply each new concept to reading and writing words under the direct supervision of their teacher. Educators should provide immediate feedback and guidance and correct any mistakes as they arise. Students should never be expected to intuitively learn new concepts simply through exposure—all concepts should be directly taught.

Systematic and Cumulative

Educators should teach language concepts systematically, explaining to students how each element fits into the whole. Their instruction should follow a planned scope and sequence of skills that progress from easier to more difficult. Each concept should build on top of the previous one. Ultimately, the goal of systematic and cumulative teaching is to help students develop the automaticity and fluency to read for meaning.

Diagnostic and Responsive

Teachers should use student response patterns to inform and adjust a lesson’s pacing, presentation, and amount of practice students get within a lesson framework. They should also monitor student progress through observation and short assessments that measure retention of what has been taught.

Along with these principles, there are two critical hallmarks of Structured Literacy instruction that distinguish it from other forms of literacy instruction:

1. It teaches all of the components that evidence has found to be foremost in ensuring reading success.
2. It employs principles that align with the necessity of each component.

So, what are the science of reading components educators should be teaching through the Structured Literacy approach?

Constructing Curriculum With the Simple View of Reading

Structured Literacy is the approach educators should take when teaching reading, but the science of reading outlines a clear set of components that show educators exactly how the human brain learns to read. One way of looking at these components is through the Simple View of Reading, an equation that demonstrates how reading comprehension is made up of decoding and linguistic comprehension.

Decoding x Linguistic Comprehension = Reading Comprehension

The Simple View of Reading can be viewed as a multiplication equation representing the importance of both decoding and linguistic comprehension in reading comprehension. Students must develop both skills adequately to gain strong reading comprehension abilities—a deficit in one skill could result in overall reading failure. Decoding and linguistic comprehension are both made up of a combination of skills, described next.

What is Decoding?

Decoding is the translation of printed symbols on a page into their spoken equivalents. The ultimate goal of decoding is to make it automatic. Automaticity frees up cognitive resources, which in turn allows readers to focus on the meaning behind what they are reading rather than sounding out the word. Decoding can be broken down into three underpinning components: phonology, orthography, and morphology.

Phonology

Phonology refers to the speech sound system of a language. The phonology of English comprises around 44 speech sounds, or phonemes. In pre-K through first grade, students might be taught phonological awareness tasks at an oral level using Structured Literacy. This can look like rhyming, blending words into sentences, or segmenting sentences into words and syllables. For older students and/or struggling readers, tasks might involve blending phonemes into spoken words and segmenting spoken words into phonemes.

Orthography

Orthography is the writing system of a language; English contains 26 letters that represent the 44 phonemes heard in written words. Students acquire orthography through multiple years of education, beginning with learning the reliable and frequently recurring patterns required to match sounds to letters or groups of letters. As students get older, they are introduced to syllable types, the major syllable division matters in English, and ultimately they begin reading grade-appropriate texts aloud to build fluency skills.

Morphology

Morphology is the study of morphemes, which are the meaningful units of words such as prefixes, roots, suffixes, and combining forms. Through Structured Literacy, students begin by learning common Anglo-Saxon/Old English prefixes, inflectional endings, and suffixes. As they become more experienced readers, they learn Latin-based prefixes, suffixes, and roots, as well as Greek-based combining forms that comprise literary and informational texts in upper-grade levels. Morphology combines phonology, orthography, and meaning, bridging the gap between alphabetic reading and comprehension.

What is Linguistic Comprehension?

Linguistic comprehension (also referred to as language comprehension) is the ability to derive meaning from words, sentences, and texts at a listening level. For readers to do this, they must have a strong vocabulary, solid background knowledge, an understanding of sentence structures, and the ability to infer what an author is implying. This makes Structured Literacy incredibly important to the development of linguistic comprehension. The underpinning components that make up linguistic comprehension are semantics, pragmatics, syntax, and discourse.

Syntax

This refers to the order and relationships of words in sentences, along with the structure of sentences in oral and written language. In school, students spend pre-K through eighth grade learning the parts of speech and structures of sentences—simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Along with this, they also learn pronoun references, verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and what words connect clauses within and across sentences.

Semantics

Semantics refers to the meanings and relationships of words. Through definitions, multiple contexts, repeated exposure, and discussion, students in grades pre-K through eight are taught Tier 2 words appropriate for their grade level. In addition to vocabulary, students are also taught shades of meaning, word connotations, and literal vs. nonliteral meanings of similes, metaphors, and other figurative expressions.

Pragmatics

Pragmatics refers to the rules of conversation—such as making eye contact or taking turns in discussion—as well as the use and interpretation of language within a given context. In class, students in pre-K through eighth grade learn conversation rules commensurate with their grade level. Through a Structured Literacy approach, students can learn how context, tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, etc., aid the use and interpretation of oral communication. They also learn how features of spoken language are imitated in print through the use of bold text words, italics, capitalization, and punctuation.

Discourse

Discourse is the organization of spoken and written communication. Teachers emphasize this principle by asking students to generate questions as they listen to or read a text, use graphic organizers to identify specific textual elements, and develop their background knowledge by reading widely about one topic.

By teaching decoding and linguistic comprehension through a Structured Literacy approach, students can build their knowledge in a way that is empowering and evidence-based.

Moving to Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction

Structured Literacy is the application of the science of reading. When educators take a Structured Literacy approach to teaching reading, they ensure their students receive evidence-based literacy education. However, simply being aware of Structured Literacy and the science of reading is not enough—educators need a strong foundation of knowledge to teach reading properly. This is why it’s critical for educators to have access to high-quality professional learning.

If you’re interested in learning more about the importance of science of reading professional development, as well as what to look for when seeking professional development resources, we break it down for you in The Science of Reading: A Professional Development Guide.