Understanding the Science of Reading in Upper Elementary

Happy Monday, and for many of you, welcome to summer, you did it, you survived another year of teaching. And I hope as you kick off your summer, you are doing something fun to just celebrate and recognize how hard you worked this past year.

I think self reflection and self celebration are so important. And I think it’s something that teachers don’t do enough of I feel like you know, as soon as one school year ends, we’re already starting to think about the next one. So let me encourage you to carve out some time to really, you know, sit down with a cup of coffee or tea or pour yourself a glass of wine, and take some time to actually reflect on this last year.

You know, think about what are you most proud of? What surprised you? What did you enjoy the most? I know that good things happened in your classroom this past year. And I want to make sure you take time to celebrate them. And if you would love to share them with me reach out to me on Instagram at @thestellarteachercompany. I love hearing from you guys.

Now, I know that some of you still have a week or maybe two to hang in there, your summer is just around the corner. And remember when everyone is back in school in August, you’ll still be enjoying some time off.

Now today, we are officially kicking off our summer podcast series which I always get so excited about. Every summer I like to do a special summer series where we release two podcast episodes every week, during the month of June and part of July. And so starting this week, you can tune in every Thursday to hear a bonus episode that is part of our Stellar Teacher Science of Reading Summer Series.

Now our Thursday episodes, I’m trying to keep them a little bit shorter. And they are going to address just one aspect of the science of reading. So if you tune in these episodes are really going to help you deepen your understanding. But they’re also going to help give you practical tips or strategies that you can put in place in your classroom this fall.

We did a similar series last summer. I’ve gotten completely different tips and suggestions and topics to talk about. So be sure to tune in every Thursday to catch the podcast episodes in that special series.

But you can still tune in every Monday for our normal episodes. We have some really great guests and content plan for the summer. And ultimately, when I record these episodes, my goal is that they help you feel inspired and encouraged and just excited for the next year. And of course, I hope that it helps you expand your own literacy knowledge.

So this week since on Thursday, we’re going to be kicking off our science of reading summer series, I did want to start off with an overview episode that just kind of explains what the science of reading is.

Now I remember when I first heard the phrase science of reading, I think it was three or four years ago, and I was actually hosting a workshop and somebody in the comments asked if what I was sharing about was aligned to the science of reading. And I’m not gonna lie, I kind of had this moment of panic, because I had never heard that phrase before. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, is what I’m doing aligned to the science of reading? I have no idea is this something that I need to know about?

So of course, after that workshop, I really started reading and researching and trying to figure out you know, everybody was starting to talk about the science of reading, like, what is this? And honestly, it took me a few months of ordering books and reading and research to really get this big picture perspective and understand what the science of reading was and why it was important. And then it took me even longer before I could start talking about it and explaining it and breaking it down to the teachers in my audience and on this podcast.

So if you have been listening to the podcast, then more than likely you already have some understanding of the science of reading because a lot of my podcast episodes cover specific aspects of the science of reading, like when we talk about effective vocabulary instruction or how to teach text structure or how to help students decode big words.

But it’s been a minute since I’ve done an episode that provides kind of this big picture understanding of what the science of reading is. And I think that’s one of those things that it’s important. As literacy educators we want to have this understanding of what the science of reading is. as a whole is.

So for all of my teachers, and I know that there are still teachers out there, we still get questions about, you know, what is the science of reading? I’m just starting to learn about it, which I think is so exciting. And so if you’re one of those teachers who is just starting to discover the science of reading and understand what it is, this episode is for you, because like I said, I’m giving a big picture overview and really explaining why it’s important.

However, if you have been listening for a while, or have been learning about science or reading for a few years, don’t tune out just yet. What I would encourage you to do is, as I share, you know, different models that help us understand the science of reading, I would encourage you to kind of pause and describe them in your own words, before you hear my explanation.

Use this episode as a chance to really check for your own understanding to see, you know, can I articulate and explain what the science of reading is? So like I said, don’t tune out just yet, if you’ve been listening for a while.

Let’s go ahead and just start by answering the question, what is the science of reading? And simply, the science of reading refers to the body of research about how we learn to read. And that’s one of those things that when I first started learning about the science of reading, I thought it was a program or a curriculum or something specific, but it simply is just research.

You know, it is a collective body of research, it’s been around for a long time. So it’s not necessarily anything new. And it covers research, or includes research and information from educational psychology, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics. And this research helps us as educators understand how people learn to read. It’s extremely comprehensive and fascinating, which is why, you know, there’s so many different aspects.

And so while you might not have a big understanding of the of the term science of reading and understand the overview, you probably do have an understanding of some of the small components or aspects.

Now ultimately, the science of reading really indicates that there are five main pillars of reading. And in order for students to be successful readers, they really need to have a foundation that is built on all five areas. And again, sort of pause and see if you can name them all. But the five pillars of reading are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Now, we’re not going to go into the specifics of all of these, but we actually did an entire series on the five pillars of reading back in January. So if you’re interested in learning more, either about the pillars as a whole, or one specific pillar, go back and listen to episode number 177 to learn more.

Now, it’s not just about teaching these five pillars, because in addition to making sure that our reading instruction is centered around these five pillars, you know, the science of reading and kind of the research on how we learn to read also tells us that we want to make sure that our instruction is explicit. That means that the teacher introduces, explains and models new skills and concepts to their students. So it’s, you know, very specific.

Our instruction also needs to be systematic. This means that our instruction, really regardless if it is based on phonics, vocabulary, or comprehension, that we are teaching things in a logical order that builds upon students prior learning. So there is a system to how we are teaching things.

And ultimately, we need our instruction to be responsive to students. So this means that we are going to assess and determine what reading skills and concepts a student already knows. And then we’re going to provide instruction to meet their specific student needs.

So if a student is in fourth or fifth grade, but they are showing that they have gaps in word recognition skills, then regardless of their grade, we are going to, you know, fill in their gaps and give them support in the area that they need support in. So it’s responding to a student’s specific needs.

Now, that right there is a really a very basic explanation, an overview of what the science of reading is. But there are two models that I have talked about on the podcast in the past that we’re going to dig into a little bit, that especially if you’re new to really understanding the science of reading, these two models really help you understand, you know, why the science of reading is important, and how these five pillars work together to create skilled readers.

Now, before we get into those pillars, I think it’s important for teachers to also understand what the science of reading is not. Right. So like I said, at the beginning, I had this misconception that I thought it was like a program or a curriculum or something that you could purchase. So there’s a few things that I want to highlight that the science of reading is not so like I said, it is not a program or curriculum.

So there are programs and resources that schools can purchase that are aligned to the science of reading. But since the science of reading refers to the body of research, there is no single SOR curriculum.

Because there are programs and resources that say they’re aligned to the science of reading, that is one of the reasons why it is so important for teachers to have a really good understanding of what the science of reading is, and understand you know, different components and aspects of it because the more knowledge you have, the easier it’s going to be for you to be like yep, this actually isn’t kind of the science or you know it, I don’t know about this, like, I’m not quite sure if this matches up. So it’s not a program or curriculum, but it can be, you know, programs or curriculums can be aligned to the science.

I think it’s also really important for us to recognize that the science of reading is not just for primary students or K-2 students. I had a teacher asked me this question the other day, and I thought it was a great question. You know, she’s like, I see a lot of information about the science of reading for, you know, kindergarten, first grade, second grade teachers and learning how to read and decoding, you know, do I, as an upper elementary teacher need to know about it? And the answer is yes.

You know, the science of reading is not just about word recognition. And when we get a little bit later on in the episode, you’ll understand that there’s this whole comprehension side of things. And so because the science of reading is the body of research that refers to how we read and understand and comprehend texts, there is more to it than just phonics, there’s more to it than just learning how to decode.

So the science of reading is not just for primary students, it’s for me, anybody who’s a reader, it’s beneficial for them. So all teachers, regardless of their grade level, really have to have an understanding of the science of reading.

I also think it’s important for us to remind ourselves that the science of reading is not necessarily a one size fits all approach to teaching reading, and teachers are still going to have to be flexible, and adjust their instruction and put instructional routines that meet their students needs. You know, keep in mind that even if your school buys and implements a new program that is aligned to the science of reading, you’re still the one that is teaching it.

I love reminding teachers that programs don’t teach students how to read teachers do. And so you’re still going to have to make adjustments to meet your specific students needs. And so we can’t necessarily just rely on the resources to teach students how to read, we as educators have to have the knowledge because we’re the ones implementing it.

So again, just a couple of things, the science of reading is not a program, it’s not just phonics or just for K-2, and it’s not a one size fits all approach. And I think all of these things, again, just highlight how important it is that we as educators have knowledge and information about that. So hopefully, if you’re just learning about this, for the first time, you’re starting to get an understanding of what it is. And if you’ve been listening for a while you’re like, Yes, I know these things, I’m feeling sort of affirmed in my knowledge.

Now, I want to take some time to walk you through and explain two different models or frameworks that can really explain how these five pillars of reading work together to create skilled readers that result in comprehension, because reading comprehension is always the goal. And I think it can be helpful to kind of understand how those five aspects work together.

So there’s two models that you’ve possibly seen on social media, you’ve maybe seen them in books, if you’re joining us for the Shifting the Balance book study this summer, you’ve probably seen them in there. If you’ve listened to the podcast before, you’ve heard me talk about them briefly.

And those two models are the simple view of reading and Scarborough’s reading rope. And I love these models, because they provide, now granted, you can’t see them on the podcast. But I’m going to ask you to paint a picture as you think about them. And you can always do just a Google search for these. But both of these models provide a visual as well as an explanation for how the five pillars of reading work together.

So let’s start with the simple view of reading. The simple view of reading is a theory that explains that comprehension is the product of decoding and language comprehension. So basically, we’re talking about a math formula here. So think of it as decoding multiplied by language comprehension equals reading comprehension. And so if you’ve seen a visual, you might see it written as D x LC = RC.

And I think it’s important to point out the fact that it is represented as a multiplication formula, because in order to get a positive reading comprehension score above zero, students need to have both decoding and language comprehension skills. So you can’t have one without the other if you want your students to experience reading comprehension success.

So a little bit just about each aspect of this formula. In order for students to be able to decode, they need to have phonemic awareness skills, so their ability to manipulate sounds, they need to have phonics skills, so their ability to understand sound spelling correlations, and they need to have fluency which is automatic sight word recognition.

In order for students to have language comprehension skills, language comprehension is basically the ability to understand spoken language or written language just to understand language in general. Some skills that are needed in order for students to understand language include having background knowledge about a topic, having the vocabulary to understand the topic, understanding syntax, so understanding how words and phrases are combined in sentences to make meaning having an understanding of semantics so word meaning and word phrases and having an inferential language skills.

So when students have both of these things, again, decoding and language comprehension, they have what they need to be able to comprehend a text. And reading comprehension is ultimately defined as the ability to understand printed text.

So again, if we go back to the simple view of reading formula, decoding times, language comprehension equals reading comprehension, as an upper elementary teacher, you might have noticed that you have students that if you’re engaged in a read aloud, your students can talk about the text, and they can describe characters, and they can summarize and they can ask questions, and they can really engage in the conversation.

But when you ask them to read the text, they struggle with it. And that is probably because they are lacking in decoding skills. And so you can continue to teach them comprehension skills all day long. But unless we fill in the gaps with their decoding skills, they’re never going to get a positive reading comprehension result, because they are lacking in that important aspect of it.

And the same is true if you flip flop. If you have a student that has really strong decoding skills, but they don’t have the vocabulary or the background knowledge or understand how sentences work. They can read the text. But when you ask them, What did you read about? You know, they give you that blank stare, and they’re like, I don’t know, they read the words perfectly, but they are lacking the comprehension skills. So both decoding and language comprehension need to be present in order to comprehend the text. So that is the simple view of reading.

Now, there’s another model that is very similar, I love this model, it’s probably my favorite, and that is Scarborough’s reading rope. And this is just another framework that can really help us understand how these five pillars work together to result in skilled readers who can comprehend what they read.

So I want you to envision a large rope or even a cable for some reason, anytime I think of Scarborough’s reading rope, I envision just the massive cables that are part of the Golden Gate Bridge, so a really big thick cable. And if you think about it, a rope or cable is created by twisting smaller strands together to create a larger rope. And then those strands that are woven together, if you break those down, they even have sub strands and smaller strands.

So, you know reading is very similar to this idea of a rope, you can think of each strand and the rope as a single element of reading. And when woven together, they help strengthen and reinforce the reader. So Scarborough’s reading rope is really divided into two main strands, we’ve got language comprehension, and word recognition. And that probably should sound familiar because they’re the same two factors that we just talked about in the simple view of reading.

So within each of those strands, there are smaller strands that are woven together and needed in order for students to show proficiency in that specific area. So for example, in order for students to be proficient with word recognition, they need to have phonological awareness, which includes sound manipulation, rhyming and understanding of syllables.

They have to have decoding skills, which again has to do with spelling, sound correspondences. So knowing the specific sounds letter combinations makes. And they also need to have sight word recognition. So being able to recognize words, you know, as they see them and automatically recall words.

And then in order for students to have language comprehension, they need to have background knowledge, vocabulary, they need to have an understanding of language structures, including syntax, and they need to have verbal reasoning, which can include inferencing, as well as having literacy knowledge, which includes text structure and genre. So a lot of the same elements that we saw in the simple view of reading, just presented in a different way.

And there’s a lot of things that I really like about Scarborough’s reading rope. You know, first of all, I think it really highlights the interconnectedness of the complexity of reading. And, you know, I think oftentimes, probably more than likely due to our schedules and the way that our standards are written, we often want to teach things in isolation. And we don’t necessarily take the time to think about how spelling and vocabulary connect to comprehension.

But because of the rope, we recognize that all of these things need to be woven together to get to comprehension. So it’s not things in isolation, they all work together. But I also think that the the Scarborough’s reading rope really provides us with a roadmap for our instruction. And I think, especially for something like maybe intervention and upper grades.

You know, so if you have a student that is struggling with reading, it sometimes can be hard to figure out how to best support that student and help that student like where do we even begin? You know, but if you look at Scarborough’s reading rope as a way to sort of understand all of the different components that are necessary, we can identify what we might need to focus on.

So for example, we want to start by making sure that our students have the strong word recognition skills, because it’s going to be really ineffective for us to support them with just comprehension if they don’t have the tools to you know, read the words.

But even within language comprehension. You know, I think this model highlights how many factors contribute to comprehension You know, background knowledge is such a huge aspect of it. You know if a student has really good word recognition skills, and everything else for language comprehension, but if they’re missing background knowledge, and they don’t have, you know, this idea of mental Velcro, they’re going to struggle to comprehend what they’re reading.

Another example would be, you know, with sentence structure. So again, if students are lacking the ability to understand how words and phrases work together to create meaning in sentences, if they if they cannot break down a complex sentence, and identify the noun phrase and the verb phrase, then they’re going to struggle to pull out meaning from that sentence. So, you know, Scarborough’s, rewrote, can identify all of the different aspects that we need to support our students with in order to make sure that they are skilled readers.

The other thing that I really like about Scarborough’s reading rope is that it’s not presented as a checklist. Because if you think about it, when you’re weaving a rope together, you are constantly weaving in the strands over and over and over again. So we’re constantly twisting word recognition with language comprehension, word recognition, with language comprehension.

And so you know, it’s not like we teach, you know, all phonics and then all vocabulary, and then all literacy knowledge, and then all language structures and check, check check. We constantly are adding to our students knowledge and providing them with additional tools, and knowledge and all areas to help them strengthen their ability to read.

So hopefully, hearing about these two models, and understanding the five pillars of reading just really gives you a better understanding of this big picture perspective of what the science of reading is. You know, like I said, so many of my episodes cover small aspects like vocabulary instruction or text structure. But I think it’s important to understand where do those smaller elements fit into this big picture.

So really, you know, the science of reading is research. And ultimately, what we understand is that in order for students to be skilled readers, they need to be strong and have skills with both word recognition, and language comprehension. And so as educators, we need to have an understanding of both of those aspects, you know, to be able to support students in both areas.

And that’s a lot of what we’re going to be talking about on the Thursday episodes during the summer. So every Thursday, and of course, we can’t cover all aspects of it, because I wouldn’t be more than seven weeks. But at least for the next seven weeks, we’re going to pick out seven different aspects of the science of reading. And I’ll give you a little bit more content knowledge about that specific aspect, and then share some practical tips and strategies.

So hopefully, you’re feeling just a little bit stronger with your understanding, again of the overview of the science of reading, and hopefully you’ll join me on Thursday for our first episode in our Stellar Teacher Science of Reading Summer Series. I will see you then.