What It Means
The science of reading is the body of research on how people learn to read and how reading can be taught well. According to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), it spans more than a century of work from fields including cognitive science, developmental and educational psychology, neuroscience and linguistics, covering what the brain does while reading, which skills reading needs and how those skills grow. IES stresses that it names research, so it isn't a product, a curriculum or a single method such as phonicsPhonicsTeaching children how letters and letter groups stand for the sounds in spoken words, so they can sound out words to read them and spell them. See more.
Try It: Sort True and False Claims About the Science of Reading
Sort each claim as true or false, based on how IES describes the science of reading.
It's a body of research on how people learn to read.
True. IES calls it a body of research spanning many fields.
It's true: IES describes it as research, more than 100 years of it.
It's a curriculum a school buys.
False, correctly sorted. IES says it isn't a product or a curriculum.
That one's false. A program can draw on the research, but the research isn't a program.
It means phonics and nothing else.
False, correctly sorted. IES says it isn't one method, and it writes about comprehension too.
That one's false. Phonics is one part; comprehension and vocabulary are in the research too.
How Parents Say It
- "Our district says it's aligned with the science of reading now."
- "Is this program actually science of reading, or just the label?"
- "The teachers did science of reading training over the summer."
The Breakdown
What the research reviews say, by stage
| Stage | What the reviews point to | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Early years | Hearing and playing with the sounds in words | Buhata's pages on phonemic awarenessPhonemic awarenessThe ability to hear, pick out and play with the single sounds (phonemes) in spoken words, like hearing that "cat" is made of three sounds. See more and early literacyEarly literacyThe language, sound and book skills a child builds from birth, well before reading, that later support learning to read and write. See more |
| Kindergarten and 1st grade | Systematic phonics had its biggest impact when it began here | National Reading Panel, 2000 |
| Kindergarten to 3rd grade | Teaching children to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words, one of four recommendations | IES practice guide, 2016 |
| All the way through | Fluency, vocabulary and comprehension, three of the panel's five components | National Reading Panel, 2000 |
The five components the National Reading Panel named
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
Where balanced literacyBalanced literacyA classroom reading approach that mixes read-alouds, shared, guided and independent reading and word study; phonics is included but usually isn't the focus. See more fits. Balanced literacy is a classroom approach in which, Reading Rockets says, students get some phonics but it usually isn't the focus, and educators disagree about it. The National Reading Panel found systematic phonics significantly more effective than teaching with little or no phonics, and the IES guide recommends teaching children to decode words, so both reviews give phonics a central place without making it the whole of reading.
Questions to ask the school. Which reading program does my child's class use? In what order is phonics taught? How do you check that my child is decoding and understanding?
Good to Know
A program may carry the phrase in its name, but IES describes a field of research, so the name alone tells you little. Ask what the program does day to day and check it against the National Reading Panel's five components and the 2016 IES practice guide. If your child is struggling, talk with the teacher, and see Buhata's page on evaluation requests for how to ask the school to evaluate.
FAQ
What is the science of reading in simple terms?
It's the research on how children learn to read and how reading is best taught. IES describes more than a century of studies from fields such as psychology, neuroscience and linguistics.
Is the science of reading just phonics?
No. IES says it isn't a single method such as phonics. The National Reading Panel's five components include phonics alongside phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
What's the difference between the science of reading and balanced literacy?
Balanced literacy is a classroom approach that mixes read-alouds, shared, guided and independent reading and word study, and it usually doesn't put phonics at the center. The science of reading names the research itself, and the federal reviews drawn from it give systematic phonics a central place.
Do It in Buhata
Calendar and Reminders
Put your child's next parent-teacher conference on the Calendar in Buhata and set a Reminder the day before with the three questions above.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Phonics
Teaching children how letters and letter groups stand for the sounds in spoken words, so they can sound out words to read them and spell them.
- Phonemic awareness
The ability to hear, pick out and play with the single sounds (phonemes) in spoken words, like hearing that "cat" is made of three sounds.
- Balanced literacy
A classroom reading approach that mixes read-alouds, shared, guided and independent reading and word study; phonics is included but usually isn't the focus.
- Decodable books
Simple books for beginning readers written mostly with the letter-sound patterns a child has already been taught, so most words can be sounded out.
- Early literacy
The language, sound and book skills a child builds from birth, well before reading, that later support learning to read and write.
- Dyslexia
A learning disability that makes reading words accurately and smoothly hard, mostly because linking letters to sounds is hard; schools call it a specific learning disability.
Sources
Reading Rockets (WETA), "Glossary"; Institute of Education Sciences, "Partner spotlight: Putting the science of reading into practice" (blog); Institute of Education Sciences, "The Importance of Comprehension in the Science of Reading" (blog); NICHD, "Report of the National Reading Panel" (findings, 2000); What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences, "Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade" (practice guide, 2016)
- www.readingrockets.org/resources/glossary
- ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/partner-spotlight-putting-science-reading-practice
- ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/importance-comprehension-science-reading
- www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/findings
- ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/docs/practiceguide/wwc_foundationalreading_070516.pdf
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