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How Children Learn to Read, with Margaret Goldberg
Reading Universe
Overview
This video introduces the science of reading, explaining how the brain learns to read and the essential components for skilled reading. It contrasts the ease with which many teachers learned to read with the struggles faced by a majority of students, highlighting the need for explicit, systematic instruction. The video delves into the roles of the phonological and orthographic processors in decoding, and the meaning and context processors in comprehension, emphasizing the multiplicative relationship between decoding and language comprehension as described by the Simple View of Reading. It advocates for high-quality instruction that builds both foundational decoding skills and robust language comprehension to ensure that 95% of children can become proficient readers.
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Chapters
- Most teachers learned to read relatively easily, often without explicit phonics instruction.
- National data shows only 5% of students learn to read effortlessly, and another 35% with broad instruction.
- The majority of students (around 60%) require explicit, systematic, code-based instruction to learn to read.
- Instruction based on the assumption that reading comes easily to most children favors a few and disadvantages many.
Understanding this discrepancy is crucial for educators to recognize that their own learning experience may not reflect the needs of the majority of their students, necessitating a shift in instructional approaches.
Data from a professional development session showing over 84% of teachers learned to read easily, contrasted with national student data where only 40% learn with broad instruction, and the majority need explicit, systematic instruction.
- The science of reading is a robust field supported by cognitive psychology, speech pathology, and neuroscience.
- The National Reading Panel identified five pillars: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- These pillars are not equivalent; phonological awareness is a type of knowledge, phonics is instruction, fluency is a characteristic of skilled reading, vocabulary is word meaning knowledge, and comprehension is the ultimate goal.
- Simply checking off these pillars in a curriculum does not guarantee deep understanding or effective instruction.
This chapter clarifies the foundational research and key components of reading instruction, moving beyond a superficial understanding of the 'five pillars' to appreciate their distinct roles and relationships.
Distinguishing between phonological awareness (insight into spoken language sounds) and phonics (instruction linking sounds to letters), and recognizing fluency as a result of other skills, not a skill itself.
- The Simple View of Reading posits that reading comprehension is a product of decoding (word recognition) multiplied by language comprehension.
- If either decoding or language comprehension is weak, reading comprehension will be significantly impacted.
- A child with strong language comprehension but weak decoding skills will struggle to access text.
- A child with strong decoding skills but weak language comprehension will also have limited reading comprehension.
- Struggles in decoding, if not addressed early, can lead to compounding difficulties in language comprehension as students fall behind in accessing grade-level texts.
This model provides a clear framework for understanding why students struggle with reading and emphasizes the equal importance of both decoding and language comprehension for overall reading success.
Illustrating the multiplication formula with scenarios: strong decoding x strong comprehension = strong reading comprehension; half decoding x full comprehension = half reading comprehension.
- The phonological processor handles the sounds of spoken language (phonemes), which is crucial for discriminating between similar sounds and words.
- Weak phonological processing can lead to difficulties in blending sounds, recognizing different sounds within words (e.g., 'pin' vs. 'pen'), and confusing similar-sounding words.
- The orthographic processor recognizes letters and letter patterns, enabling the brain to connect spellings to pronunciations.
- Skilled reading involves recognizing letters and patterns instantaneously, not memorizing whole words; this processor also aids spelling.
- Difficulties in orthographic processing can result in slow reading, trouble with spelling, and a struggle to develop a bank of instantly recognizable words (sight words).
Understanding these brain processes helps educators identify specific areas of difficulty for struggling readers and tailor interventions to strengthen phonological and orthographic skills.
A child confusing 'invisible' and 'invincible' due to weak phonological processing, or a student guessing words based on context and the first letter instead of sounding them out due to underdeveloped orthographic processing.
- The meaning processor interprets word meanings, drawing on a stored vocabulary and knowledge of word relationships.
- The context processor uses sentence and surrounding text to disambiguate word meanings and pronunciations.
- While context is vital for comprehension, it plays a smaller role in initial word recognition compared to decoding.
- Skilled reading involves the rapid integration of orthographic, phonological, and meaning processors, with context helping to confirm pronunciation and meaning.
- Instruction should strengthen vocabulary and background knowledge (meaning processor) and teach students to rely on spelling-sound information over context for decoding.
This section highlights that while decoding is foundational, robust language comprehension, built through vocabulary and context, is essential for making meaning from text.
The example of the word 'bow' (as in a bow on a present vs. the bow of a ship), where the orthographic and phonological processors identify possible pronunciations, and the context processor selects the correct meaning and pronunciation based on the sentence.
- Approximately 95% of children can be taught to read by the end of first grade with appropriate instruction.
- Future academic achievement is primarily limited by students' reasoning and listening comprehension abilities, not their foundational reading skills if taught effectively.
- Effective reading instruction requires explicit foundational skills (decoding) alongside rich vocabulary and background knowledge development (language comprehension).
- Decodable books are crucial for beginning readers to practice phonics skills, while leveled books can hinder decoding development by encouraging prediction over sounding out.
- The goal is to efficiently help students integrate print with spoken language so they can read for various purposes and learn from text.
This chapter emphasizes the high potential for reading success in most children and outlines the instructional priorities needed to achieve this, balancing foundational skills with language comprehension.
Using decodable books that align with taught phonics patterns to build decoding fluency, rather than relying on predictable, leveled texts that promote guessing.
Key takeaways
- The majority of students require explicit, systematic phonics instruction to learn to read, a fact often overlooked due to teachers' own easier learning experiences.
- Skilled reading is a multiplicative outcome of decoding and language comprehension; deficits in either significantly impair reading ability.
- The phonological processor is critical for distinguishing sounds, and the orthographic processor for recognizing letters and patterns, both foundational for decoding.
- While context aids comprehension, beginning readers must learn to rely on sound-symbol correspondences (phonics) for accurate word recognition, not just guessing.
- Developing strong language comprehension, including vocabulary and background knowledge, is essential for unlocking the meaning of text, especially in later grades.
- Approximately 95% of children can achieve reading proficiency by the end of first grade with the right instruction, with future learning limited by higher-order thinking skills, not reading ability itself.
- Decodable texts are vital for early readers to practice and solidify phonics skills, bridging the gap to more complex texts.
Key terms
Science of ReadingPhonological AwarenessPhonicsFluencyVocabularyComprehensionSimple View of ReadingDecodingLanguage ComprehensionPhonological ProcessorOrthographic ProcessorMeaning ProcessorContext ProcessorDecodable Books
Test your understanding
- How does the Simple View of Reading (Decoding x Language Comprehension = Reading Comprehension) explain why a student might struggle with reading, even if they have strong oral language skills?
- What is the difference between the roles of the phonological processor and the orthographic processor in learning to read?
- Why is it important for beginning readers to use decodable books rather than predictable, leveled books?
- According to the science of reading, what percentage of children can be taught to read by the end of first grade, and what factors then limit their future achievement?
- How does the speaker's personal experience as a teacher illustrate the disconnect between typical teacher learning and student learning needs?