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Reading  Matters  to  Maine’s  Second  Annual  Conversation  about  Reading  

 
Co-­‐sponsored  by  Reading  Matters  to  Maine  &  USM  Southern  Maine  Area  Resource  Team  (SMART)  for  Schools  
 
A  Conversation  about  
Reading  and  the  Brain  
 
Presenter:    Christopher  Kaufman,  Ph.D.  
Study  guide  created  by  Alexis  Kiburis,  Psy.D.  

 
Study  Guide  
 
This  study  guide  may  be  used  to  help  guide  note-­‐taking  while  watching  A  Conversation  about  Reading  
and  the  Brain  (originally  recorded  on  October  24,  2011).  Additionally,  this  study  guide  includes  
reflection  questions,  which  may  be  discussed  among  small  groups  of  educators.    
   
Part  One  –  The  Importance  of  this  Topic  
 
• As  quoted  from  the  National  Research  Council,  Preventing  Reading  Difficulties  in  Young  

Children  (1998):  

o “Academic  success,  as  defined  by  high  school  graduation,  can  be  predicted  with  

reasonable  accuracy  by  knowing  someone’s  reading  skill  at  the  end  of  

___________________  
third ___________________.  
grade A  person  who  is  not  at  least  a  modest  

skilled  reader  by  that  time  is  unlikely  to  graduate  from  high  school.”  
 2  
 
• As  quoted  from  Learning  to  Read  and  Write  in  Elementary  School  (Juel,  1994):  

o “Children  who  fall  behind  in  first  grade  have  a  ___________________  

one in  

___________________  
eight chance  of  ever  catching  up  to  grade  level  without  extraordinary  

efforts.”  

• As  quoted  from  Francis  et  al.  (1996):  

74
o “___________________%   of  children  who  are  poor  readers  in  third  grade  remain  poor  

readers  in  ninth  grade.”    

o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion:  

§ Think  about  the  statistics  presented  above.  How  and  when  does  your  
school/district  identify  students  who  are  not  proficient  with  early  literacy  skills?  
What  types  of  interventions  are  available  to  these  students?  How  effective  is  this  
process  at  your  school/district?  
  Grades K-2nd - All students are screened with DIBELS. Those students whose composite scores fall
  within the INTENSIVE range are administered the dyslexia-specific screener (LNJ, LSF, PSF, and NWF) by a
  member of the school screening team.
  Reading at the beginning of each school year. Students
Grades 3-12 - All students are screen with the Scantron
that are identified as scoring within the bottom 25th  percentile on Reading Scantron Test or are identified by
 
their classroom teacher as exhibiting multiple characteristics of dyslexia will be administered the dyslexia-
 
specific screener (sight words, phonemic decoding, spelling, and passage reading accuracy) by a member of
the school screening team.  
• Any student that falls below benchmark expectations on 3 of the 4 screening indicators will be referred to the
 
SST (Student Support Team) for determination of needed dyslexia-specific intervention services,
 
accommodations, and assistive technology as appropriate.
 
INTERVENTIONS: Reading Horizons is an intensive reading intervention program that is taught by the General
   
and Special Education Teacher. Also SPIRE is used by the Special Education Teacher. All General Education
Teachers have been introduced to the Alabama Dyslexia Resource Guide and utilize technology to determine
appropriate strategies to implement with students demonstrating characteristics of dyslexia.

I have only been through this process 1 year and that was cut short due to COVID.
 3  
Part  Two  –  The  Five  Pillars  of  Effective  Reading  Instruction  
 
• The  five  pillars  of  effective  reading  instruction  may  also  be  referred  to  as  the  Big  Ideas  of  the  
National  Reading  Panel  or  the  Foundational  Skills  of  Reading  within  the  Common  Core.  Use  the  
graphic  organizer  below  to  organize  the  information  presented  about  the  five  pillars  of  effective  
reading  instruction.  

• Language Comprehension
• Syllables/rimes (phonological)
Phonemic  
• Processing Phonemes
Awareness  

• The Alphabetic Principle

• Auditory-Visual
Phonics   • Phoneme-grapheme awareness
• Application of PA

• Accuracy, speed, expression (mechanical/comprehension)

• Read text to understand
Fluency   • Read Aloud
• Connect Text

• The numbers of words they know

• Knowing oral form helps know written form
Vocabulary   • Visual choice reading drill
• Left Temporal (hard drive for the brain)
• Word knowledge helps with decoding and encoding words

• Derive meaning from the text

• Just the facts
Comprehension   • Factual recall
• Explicit - derive meaning from text (who, what where)
• Implicit - inferential the light bulb effect (not written in the text)

 
 4  
 
 
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion:  
§ Describe  the  difference  between  phonological  awareness  and  phonemic  
awareness.  
 
Phonological - Oral language to written language - regrouping sounds in words - rhyming level "Jack
 
and
  Jill went up the hill." Syllables, Onsets & Rimes.
 
Phonemic
  - Grasping language at the phonemic level; they can hear sounds; like the four sounds in
 
'sweet.'
 
 
Phonics should be explicitly taught in isolation. The brain needs to be taught to read phonetically and
 
systematically.
 
 
 
 
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion:  
§ Describe  orthographic  knowledge/competency.  Why  might  this  concept  be  
considered  a  “sixth  pillar”  of  effective  reading  instruction?  
 
-visual aspects of words and texts
 
-recognizing what letters and words look like
 
-the affects of spelling
 
 
  Students can recognize sounds but struggle with the spelling when writing, complication with the visual
  aspect. This teaches the visual aspect of words; essential for sight word recognition and, spelling.
 
  Orthographic helps students know what letters look like.
 
 
 
 
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion:  
§ Compare  and  contrast  the  explicit  level  of  reading  comprehension  with  the  
implicit/inferential  level  of  reading  comprehension.  
 
    to answer questions about the text. (who, what, when, where)
Implicit - The ability

Inferential - The ability to process information and understand the meaning. (be able to see
information without out seeing it in words)
 5  
Part  Three  –  Neurological/Neurocognitive  Bases  of  Reading  
 
• The  hemispheres  

o The  cortical  surface  (cortex)  can  be  divided  into  two  hemispheres:  left  and  right.  

§ The  left  hemisphere  of  the  brain  primarily  processes  information  in  a  factual,  

___________________,  
sequential (factual/specific) specific  manner  (explicit  processing).  

§ The  right  hemisphere  of  the  brain  enables  intergrative (big picture) and  synthetic  
___________________  

processing  (implicit  processing).  

§ corpus
Between  these  two  hemispheres  of  the  brain  is  the:  ___________________  

colosseum
___________________,   which  facilitates  communication  between  the  two  

hemispheres.  

 
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion:  
§ What  does  “explicit”  mean?  
§ What  does  “implicit”  mean?  
• Compare  and  contrast  the  explicit  and  implicit  processes  involved  in  
reading  comprehension.  
 
Explicit - direct and clear questions - not confusing questions and answers
 
(factual and specific)
 
 
  Implicit - inferencing, main idea, more abstract (big picture of what is read)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6  
• Input  and  Output  Regions  

o When  looking  at  the  brain  on  the  left  side,  the  ___________________  
central sulcus  (also  

central
known  as  the  ___________________fissure   or  the  ___________________  
fissure of  Rolando)  

runs  down  the  middle.    

(processes tactile pressure, tension, touch)

(visual, hearing)

Output & Input & Sensory Processing

Self-Direction & Storage

Cerebellum

FRONT BACK  
(auditory processing)

§ The  three  lobes  within  the  ___________________  

posterior cortex    (occipital,  parietal,  and  

temporal)  are  wired  for  input.  They  can  be  referred  to  as  reception  lobes.  They  

are  also  short-­‐tem  and  long-­‐term  information  storage  centers.  Additionally,  they  

are  passive  processing  centers.    

• The  ___________________  
temporal lobe  processes  auditory  information.  

• occipital
The  ___________________   lobe  processes  visual  information.  
 7  
• parietal
The  ___________________   lobe  processes  propriosensory  information  

(perception  of  movement  and  orientation)  and  spatial  information.    

§ frontal
The  ___________________   lobe  is  programmed  for  output.  

• The  prefrontal  cortex  should  work  as  a  conductor.  If  this  area  of  the  brain  

is  strong,  then  an  individual  will  typically  have  skills  in  the  following  areas:  

focus,  ___________________,  
organized ___________________  
work memory,  and  self-­‐

monitoring.  

 
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion:  
§ If  the  occipital  lobe  is  not  functioning  properly,  how  might  the  acquisition  of  
literacy  skills  be  impacted?  What  if  the  parietal  lobe  is  not  functioning  properly?  
How  about  the  temporal  lobe?  
 

Occipital Lobe:
  • visual/memory deficit
• orthographic recall deficit

  Parietal Lobe:
• sounds are hear and spoken differently which causes misunderstanding
of what is being asked
  • low comprehension

Temporal Lobe:
  • phonological functioning deficit
• vocabulary deficit in processing

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8  
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  
§ If  the  prefrontal  cortex  is  not  functioning  properly,  how  might  the  acquisition  of  
literacy  skills  be  impacted?  
 
If the prefrontal cortex is not functioning properly then all skills could be effected due to the
3 lobes being impaired.
 
• literacy skill acquisition skills will be weak
• won't be able to comprehend text information
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• How  Literacy  Occurs  Across  the  Posterior  Cortex  and  the  Frontal  Lobe  

o At  the  back  of  the  brain,  where  the  occipital  (visual)  lobe  meets  the  temporal  (auditory)  

lobe,  is  the  occipital-­‐temporal  ___________________.  

convergence  

§ This  is  also  referred  to  as  the  brain’s  ___________________  

litter box.  This  is  where  

whole  word  forms  are  stored.  It  is  an  ___________________  

whole word storage  center.  

o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  

§ If  the  orthographic  storage  center  (the  brain’s  “letter  box”)  is  not  functioning  
properly,  how  might  literacy  skills  be  impacted?    
 
The individual suffering from orthographic storage center disfunction has a hard time remembering
  what letters and words look like. This makes site word reading and spelling challenging as well
as phonics because of letter sound association.

 
 9  
o In  the  superior  temporal  cortex  (at  the  top  of  the  temporal  lobe,  where  it  meets  the  

parietal  lobe),  is  ___________________  

vertices Area.  

§ This  area  of  the  brain  is  involved  in  understanding  ___________________-­‐sound  
letter

association.  This  is  the  most  important  part  of  the  brain  for  phonologic  and  

phonemic
___________________   processing  skills.  

semantic
o Vocabulary  (also  known  as  ___________________   processing)  occurs  in  the  medial  

temporal  cortex.  

o Toward  the  back  of  the  frontal  lobe,  is  ___________________  

Broca's Area.  

§ This  area  is  involved  in  processing  expressive  language.  

o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  

§ Amongst  children  with  the  most  common  form  of  dyslexia,  dysphonetic  dyslexia,  
which  areas  of  the  brain  are  mostly  likely  to  have  processing  difficulties?  
 
 
Phonological Analysis Center of the Brain
• Medial temporal cortex
• Ventral occipito-temporal region
 
• Superior temporal cortex)

 
 10  
o executive
The  prefrontal  cortex  is  the  primary  center  of  ___________________   control  and  the  

primary  center  of  ___________________  

attention control.  

§ This  area  of  the  brain  is  essentially  the  “leader  of  the  symphony.”    

o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  

§ Humans  are  hard-­‐wired  or  “born  to  learn”  oral  language.  How  does  learning  to  
read  differ?  Why  is  learning  to  read  not  a  natural  process?  
 

Speaking is a mutual human trait from birth. We are wired to speak and receive language we
 are not wired to read language.

Learning to read is not a natural process - we have to do this through brain change, we must
 
modify brain regions to do something they are not wired for. Individuals have to learn letter-sound
association and how to use expressive language skills. The brains are call dyslexic...

 
 
 
 
Part  Four  –  Dyslexia  
 
• Dyslexia  defined  

o A  disorder  manifested  by  difficulty  learning  to  read  despite  conventional  instruction,  

adequate  intelligence,  and  sociocultural  opportunity  (World  Federation  of  Neurology).  

   
 11  
• Four  types  of  developmental  reading  disorders  
o Use  the  graphic  organizer  below  to  organize  the  information  presented  about  the  four  
types  of  developmental  reading  disorders.  

difficulties processing the component sounds of speech and with linking

letters to sounds - inhibits the 'sounding out' of words
Dysphonetic  
Dyslexia   challenged in regards to phonemic analysis, cannot process the phonemes
of language

observations, running records, patterns of dis-phonetic processing

poor blending

difficulties recalling/recognizing the visual features of words; this is a

particular problem with irregular words like 'enough' and 'yacht' and 'the'
Orthographic  
Dyslexia   also known as surface dyslexia - remembering what words look like

impaired phonological and orthographic processing

Mixed  Dyslexia  

no obvious word level/mechanical reading deficits, but comprehension is

impaired
Comprehension  
De>icits   less to do with decoding - specific comprehension deficits, has a
hard time synthesizing from texts

 
 12  
 
• The  Matthew  Effect  
 

 
 
 
 
o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  
§ Discuss  the  “Matthew  Effect.”  What  tends  to  happen  over  the  course  of  the  
elementary  school  years  among  students  who  learn  early  reading  skills  quickly?  
What  tends  to  happen  over  the  course  of  the  elementary  school  years  among  
students  who  have  difficulty  with  early  reading  skills?  
 

Students who learn early have high reading and comprehension skills. They usually enjoy reading
  and have high reading levels. These students have higher vocabulary knowledge.

The students that have difficulty avoid reading, they are unable to learn and are usually left
  behind in grade level proficiency. There are more behavior problems for those that cannot read
efficiently.

 
 13  
Part  Five  –  Comprehension  
 
• Milk  Jug  of  Memory  

directed
o Information  enters  the  brain  through  ___________________   attention.  It  then  goes  into  

short
immediate  or  ___________________-­‐term   memory.  It  then  goes  into  the  most  

important  part  of  neuro-­‐processing  for  reading  comprehension  (other  than  language  

knowledge):  ___________________  
working memory.  

§ Working  memory  is  the  ability  to  hold  information  temporarily  in  

short
___________________-­‐term   memory  while  doing  something  with  it.    

o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  

§ How  could  a  working  memory  deficit  impact  reading  comprehension  skills?  
 
 
  If students don't have a working memory reading comprehension skills are impacted by
  not being able to draw from prior knowledge to understand a text or decode information from
  the text to answer questions. These students don't have a self-directed thinking to self-construct
  their learning.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14  
• Factors  that  enable  reading  comprehension  

o Use  the  following  graphic  organizer  to  organize  the  information  presented  about  the  

factors  that  enable  reading  comprehension.  

Mix working memory of information with prior knowledge to determine meaning

Prior   Self directed thinker

Knowledge  

MIXED WITH NEW LEARNING

Information learned by the reader

Information  
from  Text  

Children with larger working memories have higher fluency ability.

Working   Working memory makes comprehension happen - how well individuals read
Memory  
New IQ

Puts all the above information together.

Executive  
Function  

 
 15  
Part  Six  –  Reading  Instruction  Strategies  
 
• The  five  “big  ideas”  written  in  instructional  terms:  

1. Teach  phonemic  awareness  ___________________.  

explicity

2. Provide  ___________________  
systematically ___________________  
sequenced phonics  instruction.  

3. Teach  ___________________  
synthetic ___________________  
phonics where  letters  are  converted  into  

phonemes  and  then  blended  to  form  whole  words.  

4. Use  ___________________  
guided ___________________  
oral ___________________  
reading with  

appropriate  error  correction  and  feedback  strategies  to  facilitate  reading  fluency.    

5. Develop  ___________________  
vocabulary and  use  systematic  instruction  to  teach  

___________________  
strategic reading  comprehension.  

• Three  tier  model  of  reading  instruction   • Special Education

  • Systematic specialized instruction
  linked to IEP-based goals and
  Intensity
frequent CBM
 
  • at-risk students
  Targeted • Science-based supplemental
  instruction (pull-out or classroom
  based) with frequent CBM
 
  • All students
  Core
• Science-based Core Instruction
  Curriculum
• Tier 1 interventions
 
(Differentiated classroom
 
  instruction w/frequent
  classroom-based assessment)
 
 16  
o At  the  Universal  Level  (Tier  1),  an  evidence-­‐based  core  reading  programs  is  key.  

§ Every  school  should  adopt  a  ___________________,  

comprehensive ___________________-­‐
science

based  core  reading  program.  

§ The  program  should  be  taught  with  fidelity.  Fidelity  of  implementation  occurs  

when  a  teacher  uses  the  instructional  strategies  and  delivers  the  content  of  a  

program  in  the  same  way  that  it  was  designed  to  be  used  and  delivered.  

§ Students  should  receive  ___________________  

90 minutes  of  reading  instruction  

using  the  core  program.  

• Evidence  based  core  reading  programs  (K-­‐3)  

o Strong  evidence  for:   Reading Horizons, Success for All

o Moderate  evidence  for:   Scott Foresman

o Limited  evidence  for:   Hancock

• Building  oral  reading  fluency  

oral
o Frequent  ___________________   reading  practice,  solid  word  reading  skills,  vocabulary,  

and  exposure  to  fluent  reading  modeled  by  peers  and  adults.  

   
 17  
Part  Seven  –  Rewiring  the  Brain  
 
• “Dyslexic  brains  can  repair  themselves!”  

o Research  has  shown  that  intensive,  systematic  phonics/fluency-­‐based  programs  can  

lead  to  the  emergence  of  ___________________  

left side  brain  systems  being  used.  

o ___________________-­‐___________________%  
90 95 of  at-­‐risk  and  dyslexic  children  can  

improve  to  average  performance  levels.    

Part  Eight  –  Comprehension  Instruction  Strategies  

 
• Teach  reading  comprehension  strategies  explicitly.    

o Reflection  and/or  Group  Discussion  

§ How  do  you  teach  reading  comprehension  strategies  explicitly  in  your  
classroom?  
 
 
  -pair reading
 
  -small groups
 
  -reading level differentiation
 
  -weekly frequency reads
 
 
-model reading
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 18  
• Stages  of  reading  
 
o Research  has  identified  core  activities  that  good  readers  engage  in  before,  during,  and  

after  reading.  Use  the  following  graphic  organizer  to  organize  the  information  presented  

about  the  stages  of  reading.  

• gather thoughts
• activate background knowledge
and schemas
• develop questions
 
• plan for comprehension • Before  Reading  

• working memory activated

• visualize/personalize
• talk to self/summarize
• hypothesize
 
• monitor comprehension • While  Reading  

• consolidate/organize
long term memory
• recall/retell
• discuss/apply
  • Aker  Reading  
• change schemas

 
 19  
 
 
• Investigate:  
o Explore  one  or  more  of  these  resources  to  increase  your  knowledge  on  the  topic  of  
reading  and  brain.  
 
§ Baddeley,  A.  &  Wilson,  B.  (1988).  Comprehension  and  working  memory:  A  
single  case  neuropsychological  study.  Journal  of  Memory  and  Language,  27,  
479-­‐498.  
§ Berninger,  V.  W.,  &  Richards,  T.  L.  (2002).  Brain  Literacy  for  Educators  and  
Psychologists.  San  Diego,  CA:  Academic  Press.  
§ Dehaene,  S.  (2010).  Reading  in  the  Brain:  The  New  Science  of  How  We  Read.  
New  York,  NY:  Penguin  Books.  
§ Feifer,  S.G.,  &  De  Fina,  P.A.  (2000).  The  Neuropsychology  of  Reading  
Disorders:  Diagnosis  and  Intervention.  Middltown,  MD:  School  
Neuropsychology  Press.  
§ Wolf,  M.  (2007).  Proust  and  the  Squid:  The  Story  and  Science  of  the  Reading  
Brain.  New  York,  NY:  HarperCollins  Publishers.  
 
 
 
 
• Investigate:  
o Explore  one  or  more  of  these  resources  to  increase  your  knowledge  on  the  topic  of  
executive  function.  
 
§ Kaufman,  C.  J.  (2010).  Executive  Function  in  the  Classroom:  Practical  
Strategies  for  Improving  Performance  and  Enhancing  Skills  for  All  Students.  
Baltimore,  MD:  Brookes  Publishing  Co.  
§ Meltzer,  L.  Ed.  (2007).  Executive  Functioning  in  Education:  From  Theory  to  
Practice.  New  York,  NY:  Guilford  Press.