Science of Reading

Reading is the cornerstone of all study techniques. Without efficient reading

skills, taking notes, creating mind maps, and retaining information will take
much longer than necessary. It’s, therefore, important for you as a student to
focus and improve your reading skills as this will benefit you during and
beyond your educational journey.

Types of Reading

1. Skim Reading

Skim reading, often referred to as skimming, is a rapid reading technique used

to gain an overall impression of the text without delving into every detail. When
skimming, readers glance through the content, paying attention to headings,
subheadings, bolded/italicised text, and any visuals. This technique is
particularly useful when:

 Previewing material: it‘s useful to skim through a text before undertaking an

in-depth reading session. This will allow you to understand the main ideas
and structure of the text.
 Determining relevance: as you skim through a section of text, you’ll be able
to determine which information is relevant and potentially important.
Therefore, you’ll understand which areas to focus on and work through
thoroughly.
 Refreshing: it can be useful to skim through text and sections before an
exam. This’ll refresh you on the information you have already studied and
help you remember the main points.

Though skimming aids in quickly grasping the gist of a text, it may lead to
missing finer points and nuances. As such, it's not recommended for
comprehensive understanding or when dealing with complex subjects. Rather,
it’s seen as the first step when approaching a topic and studying.
2. Scan Reading

Scan reading or scanning, is another rapid reading technique that focuses on

locating specific information within a text. Unlike skimming, where readers
glance over the entire content, scanning involves a more targeted approach.
Readers actively look for keywords, dates, names, or specific data, effectively
‘scanning’ the text for the required information. Scanning is useful in various
scenarios:

 Finding information: scanning can be used to find a particular piece of

information in an index, table of contents, or glossary.
 Specific data: information sources such as articles or reports can be long
and it’ll, therefore, take a lot of time to locate information if you read
through each article properly. Scanning allows you to quickly find specific
data in long pieces of text.
 Locating answers: during an exam or while completing an assignment,
scanning can help you quickly and easily locate answers hidden within the
provided text.

Scanning helps readers to save time and quickly pinpoint relevant information.
However, it may not offer a profound understanding of the context or broader
concepts present in the text.

3. Active and Intensive Reading

Active, or intensive reading, is a comprehensive and engaging reading

technique that encourages readers to actively interact with the text. Instead of
passively absorbing information, active reading involves asking questions,
making connections, and taking notes. This technique is ideal for:

 studying academic material and complex subjects in depth

 enhancing your comprehension and retention of information
 encouraging critical thinking and analysis of the content.
Active reading can be achieved through various strategies, such as annotating
the text, highlighting key points, jotting down questions, or summarising the
material in your own words. By actively participating in the reading process,
readers can develop a deeper understanding and long-lasting knowledge.

4. Analytical Reading

Analytical reading is a reading technique that requires you to analyse the text
you are interacting with. Therefore, this technique goes beyond comprehension
and moves towards evaluating and critiquing the text. This approach is often
employed by researchers, academics, and those seeking a thorough
understanding of complex concepts. Analytical reading involves:

 Identification: readers should identify the author's arguments, claims, and

supporting evidence.
 Assessment: the text should the assessed to determine the credibility and
reliability of the information presented.
 Recognition: readers should be able to recognise underlying assumptions
and potential biases.
 Comparison: lastly, the text should be compared to other relevant sources
to develop a comprehensive perspective.

Analytical reading is time-consuming but crucial for developing a critical

mindset and forming well-founded opinions. This approach is particularly
valuable when dealing with academic papers, news articles, and persuasive
texts. Therefore, this reading technique is most often used at the university
level.

10 Tools for Reading

1. Knowledge

It helps teachers understand that their most important tool is knowledge and
that resulting from that knowledge, the ability to use resources wisely and
choose the most beneficial teaching processes for students.
Objectives:

 Learn the rationale behind the development of the tools.

 Become familiar with a conceptual model of reading –the WHAT to teach
 Consider effective teaching behaviors and compare them to your own
teaching – the HOW to teach
 Plan for engagement in reading

2. Oral Language

Learn about the fundamental relationship between oral language and text
reading, the importance of a teacher understanding language variation, the
importance of instruction in the structure of language for our multilingual
learners, and methods for including intentional language activities in our
students’ daily world to support both language development and reading
abilities.

Objectives:

 Plan targeted language opportunities for all students

 Apply teaching methods to increase student engagement through listening
and spoken language.
 Understand and include appropriate instruction for students whose
language skills are strong, but for whom reading is a challenge.
 Understand more deeply and appreciate the role of language in reading skill
development.
 Learn ways to create a language rich classroom, one in which students
frequently use language to engage with content and one in which models of
language use are provided.

3. Phonemes

Helps teachers understand why the phoneme is so important for meaning and
for reading and present many ways to include attention to phonemes
throughout the school day. Teachers often think of phonemes as they relate to
decoding and often forget that they combine to create meaning.

Objectives:

 Define the importance of phoneme awareness

 Deepen an appreciation for the phoneme's role in word meaning, reading,
and spelling
 Learn the correct articulation of the consonant and vowel phonemes
 Define the terms associated with phonological awareness
 Apply many brief phonological and phoneme awareness activities
throughout the day

4. Phonics and Spelling

Explores the phonics element of reading. Teachers study the reading brain and
the role of decoding in comprehension.

Objectives:

 Define phases of word recognition development

 Recognize students' word recognition phases and apply appropriate word
level instruction
 Identify the four areas in the reading brain and understand reading
activation patterns
 Teach phonics and spelling explicitly and systematically
 Match reading materials to student word level reading
 Build practice activities into phonics lessons

5. Vocabulary

Explore vocabulary in ways that perhaps teachers have never considered

before. Teachers will study the design of words and peer into the many rooms
where words reside. There are multiple structural aspects of a word that are
the basis for the overall blueprint and design of words.
Objectives:

 Bring a richer and deeper thinking about vocabulary to their classroom

instruction
 Plan vocabulary lessons that teach words explicitly
 Plan multiple opportunities into the school day to expand student
vocabularies through implicit instruction
 Increase their own and students' awareness of and interest in words

6. Comprehension

Teachers build an understanding of comprehension through studying and

differentiating between the process of reading comprehension and the product
of reading comprehension. Several instructional processes are shared with
teachers as they are guided to create a reading comprehension lesson using
their own reading material. Teachers are led to consider both the process and
product of reading comprehension in their planning.

Objectives:

 Incorporate learnings about the multiple processes of reading

comprehension into instruction
 Reflect and determine how to guide the development of students' mental
models during pre, while, and post reading.
 Use a Framework to plan comprehension lessons

7. Fluency

Learn that fluency is a very important reading component. It is the automatic

application of the skills it takes to read, to decode and even comprehend what
we read. Teachers will learn about the strong relationships between reading
fluency and other reading and language skills. They will learn how to improve
reading fluency through well planned practice activities.
Objectives:

 Define reading fluency with consideration of the many skills it takes to read
fluently
 Understand at a deeper lever the complex nature of reading fluency
 Identify the skills that contribute to fluent reading across the span of
reading development
 Know how to assess fluency

8. Writing

Teachers build knowledge about both the underlying and higher-level language
skills required to write. Providing daily writing opportunities in response to
reading is a main focus in this writing tool.

Objectives:

 Plan writing lessons that guide students to respond to what they are
learning and reading
 Attend to the lower-level transcription skills during writing
 Provide instruction that helps students capture and formalize their
thinking
 Understand and incorporate purposeful instruction in note taking,
sentence writing, and summary writing

9. Read Alouds

Aside from the pleasure of shared time together and our love of a good story, a
lot of positive language development happens through the simple joy of reading
a book out loud. Explore research that outlines the significance of the read-
aloud. It provides ideas for how to work this special time into the teacher's
busy, fully scheduled day and get the most out of it.

Objectives:
 Consider their students' language skills and target areas of language focus
when reading aloud to the students
 Apply research findings into their read-aloud lessons to deepen student
interaction with the text
 Choose a varied selection of expository and narrative texts to read to
students

10. Collaboration

Teaching as a community of teachers is the best approach for our students.

Teachers don't have to do this work alone. Putting our heads and hearts
together to plan responses to identified student needs is what our students
deserve - combined talents and solution-makers working together, working to
develop solutions and celebrating success together.

Objectives:

 Develop a plan for ongoing review of pedagogy with your colleagues

 Engage in collaborative efforts with your teaching partners and
administration that focus on student success
 Learn and use a model for assessing and planning appropriate and targeted
instruction for students with learning concerns estimated total duration.

Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken

parts of sentences and words. Examples include being able to identify words
that rhyme, recognizing alliteration, segmenting a sentence into words,
identifying the syllables in a word, and blending and segmenting onset-rimes.
The most sophisticated — and last to develop — is called phonemic awareness.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the
individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This includes blending sounds
into words, segmenting words into sounds, and deleting and playing with the
sounds in spoken words.
Phonological awareness (PA) involves a continuum of skills that develop over
time and that are crucial for reading and spelling success, because they are
central to learning to decode and spell printed words. Phonological awareness
is especially important at the earliest stages of reading development — in pre-
school, kindergarten, and first grade for typical readers.

Explicit teaching of phonological awareness in these early years can eliminate

future reading problems for many students. However, struggling decoders of
any age can work on phonological awareness, especially if they evidence
problems in blending or segmenting phonemes.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a fundamental aspect of language proficiency, encompassing the

words and phrases a person understands and uses in communication. It plays
a crucial role in language acquisition, comprehension, and expression across
various contexts.

Importance of Vocabulary

 Vocabulary is essential for effective communication, enabling individuals to

convey their thoughts, ideas, and emotions accurately.
 A rich vocabulary enhances reading comprehension, writing skills, and
overall language proficiency.
 It facilitates learning in academic settings by aiding in understanding
instructions, texts, and concepts.
 Vocabulary is a key component of cognitive development and critical
thinking skills.

Types of Vocabulary

1. Receptive Vocabulary: Words a person understands when reading or

listening.
2. Expressive Vocabulary: Words a person can use when speaking or writing.
3. Active Vocabulary: Words actively used by an individual in
communication.
4. Passive Vocabulary: Words understood but not frequently used by an
individual.

Strategies for Improving Vocabulary

 Reading extensively: Exposure to diverse texts helps in encountering new

words and phrases.
 Using context clues: Inferring word meanings from surrounding text or
situations.
 Keeping a vocabulary journal: Recording new words with definitions and
examples for review.
 Engaging in word games and puzzles: Activities like crossword puzzles,
word searches, and vocabulary quizzes can be fun ways to expand
vocabulary.
 Using vocabulary-building apps: Technology offers various apps designed
to enhance vocabulary skills through interactive exercises.

Assessing Vocabulary Proficiency

 Standardized tests: Assessments like the SAT, GRE, or TOEFL include

sections to evaluate vocabulary knowledge.
 Vocabulary size tests: Tools like the Vocabulary Levels Test provide an
estimate of an individual's vocabulary size.
 Contextual understanding: Evaluating how well a person comprehends
and uses words in different contexts.

Phonics

Phonics is a method of teaching reading and spelling that emphasizes the

relationship between sounds and their corresponding written symbols
(graphemes). It is a foundational skill in literacy development, enabling
individuals to decode words, improve reading fluency, and enhance overall
language proficiency.

Importance of Phonics

 Reading Acquisition: Phonics instruction helps learners decode unfamiliar

words by associating sounds with letters or letter combinations.
 Spelling Proficiency: Understanding phonics rules aids in spelling accuracy
and word recognition.
 Vocabulary Expansion: Phonics facilitates the recognition of new words and
enhances language comprehension.
 Reading Fluency: Proficiency in phonics leads to improved reading speed
and comprehension.

Components of Phonics Instruction

 Letter-Sound Correspondence: Teaching the relationship between letters

and the sounds they represent.
 Phonemic Awareness: Developing the ability to identify, manipulate, and
segment individual sounds in words.
 Blending: Combining individual sounds to form words.
 Segmenting: Breaking words into individual sounds for spelling.

Strategies for Teaching Phonics

 Systematic Instruction: Introducing phonics rules in a structured sequence

from simple to complex.
 Explicit Instruction: Directly teaching phonics concepts through modeling,
practice, and feedback.
 Multisensory Approaches: Incorporating auditory, visual, and kinesthetic
activities to reinforce phonics skills.
 Word Families: Teaching patterns of letter-sound relationships within word
families to enhance decoding skills.
 Decodable Texts: Providing reading materials that align with phonics
instruction to practice newly learned skills in context.

Assessing Phonics Proficiency

 Phonics Assessments: Evaluating students' ability to apply phonics rules in

decoding words accurately.
 Reading Fluency Tests: Assessing reading speed and accuracy to measure
the impact of phonics instruction on fluency.
 Spelling Tests: Examining students' spelling accuracy to gauge their
application of phonics knowledge.

Fluency

Fluency is a crucial aspect of language proficiency that encompasses the

ability to communicate smoothly, accurately, and efficiently in speaking,
reading, and writing. It reflects a person's command over language structures,
vocabulary, and pronunciation, enabling effective communication in various
contexts.

Types of Fluency

 Speaking Fluency: The ability to express thoughts and ideas coherently and
confidently in spoken language.
 Reading Fluency: The capacity to read text accurately, quickly, and with
appropriate expression.
 Writing Fluency: The skill to produce written text smoothly, with proper
organization, coherence, and clarity.

Importance of Fluency

 Communication Efficiency: Fluent speakers can convey ideas effectively

without hesitation or difficulty.
 Comprehension: Fluent readers can process text quickly and accurately,
enhancing understanding and retention.
 Writing Proficiency: Fluent writers can articulate thoughts clearly and
cohesively, engaging readers effectively.
 Academic Success: Fluency is linked to improved performance in language-
based tasks and assessments.

Factors Affecting Fluency

 Vocabulary Knowledge: Rich vocabulary facilitates fluency by providing a

range of words for expression.
 Grammar Proficiency: Understanding grammar rules aids in constructing
coherent sentences and texts.
 Pronunciation Skills: Clear pronunciation enhances speaking fluency and
comprehension for both speakers and listeners.
 Practice and Exposure: Regular practice and exposure to the language
contribute to fluency development.

Strategies for Developing Fluency

 Speaking Practice: Engaging in conversations, presentations, or language

exchanges to improve speaking fluency.
 Reading Aloud: Practicing reading aloud to enhance pronunciation,
intonation, and reading speed.
 Writing Exercises: Regular writing practice helps improve writing fluency,
organization, and coherence.
 Vocabulary Expansion: Learning new words and phrases enriches language
skills and aids in fluency development.
 Feedback and Correction: Receiving feedback on language use helps identify
areas for improvement and enhances fluency.

Assessing Fluency

 Speaking Assessments: Evaluating oral proficiency through conversations,

presentations, or interviews.
 Reading Assessments: Testing reading speed, accuracy, comprehension, and
expression in texts.
 Writing Assessments: Evaluating writing proficiency based on organization,
coherence, grammar usage, and clarity.

Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to understand, interpret, and analyze

written text to extract meaning and make connections between ideas. It is a
critical skill in literacy development, academic success, and overall cognitive
growth.

Importance of Reading Comprehension

 Academic Achievement: Strong reading comprehension skills are essential

for success across all academic subjects.
 Critical Thinking: Comprehension fosters analytical thinking, problem-
solving abilities, and the ability to evaluate information critically.
 Vocabulary Development: Reading enhances vocabulary acquisition, leading
to improved language proficiency.
 Lifelong Learning: Effective reading comprehension skills are crucial for
continuous learning and personal growth.

Components of Reading Comprehension

 Literal Comprehension: Understanding the explicit information presented

in the text.
 Inferential Comprehension: Drawing conclusions, making predictions,
and interpreting implied meanings.
 Evaluative Comprehension: Analyzing and critiquing the text based on
evidence and personal perspectives.
Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension

 Pre-Reading Strategies: Previewing the text, activating prior knowledge, and

setting reading goals.
 Active Reading Techniques: Engaging in highlighting, annotating,
summarizing, and questioning while reading.
 Vocabulary Development: Enhancing vocabulary through context clues,
word analysis, and exposure to diverse texts.
 Text Structure Awareness: Recognizing different text structures (e.g., cause-
effect, compare-contrast) to aid comprehension.
 Metacognitive Strategies: Monitoring understanding, clarifying confusion,
and adjusting reading strategies as needed.

Assessing Reading Comprehension

 Standardized Tests: Assessments like SAT, ACT, or state exams include

reading comprehension sections.
 Informal Assessments: Teacher-created quizzes, discussions, or projects to
evaluate students' understanding of texts.
 Comprehension Checks: Asking questions before, during, and after reading
to gauge understanding and retention.
 Technology in Reading Comprehension
 Digital Tools: Interactive e-books, online resources, and educational apps
that support reading comprehension skills.
 Adaptive Learning Platforms: Personalized programs that adjust content
based on individual reading levels and needs.
 Audio Books: Listening to audio versions of texts can enhance
comprehension for auditory learners or those with reading difficulties.