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Summary of Reading Research Findings and Links to Reading Research
The activities, techniques and instructional approaches described on the Right Track Reading programs and Right Track Reading informational web pages are consistent with the with the findings from the valid evidence based research and also the neuroscience revealing the importance of phonologic processing to proficient reading. This article summarizes and references some of the relevant research.
Specifically, these activities and instructional approaches are consistent with the research based findings of the National Reading Panel’s Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. The findings of the National Reading Panel (NRP) are well documented in publications including: · The NRP’s Reports of the Subgroups · Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read - The 58-page teacher's guide provides a framework for using the findings of the NRP in the classroom. It describes the NRP findings and provides analysis and discussion in five areas of reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Each section also suggests implications for classroom instruction with examples of how the findings can be implemented. Some of the specific principles and findings from the NRP that are incorporated into the Right Track Reading Program and Website Information and activities are listed below. These highlights are copied from the National Institute for Literacy’s (NIFL) Summary “Principles from the Reading Research” and highlights from the evidence based research under the specific reading instruction topics phonemic awareness instruction, phonics instruction, fluency instruction, vocabulary instruction and text comprehension instruction.“To become good readers, children must develop phonemic awareness (an understanding of the sounds that make up spoken language), phonics skills (an understanding of the sounds that letters and letter combinations make), the ability to read fluently and accurately, and the ability to comprehend what is read.” “Systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness directly causes improvement in children's reading and spelling skills.” “Systematic and explicit phonics instruction produces significant benefits for children from kindergarten through sixth grade and for children having difficulty learning to read. Effective Phonics Instruction involves teaching a sequence of phonics elements, not just highlighting elements as they appear in a text.” Highlights from the evidence-based research on phonemic awareness instruction include: “Phonemic awareness can be taught and learned. Effective phonemic awareness instruction teaches children to notice, think about, and work with (manipulate) sounds in spoken language.” “Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to read. It improves the ability to read words and comprehend what is read.” “Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to spell. Direct instruction in phonemic awareness, especially in how to segment words into phonemes, helps children relate the sounds to letters as they spell words.” “Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when children are taught to manipulate phonemes by using the letters of the alphabet. Such instruction makes a stronger contribution to the improvement of reading and spelling when children are taught to use letters as they manipulate phonemes rather than when instruction is limited to phonemes alone.” “Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on only one or two types of phoneme manipulation, rather than several types. A focus on teaching children to blend and segment phonemes in words, especially, is likely to produce greater benefits to reading ability than teaching several types of manipulation.” “Phonemic awareness instruction can help all types of students learn to read, including preschoolers, kindergartners, first graders who are just starting to read, and older, less able readers.” Highlights from the evidence-based research on phonics instruction include: Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective than non-systematic or no phonics instruction. The hallmark of systematic phonics instruction is the direct teaching of a set of letter-sound relationships in a clearly defined sequence. The set includes the major sound/spelling relationships of both consonants and vowels. Systematic and explicit phonics instruction significantly improves kindergarten and first grade children's word recognition and spelling. Systematic and explicit phonics instruction significantly improves children's reading comprehension. Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is effective for children from various social and economic levels. It helps children from various backgrounds make greater gains in reading than non-systematic or no phonics instruction. Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is particularly beneficial for children who are having difficulty learning to read and who are at risk for developing future reading problems. Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is most effective when introduced early. Instruction should start in kindergarten and first grade. Phonics instruction is not an entire reading program for beginning readers. Children should also be solidifying their knowledge of the alphabet, engaging in phonemic awareness activities, and listening to stories and informational texts read aloud to them. They should also be reading texts and writing letters, words, messages, and stories. Phonics can be taught effectively to a whole class, small groups, or individual students. Highlights from the evidence-based research on fluency instruction include: “Repeated and monitored oral reading improves fluency and overall reading achievement. Students who read and reread passages out loud as they receive guidance and feedback become better readers. Researchers have found several techniques to be effective including the reading and rereading of text a number of times (usually four times) until a certain level of fluency is reached, and practicing oral reading through the use of audiotapes, tutors, peer guidance, or other means.” Highlights from the evidence-based research on vocabulary instruction include: “Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language. They do so by engaging daily in oral language, listening to adults read to them, and reading extensively on their own.” “Although a great deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly, some vocabulary should be taught directly. This can be done through specific word instruction (teaching specific words, extended instruction that promotes active engagement with words, and repeated exposure to words in many contexts) and word learning strategies (using dictionaries and other reference aids, using word parts, and using context clues).” “Vocabulary instruction should focus on important words (key words to help readers make sense of the text), useful words (words they will encounter often), and difficult words (words with multiple meanings, idiomatic words, etc.)”
The Right Track Reading Programs, Website Information and Activities apply information and findings from University of Oregon’s Big Ideas in Beginning Reading http://reading.uoregon.edu/big_ideas/ including:Phonemic Awareness Instruction:“Phonemic awareness needs to be taught explicitly”.“Teachers increase effectiveness when the manipulation of letters is added to phonemic awareness tasks. Phonemic awareness is an auditory skill, but once children start to become familiar with the concept, teachers can introduce letter tiles or squares and manipulate them to form sounds and words.” “The sound units (phonemes) are not inherently obvious and must be taught. The sounds that make up words are "coarticulated;" that is, they are not distinctly separate from each other.” Alphabetic Principle Instruction: “Letter-sound knowledge is prerequisite to effective word identification. A primary difference between good and poor readers is the ability to use letter-sound correspondence to identify words (Juel, 1991).” “Students who acquire and apply the alphabetic principle early in their reading careers reap long-term benefits (Stanovich, 1986)”. “Teaching students to phonologically recode words is a difficult, demanding, yet achievable goal with long-lasting effects (Liberman & Liberman, 1990).” “The combination of instruction in phonological awareness and letter-sounds appears to be the most favorable for successful early reading (Haskell, Foorman, & Swank, 1992).” “Good readers must have a strategy to phonologically recode words (Ehri, 1991; NRP, 2000;).” “During the alphabetic phase, reading must have lots of practice phonologically recoding the same words to become familiar with spelling patterns (Ehri, 1991).” “Awareness of the relation between sounds and the alphabet can be taught (Liberman & Liberman, 1990).” “Because our language is alphabetic, decoding is an essential and primary means of recognizing words. There are simply too many words in the English language to rely on memorization as a primary word identification strategy (Bay Area Reading Task Force, 1996;).” Accuracy & Fluency Instruction:“Successful Readers…rely primarily on the letters in the word rather than context or pictures to identify familiar and unfamiliar words; process virtually every letter; use letter-sound correspondences to identify words; have a reliable strategy for decoding words; read words for a sufficient number of times for words to become automatic (Hasbrouck, 1998)”
The Science of Proficient Reading! The neurobiological evidence on the process of proficient reading and dyslexia reveal the importance of phonemic awareness and phonologic processing to proficient reading. The neural research demonstrates the ability of effective phonologic based reading instructional programs to develop proficient reader pathways and improve reading skills. This research provides a wealth of information that can help us more effectively teach students how to read. Several sources of background information applied to the activities in this presentation include: · Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level by Sally Shaywitz, M.D. Copyright 2003 This book provides valuable information on the science of proficient reading. Dr. Shaywitz is a neuroscientist involved in the fascinating research on the process of proficient reading. In this book, she outlines what scientists are learning about the process of proficient reading and dyslexia (difficulty reading). The scientific evidence on the importance of phonemic awareness and phonologic processing provide a wealth of information that can help us more effectively teach students how to read. This book is available in many libraries and most bookstores. Links to specific research articles and journal citations found on the National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health web based literature retrieval search system PubMed. · Dyslexia-specific brain activation profile becomes normal following successful remedial training · Functional disruption in the organization of the brain for reading in dyslexia · Neural changes following remediation in adult developmental dyslexia · The role of functional magnetic resonance imaging in understanding reading and dyslexia
Links to a few informative articles from the Georgetown University Medical Center: · New Study Examines How the Adult Dyslexic Brain Can Change (News Release October 27, 2004)
Additional free information on teaching students to read is located at Reading Information and Information & Resources for Teaching Reading pages of the Right Track Reading website. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— This article was written by Miscese Gagen a mother with a passion for teaching children to read proficiently by using effective methods. She is also a successful reading tutor and author of the reading instructional programs Right Track Reading Lessons and Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons. The purpose of this article is to empower parents and teachers with information on teaching children how to read. We CAN improve reading proficiency, one student at a time! More information is located at www.righttrackreading.com ~ Copyright 2008 Miscese R. Gagen |
