Teaching Reading
Nanci Ross
January 2003
The Components of Effective Reading Instruction
Research in the fields of education psychology have shown that the following skills are critical to learning to read proficiently:
Phonemic awareness
Letter-word correspondence
Fluent word recognition
Vocabulary
Comprehension skills
Appreciation of literature
For strong reading fluency, the research supports having a child develop good phonemic
awareness skills first, then addressing the other five reading components. Students learn to read
most proficiently and quickly when all these skills are taught at the same time rather than
sequentially.
From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn
The reading skill level achieved by the end of the third grade must prepare students for the literacy shift that they will encounter in the 4th grade. For it is in the 4th grade that students make a major transition from learning to read to reading to learn. This requires that students be automatic or fluent readers in order to understand narrative and expository texts.
Students in 4th grade are expected to read for the sake and enjoyment of reading as well as
information. Teachers expect students at this grade to show:
Initial understanding of the text
Ability to develop an interpretation of the text
Personal reflection on the content and response to the content
Critical stance on the material
In addition, the words in a 4th grade text are not typically found in everyday language. Reading
assignments become more technical and specific to the subject that they are studying. If students
are not reading proficiently by the end of the 3rd grade, they will not have the skill basis for
comprehending these more challenging texts. Their academic performance will suffer along with
their reading enjoyment, causing both frustration for parents and student. Thus it is imperative to
give students the best possible reading foundation as early as possible.
Nanci Ross is a reading specialist in Salt Lake City, Utah. You may contact her via email at: