The Science

of Reading
(SoR)
🖐⧫’⬧ ■♓♍♏ ⧫□ ♒♋❖♏
⮹□◆ ♒♏❒♏!

For ⧫♒♏ coming ♎ ♋⬧⮹⬧ we invite ⮹□◆ to a

journey to further ●♏♋❒■♓■♑.
 🖐⧫’⬧■♓♍ ♏ ⧫□
♒♋❖ ♏⮹□◆ ♒♏❒ ♏!

For ⧫♒♏ coming ♎ ♋⮹⬧

⬧ we invite ⮹□◆ to a
journey to further ●♏♋❒■♓■♑.
For the coming days we invite you to a journey
to further learning.
 It’s ⬧nice
🖐⧫’ ■♓♍♏to have
⧫□ you
♒♋❖♏
here! ⮹□ ◆ ♒♏❒♏!

For the coming days we invite you to a journey

to further learning.
Passage:
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Enq wiqhin each one of qhese zany calls, each one qheq hes QNA,
Qhe QNA coqe is axecqly qhe saze, a zess-broquceq rasuze.
So qhe coqe in each call is iqanqical, a razarkaple puq veliq claiz.
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qhose calls wyse qhe calls in your prain.
WHAT IS READING?
⦿bring meaning to a text in order to get meaning from it.

⦿constructive: learning to reason about written

material using knowledge from everyday life and
from disciplined fields of study;
⦿fluent: mastery of basic processes to the point
where they are automatic so that attention is freed
for the analysis of meaning;
WHAT IS READING?
⦿strategic: controlling one’s reading in relation to one’s purpose, the
nature of the material and whether one is comprehending;

⦿motivated: able to sustain attention and learning that

written material can be interesting and informative; and

⦿a lifelong pursuit: continuous practices,

development, and refinement.
What is the Science of Reading?
THE BODY OF WORK REFERRED
TO AS THE “SCIENCE OF
READING” IS NOT an ideology, a
philosophy, a political agenda, a one-
size-fits-all approach, a program
instruction, nor a specific component
of instruction.

Dr. Louisa Moats

What is the Science of Reading?

It is the emerging consensus from many

related disciplines, based on literally
thousands of studies, supported by hundreds
of millions of research dollars, conducted
across the world in many languages. These
studies have revealed a great deal about how
we learn to read, what goes wrong when
students don’t learn, and what kind of
instruction is most likely to work the best for
the most students.
Dr. Louisa Moats
TRUE OR FALSE
1. Reading is as natural as speaking, therefore immersing children
in print and literature will teach all children to learn.

2. Teaching children to look at pictures, skip over words, guess

words based on context will develop the strategies necessary
for reading.

3. There are hundreds of ways to teaching reading therefore no single

way will work for all children.
The Evidence

Brain imaging studies have

taken place throughout the
world, and the images are
consistent again and again,
therefore, what has to take place
instructionally is fairly
consistent as well.

Dr. Stanislas Dehaene

The Evidence
As cognitive neuroscientist, Stanislas
Dehaene states, “It simply is not true
that there are hundreds of ways to
learn to read … When it come to
reading, all [children] have roughly the
same brain that imposes the same
constraints and the same learning
sequence” (2009).

Dr. Stanislas Dehaene

How Do Children Learn to Read?

The answer is the same for all

children. Cultural, economic, and
educational circumstances
obviously affect children’s progress,
but what they need to learn does not
change.
- Seidenberg, Mark 2017, p. 101
Cognitive scientist, neuroscientist,
psycholinguist who has studied language,
reading and dyslexia for more than 30
years.
Dr. Hollis Scarborough
Language Comprehension

Word Recognition
 What texts/books best suit each part of the
reading rope?

Authentic Texts
 Authentic Texts What texts/books best suit each part of the
reading rope?

Decodable Texts
Studies indicate that ALL students learn best when educators
adopt an integrated approach to reading that explicitly teaches
(What are the 6 components of reading?)

Phonemic
Awareness
Studies indicate that ALL students learn best when educators
adopt an integrated approach to reading that explicitly teaches
(What are the 6 components of reading?)

Phonemic Phonics
Awareness
Studies indicate that ALL students learn best when educators
adopt an integrated approach to reading that explicitly teaches
(What are the 6 components of reading?)

Phonemic Phonics Fluency Vocabulary

Awareness

Comprehension Oral Language

Time to Add Up Your Score
How Did You Go?

14 – 15 Congratulations! You’re the new Literacy Leader in

your school

10 – 13 Congratulations! You’re on the SoR Journey

6–9 Congratulations! You’ve begun the SoR Journey

0–5 Congratulations! Here’s your encouragement to

begin your SoR Journey
What the “Science of Reading” is and is not
SoR is
SoR is NOT: • emerging consensus from
• an ideology many related disciplines,
• a philosophy based on literally thousands
• a political agenda of studies, supported by
• a one-size-fits all approach hundreds of millions of
• a program instruction research dollars, conducted
• a specific component of across the world in many
instruction languages.
“Science of Reading” tells us about:

• how we learn to read;

• what goes wrong when students don’t learn; and

• what kind of instruction is most likely work best for most

students
95% of students should be reading well with strong instruction
5% Learning to read seems effortless

35% Learning to read proficiently requires

code-based explicit, systematic, and
sequential instruction

40 to 50% Learning to read proficiently

requires code-based explicit, systematic and
sequential instruction

10 to 15% (Dyslexia)
Learning to read requires code-based
explicit/systematic/sequential/diagnostic
instruction with many repetitions
Brain Science Behind Reading Acquisition
Brain Science Behind Reading Acquisition
Brain Science Behind Reading Acquisition
Brain Science Behind Reading Acquisition
Theoretical Models: Simple View of Reading

D × LC = RC
Language Reading
Decoding Comprehension Comprehension
The Rope Model
Brain Mechanisms of Reading
b i c
Sens m
Li tem
ory y s
Inpu S
t
Syste
m
Ana
l a r lysis
t ic u Stor &
Re ation age
o r m
F
Sensory Input System

✔reception of sensory stimuli

✔use all senses
Neuron Anatomy
Cell body - contains the nucleus and much of the
machinery that provides for the life of the cell
Dendrites - (dendron: Greek for "tree") sites of
most neuron-to-neuron communication

Axon- long, slender tube that carries information from cell body to terminal
button
Myelin sheath- membrane around axon of most neurons, providing
insulation
 Terminal buttons/ synaptic knob - little knob at the
Neuron Anatomy ends of axons that contain, and release, the transmitter
substance

Synaptic gap - gap between terminal button of sending

neuron and the membrane of the receiving cell

Synaptic vesicles – carriers of neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitter - all-or-none signals, the action

potentials, which are relayed from one cell axon to the
next cell axon
gap
NEURON - MESSENGER OF THE BRAIN
 60-100
SEROTONIN millivolts
acts as a needed for
message to
neurotransmitt pass next
er, constricts cell

blood vessels
at injury sites,
and may affect
emotional
states
 Reticular Formation
✔arousal and focusing of attention

✔Have one difficulty at a time –

concentrate
Limbic System
✔“fight or flight” mechanism
✔consider reading FUN
✔lessen tension
Analysis & Storage

✔classification & storage in the memory

✔use the art of questioning
Brain Mechanisms of Reading
Sensory
Input Reticular
System Limbic
Formation
✔Reception System Analysis
of sensory ✔Arousal and & Storage
stimuli focusing of attention ✔“Fight or flight”
✔Use all ✔Teach one difficulty mechanism
at a time ✔Make learning ✔Classification
senses in
FUN & storage in the
learners’
memory
activities ✔Lessen tension in
the classroom ✔Use the art of
questioning
ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
With what does the processing begin?

BOTTOM-UP TOP-DOWN INTERACTIVE

⦿With the print on ■ With the reader’s • With either the

the page prior knowledge print on the page or
of the world and the
of the language reader’s prior
knowledge
ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
How is processing initiated?

BOTTOM-UP TOP-DOWN INTERACTIVE

⦿Decoding the ■ Guessing • Guessing and/or

phonemic decoding the
equivalents of phonemic
graphic symbols equivalents of
graphic symbols
 ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
What processing steps are taken to get the meaning?
BOTTOM-UP TOP-DOWN INTERACTIVE
⦿Serial order ■ After initiating • Simultaneous use of levels of
starting from information:
the smallest reading,
-graphic features
unit (letter) continuous
to ever larger -graphophonic correspondence
process of
units -syntactic information
(paragraphs) predicting,
-morphemic (roots & affixes)
sampling and
information
confirming -semantic information
ALTERNATIVE VIEWS
How is meaning presented in memory?
BOTTOM-UP TOP-DOWN INTERACTIVE
⦿As abstract ■ As word
• Not clearly specified but a
phonemic concepts and message center in the
representations
prior knowledge brain allows simultaneous
which also
of the world use of different levels of
signal word,
information
syntactic and
semantic
information
The Transfer Stage

Oral Printed
Experiences Language Symbols
Teaching decoding skills simultaneously in two languages

Oral Printed
Language Symbols
(Filipino) (Filipino)
Experiences

Oral Printed
Language Symbols
(English) (English)
Key Evidence-Based of Instructions
(National Reading Panel)

• Explicit and systematic phonics instruction is critical for learning to

read. Phonics instruction continues throughout the elementary
grades to build deep and secure neural system for sight word
recognition.

• Instruction must be explicit; begins with direct instruction and

includes guided practice with decreasing levels of support.

• Instruction must be systematic; provides a definite scope and

sequence of skills from less complex to more complex and includes
cumulative review.
Key Evidence-Based of Instructions
(National Reading Panel)

• Instruction should be engaging; seeing learning as relevant to the

students’ lives and are therefore more deeply engaged .

• Early instruction matters; a prevention-oriented approach is more

effective than intervention.

• Instruction needs to be intensive; instruction is date-driven and

focused on essential skills.
Instructions look for…

❑ SYSTEMATIC Systematic and sequenced K-3 instruction

and intervention

❑ EXPLICIT Explicit intentional daily instruction

Practice of specific skills in and out of text,

❑ PRACTICE including meaning-making with decodable text
Corrective feedback in the moment. Frequent
❑ ASSESSMENT informal and formal data collection drives grade-
DRIVES level and targeted remediation and acceleration
INSTRUCTION
Knowing about the reading process

• How can you grow more in your own reading

skills?
• How can you encourage your learners in your
school to improve their own reading skills?