Second Edition

June 2003
Put Reading First:

The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read

This publication was developed by the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading

Achievement (CIERA) and was funded by the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)

through the Educational Research and Development Centers Program, PR/Award Number

R305R70004, as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI),

U.S. Department of Education. However, the comments or conclusions do not necessarily 

represent the positions or policies of NIFL, OERI, or the U.S. Department of Education, and 

you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.

Writers

Bonnie B.Armbruster, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Fran Lehr

Jean Osborn, M. Ed., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Editor

C. Ralph Adler, RMC Research Corporation

Designer

Diane Draper, RMC Research Corporation

Photographer

Richard O’Rourke

The writers and editors express their sincere thanks to

Isabel Beck, Douglas Carnine, Deborah Simmons, and Anne Sweet for their careful reviews 

and suggestions

Sandra Baxter and Andrew Hartman at the National Institute for Literacy for their guidance 

and support

The Subgroup Chairs of the National Reading Panel for their thoughtful and thorough 

comments: Linnea Ehri, Michael L. Kamil, S.J. Samuels,Timothy Shanahan, and Gloria Correro

Susan Klaiber, Everett Barnes, and Douglas Hamman of RMC Research Corporation for their 

conceptual and editorial contributions

The teacher collaborative groups across the United States that provided valuable feedback

The principals, teachers, and students from Charles Fortes School, Pleasant View School, and 

Webster Avenue School in Providence, Rhode Island, and Emma G.Whiteknact Elementary 

School, East Providence, Rhode Island for allowing us to photograph them at work

K INDERGARTEN THROUGH G RADE 3
Introduction 

Phonemic awareness instruction

Phonics instruction

Fluency instruction

Vocabulary instruction

Text comprehension instruction

The National Institute for Literacy

The National Institute for Literacy (NIFL), an independent federal organization, 

supports the development of high-quality state, regional, and national literacy services 

so that all Americans can develop the literacy skills they need to succeed at work, 

at home, and in the community.

The Partnership for Reading

This document was published by the Partnership for Reading, a collaborative effort of 

the National Institute for Literacy, the National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services to make scientifically based reading research available to educators, parents,

policy-makers, and others with an interest in helping all people learn to read well. The

findings and conclusions in this publication were drawn from the 2000 report of the

National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the

Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction—

Reports of the Subgroups.

Second Edition June 2003

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Introduction

In today’s schools, too many children struggle with learning to read. As many teachers and parents

will attest, reading failure has exacted a tremendous long-term consequence for children’s

developing self-confidence and motivation to learn, as well as for their later school performance.

While there are no easy answers or quick solutions for optimizing reading achievement, an

extensive knowledge base now exists to show us the skills children must learn in order to read

well. These skills provide the basis for sound curriculum decisions and instructional approaches

that can help prevent the predictable consequences of early reading failure.

The National Reading Panel (NRP) issued a report in 2000 that responded to a

Congressional mandate to help parents, teachers, and policymakers identify key skills and methods

central to reading achievement.The Panel was charged with reviewing research in reading

instruction (focusing on the critical years of kindergarten through third grade) and identifying

methods that consistently relate to reading success.

The Panel reviewed more than 100,000 studies. Through a carefully developed screening

procedure, Panel members examined research that met several important criteria:

● the research had to address achievement of one or more skills in reading. Studies of

effective teaching were not included unless reading achievement was measured;

● the research had to be generalizable to the larger population of students.Thus, case

studies with small numbers of children were excluded from the analysis;

● the research needed to examine the effectiveness of an approach. This type of research

requires the comparison of different treatments, such as comparing the achievement of

students using guided repeated reading to another group of students not using that strategy.

This experimental research approach was necessary to understand whether changes in

achievement could be attributed to the treatment;

● the research needed to be regarded as high quality. An article or book had to have been

reviewed by other scholars from the relevant field and judged to be sound and worthy of

publication. Therefore, discussions of studies reported in meetings or conferences without a

stringent peer review process were excluded from the analysis.

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These criteria are not new in the world of educational research; they are often used as a

matter of course by researchers who set out to determine the effectiveness of any educational

program or approach. The National Reading Panel embraced the criteria in its review to bring

balance to a field in which decisions have often been made based more on ideology than

evidence. These criteria offer administrators, teachers, and parents a standard for evaluating critical

decisions about how children will be taught to read. In addition to identifying effective practices,

the work of the National Reading Panel challenges educators to consider the evidence of

effectiveness whenever they make decisions about the content and structure of reading instruction

programs. By operating on a “what works” basis, scientific evidence can help build a foundation for

instructional practice.Teachers can learn about and emphasize methods and approaches that have

worked well and caused reading improvement for large numbers of children.Teachers can build

their students’ skills efficiently and effectively, with greater results than before. Most important,

with targeted “what works” instruction, the incidence of reading success should increase

dramatically.

This guide, designed by teachers for teachers, summarizes what researchers have discovered

about how to successfully teach children to read. It describes the findings of the National Reading

Panel Report and provides analysis and discussion in five areas of reading instruction: phonemic

awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. Each section defines the

skill, reviews the evidence from research, suggests implications for classroom instruction, describes

proven strategies for teaching reading skills, and addresses frequently raised questions.

Our understanding of “what works” in reading is dynamic and fluid,

subject to ongoing review and assessment through quality research.

This guide begins the process of compiling the findings from 

scientifically based research in reading instruction, a body 

of knowledge that will continue to grow over time.

We encourage all teachers to explore the research,

open their minds to changes in their instructional 

practice, and take up the challenge of helping 

all children become successful readers.
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Phonemic awareness is the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual

sounds in spoken words. Before children learn to read print, they need to become aware

of how the sounds in words work. They must understand that words are made up of

speech sounds, or phonemes.

Phonemes are the smallest parts of sound in a spoken word that make a difference in

the word’s meaning. For example, changing the first phoneme in the word hat from /h/

to /p/ changes the word from hat to pat, and so changes the meaning. (A letter

between slash marks shows the phoneme, or sound, that the letter represents, and not

the name of the letter. For example, the letter h represents the sound /h/.)

Children can show us that they have phonemic awareness in several ways, including:

● recognizing which words in a set of words begin with the same sound 

(“Bell, bike, and boy all have /b/ at the beginning.”);

● isolating and saying the first or last sound in a word (“The beginning sound 

of dog is /d/.”“The ending sound of sit is /t/.”);

● combining, or blending the separate sounds in a word to say the word 

(“/m/, /a/, /p/— map.”);

● breaking, or segmenting a word into its separate sounds (“up—/u/, /p/.”).

Children who have phonemic awareness skills are likely to have an easier time 

learning to read and spell than children who have few or none of these skills.

instruction

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Phonemic awareness is only one type of phonological awareness.

Broader phonological awareness Narrower phonological awareness

Although phonemic awareness is a widely used term in reading, it is often misunderstood. One

misunderstanding is that phonemic awareness and phonics are the same thing. Phonemic awareness

is not phonics. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that the sounds of spoken language work

together to make words. Phonics is the understanding that there is a predictable relationship between

phonemes and graphemes, the letters that represent those sounds in written language. If children

are to benefit from phonics instruction, they need phonemic awareness.

The reason is obvious: children who cannot hear and work with the phonemes of spoken words

will have a difficult time learning how to relate these phonemes to the graphemes when they see

them in written words.

Another misunderstanding about phonemic awareness is that it means the same as phonological

awareness. The two names are not interchangeable. Phonemic awareness is a subcategory of

phonological awareness. The focus of phonemic awareness is narrow—identifying and manipulating

the individual sounds in words. The focus of phonological awareness is much broader. It includes

identifying and manipulating larger parts of spoken language, such as words, syllables, and onsets and

rimes—as well as phonemes. It also encompasses awareness of other aspects of sound, such as

rhyming, alliteration, and intonation.

Children can show us that they have phonological awareness in several ways, including:

● identifying and making oral rhymes;

“The pig has a (wig).”

“Pat the (cat).”

“The sun is (fun).”

● identifying and working with syllables in spoken words;

“I can clap the parts in my name:An-drew.”

● identifying and working with onsets and rimes in spoken syllables or 

one-syllable words;

“The first part of sip is s-.”

“The last part of win is –in.”

● identifying and working with individual phonemes in spoken words.

“The first sound in sun is /s/.”

Identifying and

making oral

rhymes 

Identifying and

working with

syllables in

spoken words

Identifying and

working with

onsets and

rimes in spoken

syllables

Identifying and

working with

individual

phonemes in

words spoken

(phonemic

awareness)
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The language

of literacy

Here are some definitions of terms used 

frequently in reading instruction.

P HONEME

A phoneme is the smallest part of spoken language that

makes a difference in the meaning of words. English has

about 41 phonemes. A few words, such as a or oh, have

only one phoneme. Most words, however, have more

than one phoneme: The word if has two phonemes 

(/i/ /f/); check has three phonemes (/ch/ /e/ /k/), and 

stop has four phonemes (/s/ /t/ /o/ /p/). Sometimes one

phoneme is represented by more than one letter.

G RAPHEME

A grapheme is the smallest part of written language 

that represents a phoneme in the spelling of a word. 

A grapheme may be just one letter, such as b, d, f, p, s;

or several letters, such as ch, sh, th, -ck, ea, -igh.

P HONICS

Phonics is the understanding that there is a predictable

relationship between phonemes (the sounds of spoken

language) and graphemes (the letters and spellings that

represent those sounds in written language).

P HONEMIC A W ARENESS

Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and

manipulate the individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken

words.

P HONOLOGICAL A W ARENESS

Phonological awareness is a broad term that includes

phonemic awareness. In addition to phonemes,

phonological awareness activities can involve work 

with rhymes, words, syllables, and onsets and rimes.

S YLLABLE

A syllable is a word part that contains a vowel or, in spoken

language, a vowel sound (e-vent; news-pa-per; ver-y).

O NSET AND RIME

Onsets and rimes are parts of spoken language that are

smaller than syllables but larger than phonemes. An

onset is the initial consonant(s) sound of a syllable (the

onset of bag is b-; of swim,sw-). A rime is the part of a

syllable that contains the vowel and all that follows it

(the rime of bag is -ag; of swim, -im).
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What does scientifically based research tell us about 

phonemic awareness instruction?

Key findings from the scientific research on phonemic awareness instruction provide the following

conclusions of particular interest and value to classroom teachers:

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. Teachers use many activities to build phonemic awareness,

including:

Phoneme isolation

Children recognize individual sounds in a word.

Teacher: What is the first sound in van?

Children: The first sound in van is /v/.

Phoneme identity

Children recognize the same sounds in different words.

Teacher: What sound is the same in fix, fall, and fun?

Children: The first sound, /f/, is the same.

Phoneme categorization

Children recognize the word in a set of three or four words that has the “odd” sound.

Teacher: Which word doesn’t belong? bus, bun, rug.

Children: Rug does not belong. It doesn’t begin with /b/.

Phoneme blending

Children listen to a sequence of separately spoken phonemes, and then combine the 

phonemes to form a word.Then they write and read the word.

Teacher: What word is /b/ /i/ /g/? 

Children: /b/ /i/ /g/ is big.

Teacher: Now let’s write the sounds in big: /b/, write b; /i/, write i; /g/, write g.

Teacher: (Writes big on the board.) Now we’re going to read the word big.

Phoneme segmentation

Children break a word into its separate sounds, saying each sound as they tap out or count it.

Then they write and read the word.

Teacher: How many sounds are in grab?

Children: /g/ /r/ /a/ /b/. Four sounds.

Teacher: Now let’s write the sounds in grab: /g/, write g; /r/, write r; /a/, write a;

/b/, write b.

Teacher: (Writes grab on the board.) Now we’re going to read the word grab.
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Some common phonemic awareness terms

P HONEME

MANIPULATION

When children work with

phonemes in words, they are

manipulating the phonemes. Types

of phoneme manipulation include

blending phonemes to make words,

segmenting words into phonemes,

deleting phonemes from words,

adding phonemes to words, or

substituting one phoneme for

another to make a new word.

BLENDING

When children combine

individual phonemes to form

words, they are blending the

phonemes. They also are blending

when they combine onsets and

rimes to make syllables and

combine syllables to make words. 

SEGMENTING

( SEGMENTATION )

When children break words into

their individual phonemes, they

are segmenting the words. They

are also segmenting when they

break words into syllables and

syllables into onsets and rimes.

Phoneme deletion

Children recognize the word that remains when a phoneme is removed from another word.

Teacher: What is smile without the /s/? 

Children: Smile without the /s/ is mile.

Phoneme addition

Children make a new word by adding a phoneme to an existing word.

Teacher: What word do you have if you add /s/ to the beginning of park?

Children: Spark.

Phoneme substitution

Children substitute one phoneme for another to make a new word.

Teacher: The word is bug. Change /g/ to /n/.What’s the new word?

Children: Bun.

Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to read.

Phonemic awareness instruction improves children’s ability to read words. It also improves their

reading comprehension. Phonemic awareness instruction aids reading comprehension primarily

through its influence on word reading. For children to understand what they read, they must be able

to read words rapidly and accurately. Rapid and accurate word reading frees children to focus their

attention on the meaning of what they read. Of course, many other things, including the size of

children’s vocabulary and their world experiences, contribute to reading comprehension.

Phonemic awareness instruction helps children learn to spell.

Teaching phonemic awareness, particularly how to segment words into phonemes, helps children

learn to spell. The explanation for this may be that children who have phonemic awareness

understand that sounds and letters are related in a predictable way. Thus, they are able to relate the

sounds to letters as they spell words.
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Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when children are 

taught to manipulate phonemes by using the letters of the alphabet.

Phonemic awareness instruction makes a stronger contribution to the improvement of reading and

spelling when children are taught to use letters as they manipulate phonemes than when instruction

is limited to phonemes alone. Teaching sounds along with the letters of the alphabet is important

because it helps children to see how phonemic awareness relates to their reading and writing.

Learning to blend phonemes with letters helps children read words. Learning to segment sounds

with letters helps them spell words.

If children do not know letter names and shapes, they need to be taught them along with

phonemic awareness.

Relating sounds to letters is, of course, the heart of phonics instruction, which is the subject of

the next section of this booklet.

Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on only 

one or two types of phoneme manipulation, rather than several types.

Children who receive instruction that focuses on one or two types of phoneme manipulation 

make greater gains in reading and spelling than do children who are taught three or more types of

manipulation.

One possible explanation for this is that children who are taught many different ways to 

manipulate phonemes may become confused about which type to apply. Another explanation is

that teaching many types of manipulations does not leave enough time to teach any one type

thoroughly.A third explanation is that instruction that includes several types of manipulations may

result in teaching children more difficult manipulations before they acquire skill in the easier ones.
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Which activities will help my students acquire phonemic awareness?

Your instruction to increase children’s phonemic awareness can include various activities in blending

and segmenting words. Clearly, however, you should provide your students with instruction that is

appropriate for their level of literacy development. If you teach younger children or less able, older

readers, your instruction should begin with easier activities, such as having children identify and

categorize the first phonemes in words. When the children can do these activities, move them on

to more difficult ones.

Which methods of phonemic awareness instruction will have 

the greatest impact on my students’ learning to read?

You can use a variety of teaching methods that contribute to children’s success in learning to read.

However, teaching one or two types of phoneme manipulation—specifically blending and segmenting

phonemes in words—is likely to produce greater benefits to your students’ reading than teaching 

several types of manipulation.

Teaching your students to manipulate phonemes along with letters can also contribute to their

reading success.

Your instruction should also be explicit about the connection between phonemic awareness and

reading. For example:

Teacher: Listen: I’m going to say the sounds in the word jam—/j/ /a/ /m/.

What is the word?

Children: Jam.

Teacher: You say the sounds in the word jam.

Children: /j/ /a/ /m/.

Teacher: Now let’s write the sounds in jam: /j/, write j; /a/, write a; /m/,

write m.

Teacher: (Writes jam on the board.) Now we’re going to read the word jam.

Which of my students will benefit from phonemic awareness instruction?

Phonemic awareness instruction can help essentially all of your students learn to read, including

preschoolers, kindergartners, first graders who are just starting to read, and older, less able readers.

Phonemic awareness instruction can help most of your students learn to spell. Instruction 

can be effective with preschoolers, kindergartners, and first graders. It can help children from all 

economic levels.

Questions you may have about

phonemic awareness instruction
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How much time should I spend on phonemic awareness instruction?

You do not need to devote a lot of class time to phonemic awareness instruction. Over the school

year, your entire phonemic awareness program should take no more than 20 hours.

Your students will differ in their phonemic awareness. Some will need more instruction than

others. The best approach is to assess students’ phonemic awareness before you begin instruction.

Assessment will let you know which students do and do not need the instruction, which students

should be taught the easier types of phoneme manipulation (such as identifying initial sounds in

words), and which should receive instruction in more advanced types (such as segmenting, blending,

deletion/addition, and substitution).

Should I teach phonemic awareness to individual students,

to small groups, or to the whole class?

In general, small-group instruction is more effective in helping your students acquire phonemic

awareness and learn to read. Small-group instruction may be more effective than individual or

whole-group instruction because children often benefit from listening to their classmates respond

and receive feedback from the teacher.

Do we know enough about the effectiveness of phonemic 

awareness instruction for me to implement it in my classroom?

Yes. Bear in mind, however, that phonemic awareness instruction is not a complete reading 

program; it cannot guarantee the reading and writing success of your students. Adding wellthought-out phonemic awareness instruction to a beginning reading program or to 

a remedial reading program is very likely to help your students learn 

to read and spell. Whether these benefits are lasting, however,

will depend on the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of 

the entire literacy curriculum.
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Phonemic awareness is ● the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate

individual sounds—phonemes—

in spoken words.

Phonemic awareness is ● it improves children’s word reading and

important because reading comprehension.

● it helps children learn to spell.

Phonemic awareness can ● identify phonemes,

be developed through a ● categorize phonemes,

number of activities, including ● blend phonemes to form words,

asking children to ● segment words into phonemes,

● delete or add phonemes to

form new words, and

● substitute phonemes to make new words.

Phonemic awareness ● when children are taught to manipulate

instruction is most effective phonemes by using the letters of the 

alphabet.

● when instruction focuses on only

one or two rather than several types 

of phoneme manipulation.
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instruction

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Phonics instruction teaches children the relationships between the letters (graphemes)

of written language and the individual sounds (phonemes) of spoken language. It

teaches children to use these relationships to read and write words. Teachers of

reading and publishers of programs of beginning reading instruction sometimes use

different labels to describe these relationships, including the following:

● graphophonemic relationships

● letter-sound associations

● letter-sound correspondences

● sound-symbol correspondences

● sound-spellings

Regardless of the label, the goal of phonics instruction is to help children learn and

use the alphabetic principle—the understanding that there are systematic and

predictable relationships between written letters and spoken sounds. Knowing these

relationships will help children recognize familiar words accurately and automatically, and

“decode” new words. In short, knowledge of the alphabetic principle contributes

greatly to children’s ability to read words both in isolation and in connected text.

Critics of phonics instruction argue that English spellings are too irregular for

phonics instruction to really help children learn to read words. The point is, however,

that phonics instruction teaches children a system for remembering how to read words.

Once children learn, for example, that phone is spelled this way rather than foan, their

memory helps them to read, spell, and recognize the word instantly and more accurately

than they could read foan.The same process is true for all irregularly spelled words.

Most of these words contain some regular letter-sound relationships that can help

children remember how to read them. In summary, the alphabetic system is a

mnemonic device that supports our memory for specific words.
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Synthetic phonics Children learn how to

convert letters or letter combinations into

sounds, and then how to blend the sounds

together to form recognizable words. 

Analytic phonics Children learn to analyze

letter-sound relationships in previously learned

words. They do not pronounce sounds in

isolation. 

Analogy-based phonics Children learn to use

parts of word families they know to identify

words they don’t know that have similar parts. 

Phonics through spelling Children learn to

segment words into phonemes and to make

words by writing letters for phonemes. 

Embedded phonics Children are taught lettersound relationships during the reading of

connected text. (Since children encounter different

letter-sound relationships as they read, this

approach is not systematic or explicit.)

Onset-rime phonics instruction Children learn

to identify the sound of the letter or letters before

the first vowel (the onset) in a one-syllable word

and the sound of the remaining part of the word

(the rime).

Most teachers are acquainted with several approaches to phonics instruction,

including those listed below. The distinctions between approaches are not

absolute, and some programs of instruction combine approaches.

What does scientifically based research tell us about

phonics instruction?

Key findings from the scientific research on phonics instruction include the following conclusions of

particular interest and value to classroom teachers:

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is more effective than 

non-systematic or no phonics instruction.

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction makes a bigger contribution to children’s growth in 

reading than instruction that provides non-systematic or no phonics instruction.

How do systematic programs of phonics instruction differ from non-systematic programs? 

The hallmark of programs 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.

The programs also provide materials that give children substantial practice in applying knowledge of these relationships as they read and write. These materials include books or stories that

contain a large number of words that children can decode by using the letter-sound relationships

they have learned and are learning. The programs also might provide children with opportunities 

to spell words and to write their own stories with the letter-sound relationships they are learning.
Programs of systematic and explicit phonics instruction

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction provides practice with letter-sound 

relationships in a predetermined sequence. Children learn to use these relationships to

decode words that contain them. 14

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction significantly improves 

kindergarten and first-grade children’s word recognition and spelling.

Systematic phonics instruction produces the greatest impact on children’s reading achievement when

it begins in kindergarten or first grade.

Both kindergarten and first-grade children who receive systematic phonics instruction are better

at reading and spelling words than kindergarten and first-grade children who do not receive

systematic instruction.

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction significantly improves 

children’s reading comprehension.

Systematic phonics instruction results in better growth in children’s ability to comprehend what they

read than non-systematic or no phonics instruction. This is not surprising because the ability to read

the words in a text accurately and quickly is highly related to successful reading comprehension.

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is effective for children from 

various social and economic levels.

Systematic phonics instruction is beneficial to children regardless of their socioeconomic status.

It helps children from various backgrounds make greater 

gains in reading than non-systematic instruction 

or no phonics instruction.
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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 phonics instruction is significantly more effective than non-systematic or no phonics

instruction in helping to prevent reading difficulties among at-risk students and in helping 

children overcome reading difficulties.

Systematic and explicit phonics instruction is most effective

when introduced early.

Phonics instruction is most effective when it begins in kindergarten or first grade. To be effective

with young learners, systematic instruction must be designed appropriately and taught carefully. It

should include teaching letter shapes and names, phonemic awareness, and all major letter-sound

relationships. It should ensure that all children learn these skills. As instruction proceeds, children

should be taught to use this knowledge to read and write words.

Phonics instruction is not an entire reading program for beginning readers.

Along with phonics instruction, young children should be solidifying their knowledge of the alphabet,

engaging in phonemic awareness activities, and listening to stories and informational texts read aloud

to them. They also should be reading texts (both out loud and silently), and writing letters, words,

messages, and stories.
Questions you may have about

phonics instruction

● helps teachers explicitly and systematically 

instruct students in how to relate letters 

and sounds, how to break spoken words 

into sounds, and how to blend sounds to 

form words;

● helps students understand why they are 

learning the relationships between letters 

and sounds; 

● helps students apply their knowledge of 

phonics as they read words, sentences, 

and text; 

● helps students apply what they learn 

about sounds and letters to their own 

writing;

● can be adapted to the needs of individual 

students, based on assessment;

● includes alphabetic knowledge, phonemic 

awareness, vocabulary development, and 

the reading of text, as well as systematic 

phonics instruction. 

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Do we know enough about the effectiveness of 

systematic and explicit phonics instruction for me to 

implement it in my classroom?

Yes. Many teachers are teaching phonics systematically and explicitly and have been doing so for

years. Their results, along with the findings of three decades of research, confirm the importance and

effectiveness of systematic phonics instruction, particularly in kindergarten and first- and secondgrade classrooms.

How can I tell if a phonics program is systematic and explicit?

A program of systematic phonics instruction clearly identifies a carefully selected and useful set of

letter-sound relationships and then organizes the introduction of these relationships into a logical

instructional sequence. The instructional sequence may include the relationships between the sounds

associated with single letters (for example, the sound /m/ with the letter m), as well as with larger

units of written language (for example, letter combinations such as th or ing or spelling patterns such

as ea or ie). Furthermore, a systematic program of instruction provides children with ample

opportunities to practice the relationships they are learning.

What do non-systematic programs of phonics 

instruction look like?

Programs of phonics instruction that are not systematic do not teach consonant and vowel lettersound relationships in a prescribed sequence. Rather, they encourage informal

phonics instruction based on the teacher’s perceptions of what students need

to learn and when they need to learn it.

Evaluating programs of phonics instruction

Effective programs offer phonics instruction that:
Non-systematic programs of phonics instruction

Some programs of instruction do not teach phonics explicitly and systematically. 

Further, adding phonics workbooks or phonics activities to these programs of instruction has not been 

effective. Such “add-ons” confuse rather than help children to read.

● Literature-based programs that emphasize

reading and writing activities. Phonics

instruction is embedded in these activities, but

letter-sound relationships are taught incidentally,

usually based on key letters that appear in

student reading materials. 

● Basal reading programs that focus on wholeword or meaning-based activities. These programs

pay only limited attention to letter-sound

relationships and provide little or no instruction in

how to blend letters to pronounce words. 

● Sight-word programs that begin by teaching

children a sight-word reading vocabulary of

from 50 to 100 words. Only after they learn to

read these words do children receive instruction

in the alphabetic principle.

17

Non-systematic instruction often neglects vowels, even though knowing vowel letter-sound

relationships is a crucial part of knowing the alphabetic system. Non-systematic programs of

phonics instruction do not provide practice materials that offer children the opportunity to apply

what they are learning about letter-sound relationships. The reading materials these programs do

provide for children are selected according to other criteria, such as their interest to children or

their literary value.

What else should I look for in programs of phonics instruction?

Programs should acknowledge that systematic phonics instruction is a means to an end. Some

phonics programs focus primarily on teaching children a large number of letter-sound relationships.

These programs often do not allot enough instructional time to help children learn how to put this

knowledge to use in reading actual words, sentences, and texts. Although children need to be taught

the major consonant and vowel letter-sound relationships, they also need ample reading and writing

activities that allow them to practice using this knowledge.

What kinds of reading practice materials should I look for?

Usually, practice materials are in the form of short books or stories that contain words that provide

children with practice in using the specific letter-sound relationships they are learning. Most programs

of systematic phonics instruction also include materials for use in practicing writing. For example,

children might have activity sheets on which they write the letters and letter combinations they are

learning, and then combine these into words, sentences, messages, and their own stories.

Is phonics instruction more effective when students are taught 

individually, in small groups, or in whole classes?

You can teach phonics effectively to the whole class, to small groups, or to individual students.

The needs of the students in your class and the number of adults working with 

them determine how you deliver instruction.
18

Doesn’t phonics instruction get in the way of reading comprehension?

Quite the opposite is true. Because systematic phonics instruction helps children learn to identify

words, it increases their ability to comprehend what they read. Reading words accurately and

automatically enables children to focus on the meaning of text. The research is quite convincing 

in showing that phonics instruction contributes to comprehension skills rather than inhibiting them.

Does phonics instruction slow down the progress of some children?

Again, the opposite is true. Phonics instruction contributes to growth in the reading of most children.

It is important, however, to acknowledge that children vary greatly in the knowledge of reading that they

bring to school. For phonics instruction to support the reading progress of all of your students, it is

important to work in flexible instructional groups and to pace instruction to maximize student progress.

How does systematic and explicit phonics instruction affect spelling?

Systematic programs of phonics instruction produce more growth in spelling among kindergarten

and first-grade students than non-systematic or no phonics programs. However, systematic phonics

instruction for normally developing and poor readers above first grade does not produce gains in

spelling. The reason may be that as students move up in the grades, spelling is less a matter of

applying letter-sound relationships and more a matter of combining word parts.

How does systematic and explicit phonics instruction affect 

the reading and spelling of older students?

Systematic phonics instruction by itself may not be enough to significantly improve the overall

reading and spelling performance of readers beyond first grade. The effects of phonics instruction

on students in second through sixth grades are limited to improving their word reading and oral

text reading skills.The effects do not extend to spelling and reading comprehension. For these

students, it is important to emphasize reading fluency and comprehension. In addition, these

students also require explicit spelling instruction to improve their spelling.

How long should phonics be taught?

Approximately two years of phonics instruction is 

sufficient for most students. If phonics 

instruction begins early in kindergarten,

it should be completed by the end 

of first grade. If phonics instruction 

begins early in first grade, it should 

be completed by the end of 

second grade.
19

Phonics instruction ● helps children learn the relationships

between the letters of written language

and the sounds of spoken language.

Phonics instruction ● it leads to an understanding of the

is important because alphabetic principle—the systematic and

predictable relationships between

written letters and spoken sounds.

Programs of phonics instruction ● systematic—the plan of instruction

are effective when they are includes a carefully selected set of letter-sound

relationships that are organized into

a logical sequence.

● explicit—the programs provide teachers

with precise directions for the teaching

of these relationships.

Effective phonics programs ● ample opportunities for children to apply

provide what they are learning about letters

and sounds to the reading of words,

sentences, and stories.

Systematic and explicit ● significantly improves children’s word

phonics instruction recognition, spelling, and reading 

comprehension.

● is most effective when it begins

in kindergarten or first grade.
20
21

instruction
22

Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When fluent readers read

silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain

meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression.

Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking. Readers who have not yet

developed fluency read slowly, word by word.Their oral reading is choppy and plodding.

Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and

comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the

words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make

connections among the ideas in the text and between the text and their background

knowledge. In other words, fluent readers recognize words and comprehend at the same

time. Less fluent readers, however, must focus their attention on figuring out the words,

leaving them little attention for understanding the text.

focus their attention on making 

connections among the ideas in a

text and between these ideas and

their background knowledge.

Therefore, they are able to focus

on comprehension.

must focus their attention 

primarily on decoding individual

words. Therefore, they have 

little attention left for 

comprehending the text. 

Less fluent readers

instruction

More fluent readers
23

Fluency develops gradually over considerable time and through substantial practice. At the 

earliest stage of reading development, students’ oral reading is slow and labored because 

students are just learning to “break the code”—to attach sounds to letters and to blend letter

sounds into recognizable words.

Even when students recognize many words automatically, their oral reading still may be

expressionless, not fluent. To read with expression, readers must be able to divide the text into

meaningful chunks. These chunks include phrases and clauses. Readers must know to pause

appropriately within and at the ends of sentences and when to change emphasis and tone. For

example, a reader who lacks fluency may read, probably in a monotone, a line from Bill Martin Jr.’s

Brown Bear, Brown Bear as if it were a list of words rather than a connected text, pausing at

inappropriate places:

Brown/

bear brown/

bear what/

do/

you see.

A fluent reader will read the same line as:

Brown bear/

Brown bear/

What do you see?/

Fluency is not a stage of development at which readers can read all words quickly and easily.

Fluency changes, depending on what readers are reading, their familiarity with the words, and the

amount of their practice with reading text. Even very skilled readers may read in a slow, labored

manner when reading texts with many unfamiliar words or topics. For example, readers who are

usually fluent may not be able to read technical material fluently, such as a textbook about nuclear

physics or an article in a medical journal.

A recent large-scale study by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found

that 44% of a representative sample of the nation’s fourth graders were low in fluency.The study

also found a close relationship between fluency and reading comprehension. Students who scored

lower on measures of fluency also scored lower on measures of comprehension, suggesting that

fluency is a neglected reading skill in many American classrooms, affecting many students’ reading

comprehension.

Although some readers may recognize words automatically in isolation or on a list, they may not

read the same words fluently when the words appear in sentences in connected text. Instant or

automatic word recognition is a necessary, but not sufficient, reading skill. Students who can read

words in isolation quickly may not be able to automatically transfer this “speed and accuracy.” It is

important to provide students with instruction and practice in fluency as they read connected text.
24

The difference between fluency and automaticity

Although the terms automaticity and fluency often are used interchangeably, they are not the

same thing. 

Automaticity is the fast, effortless word recognition that comes with a great deal of reading

practice. In the early stages of learning to read, readers may be accurate but slow and

inefficient at recognizing words. Continued reading practice helps word recognition become

more automatic, rapid, and effortless. Automaticity refers only to accurate, speedy word

recognition, not to reading with expression. Therefore, automaticity (or automatic word

recognition) is necessary, but not sufficient, for fluency.

What does scientifically based research tell us about

fluency instruction?

Researchers have investigated two major instructional approaches related to fluency. In the first

approach, repeated and monitored oral reading (commonly called “repeated reading”), students read

passages aloud several times and receive guidance and feedback from the teacher. In the second

approach, independent silent reading, students are encouraged to read extensively on their own.

Key findings from the scientific research on fluency instruction include the following conclusions

about these two approaches that are of particular interest and value to classroom teachers.

Repeated and monitored oral reading improves reading fluency

and overall reading achievement.

Students who read and reread passages orally as they receive guidance and/or feedback become

better readers. Repeated oral reading substantially improves word recognition, speed, and accuracy

as well as fluency. To a lesser but still considerable extent, repeated oral reading also improves

reading comprehension. Repeated oral reading improves the reading ability of all students

throughout the elementary school years. It also helps struggling readers at higher grade levels.

Traditionally, many teachers have relied primarily on round-robin reading to develop oral 

fluency. In round-robin reading,students take turns reading parts of a text aloud (though usually not

repeatedly). But round-robin reading in itself does not increase fluency. This may be because

students only read small amounts of text, and they usually read this small portion only once.

Researchers have found several effective techniques related to repeated oral reading:

● students read and reread a text a certain number of times or until a certain level 

of fluency is reached. Four rereadings are sufficient for most students; and 

● oral reading practice is increased through the use of audiotapes, tutors, peer guidance,

or other means.

In addition, some effective repeated oral reading techniques have carefully designed feedback 

to guide the reader’s performance.
25

No research evidence is available currently to confirm that instructional time 

spent on silent, independent reading with minimal guidance and feedback 

improves reading fluency and overall reading achievement.

One of the major differences between good and poor readers is the amount of time they spend

reading. Many studies have found a strong relationship between reading ability and how much a

student reads. On the basis of this evidence, teachers have long been encouraged to promote

voluntary reading in the classroom. Teacher-education and reading-education literature often

recommends in-class procedures for encouraging students to read on their own, such as Silent

Sustained Reading (SSR) or Drop Everything and Read (DEAR).

Research, however, has not yet confirmed whether independent silent reading with minimal

guidance or feedback improves reading achievement and fluency. Neither has it proven that more

silent reading in the classroom cannot work; its effectiveness without guidance or feedback is as yet

unproven. The research suggests that there are more beneficial ways to spend reading instructional

time than to have students read independently in the classroom without reading instruction.
26

Questions you may have about

fluency instruction

How can I help my students become more fluent readers?

You can help your students become more fluent readers (1) by providing them with models of fluent

reading and (2) by having students repeatedly read passages as you offer guidance. In addition, you can

help students improve their fluency by combining reading instruction with opportunities for them to

read books that are at their independent level of reading ability.

Model fluent reading, then have students reread the text on their own.

By listening to good models of fluent reading, students learn how a reader’s voice can help written text

make sense. Read aloud daily to your students. By reading effortlessly and with expression, you are

modeling for your students how a fluent reader sounds during reading.

After you model how to read the text, you must have the students reread it. By doing this, the

students are engaging in repeated reading. Usually, having students read a text four times is sufficient to

improve fluency. Remember, however, that instructional time is limited, and it is the actual time that

students are actively engaged in reading that produces reading gains.

Have other adults read aloud to students. Encourage parents or other family members to read

aloud to their children at home. The more models of fluent reading the children hear, the better. Of

course, hearing a model of fluent reading is not the only benefit of reading aloud to children. Reading

to children also increases their knowledge of the world, their vocabulary, their familiarity with written

language (“book language”), and their interest in reading.

Have students repeatedly read passages aloud with guidance.The best strategy for

developing reading fluency is to provide your students with many opportunities to read the same

passage orally several times. To do this, you should first know what to have your

students read. Second, you should know how to have your students read

aloud repeatedly.

In the primary grades, you might read aloud from a big book. A big

book is an enlarged version of a commercially published book—big

enough so that all students can clearly see the text. By pointing to each word

as you are reading (using either a pointer or your finger), you can show students where and how

you are pausing and how the text shows you when to raise or lower your voice. Occasionally,

you can also explain to your students why you are reading in a certain way:

Teacher: Did you hear how I grouped the words “Brown bear/ brown bear”? 

That’s because the words brown and bear belong together. 

And then I paused a little before repeating the words.

Teacher: Did you hear how my voice got louder and more excited right here? 

That’s because the author put in this exclamation mark (point to it) to show 

that the speaker was excited or enthusiastic about what she was saying. 

Then, have the students practice reading the same text.
27

What students should read. Fluency develops as a result of many opportunities to practice

reading with a high degree of success. Therefore, your students should practice orally rereading text

that is reasonably easy for them—that is, text containing mostly words that they know or can

decode easily. In other words, the texts should be at the students’ independent reading level. A text

is at students’ independent reading level if they can read it with about 95% accuracy, or misread only

about 1 of every 20 words. If the text is more difficult, students will focus so much on word

recognition that they will not have an opportunity to develop fluency.

The text your students practice rereading orally should also be relatively short—probably

50–200 words, depending on the age of the students. You should also use a variety of reading

materials, including stories, nonfiction, and poetry. Poetry is especially well suited to fluency practice

because poems for children are often short and they contain rhythm, rhyme, and meaning, making

practice easy, fun, and rewarding.

How to have your students read aloud repeatedly. There are several ways that your

students can practice orally rereading text, including student-adult reading, choral (or unison) reading,

tape-assisted reading, partner reading, and readers’ theatre.

Student-adult reading. In student-adult reading, the student reads one-on-one with an

adult.The adult can be you, a parent, a classroom aide, or a tutor. The adult reads the text first,

providing the students with a model of fluent reading. Then the student reads the same

passage to the adult with the adult providing assistance and encouragement.The student

rereads the passage until the reading is quite fluent. This should take approximately three to

four rereadings.

Choral reading. In choral, or unison, reading, students read along as a group with you (or

another fluent adult reader). Of course, to do so, students must be able to see the same text

that you are reading. They might follow along as you read from a big book, or they might read

from their own copy of the book you are reading. For choral reading, choose a book that is

not too long and that you think is at the independent reading level of most students. Patterned

or predictable books are particularly useful for choral reading, because their repetitious style

invites students to join in. Begin by reading the book aloud as you model fluent reading.

Independent 

level text

Instructional 

level text

Frustration

level text

Relatively easy text for the

reader, with no more than

approximately 1 in 20

words difficult for the

reader (95% success) 

Challenging but

manageable text for the

reader, with no more

than approximately 1 in

10 words difficult for the

reader (90% success)

Difficult text for the reader,

with more than 

1 in 10 words difficult 

for the reader (less than

90% success) 
28

Then reread the book and invite students to join in as they recognize the words you are reading.

Continue rereading the book, encouraging students to read along as they are able. Students

should read the book with you three to five times total (though not necessarily on the same

day). At this time, students should be able to read the text independently.

Tape-assisted reading. In tape-assisted reading, students read along in their books as they

hear a fluent reader read the book on an audiotape. For tape-assisted reading, you need a book

at a student’s independent reading level and a tape recording of the book read by a fluent reader

at about 80–100 words per minute. The tape should not have sound effects or music. For the

first reading, the student should follow along with the tape, pointing to each word in her or his

book as the reader reads it. Next, the student should try to read aloud along with the tape.

Reading along with the tape should continue until the student is able to read the book

independently, without the support of the tape.

Partner reading. In partner reading, paired students take turns reading aloud to each other.

For partner reading, more fluent readers can be paired with less fluent readers. The stronger

reader reads a paragraph or page first, providing a model of fluent reading. Then the less fluent

reader reads the same text aloud. The stronger student gives help with word recognition and

provides feedback and encouragement to the less fluent partner. The less fluent partner rereads

the passage until he or she can read it independently. Partner reading need not be done with a

more and less fluent reader. In another form of partner reading, children who read at the same

level are paired to reread a story that they have received instruction on during a teacher-guided

part of the lesson. Two readers of equal ability can practice rereading after hearing the teacher

read the passage.

Student–adult reading—reading one-on-one with an adult, who provides a

model of fluent reading, helps with word recognition, and offers feedback.

Choral reading—reading aloud simultaneously in a group.

Tape-assisted reading—reading aloud simultaneously or as an echo with an audio-taped model.

Partner reading—reading aloud with a more fluent partner (or with a partner of equal ability)

who provides a model of fluent reading, helps with word recognition, and provides feedback.

Readers’ theatre—the rehearsing and performing before an audience of a dialogue-rich 

script derived from a book.
29

Readers’ theatre. In readers’ theatre, students rehearse and perform a play for peers or 

others. They read from scripts that have been derived from books that are rich in dialogue.

Students play characters who speak lines or a narrator who shares necessary background 

information. Readers’ theatre provides readers with a legitimate reason to reread text and to 

practice fluency. Readers’ theatre also promotes cooperative interaction with peers and makes 

the reading task appealing.

What should I do about silent, independent reading in the classroom?

Reading fluency growth is greatest when students are working directly with you. Therefore, you

should use most of your allocated reading instruction time for direct teaching of reading skills and

strategies. Although silent, independent reading may be a way to increase fluency and reading

achievement, it should not be used in place of direct instruction in reading.

Direct instruction is especially important for readers who are struggling. Readers who have not

yet attained fluency are not likely to make effective and efficient use of silent, independent reading

time. For these students, independent reading takes time away from needed reading instruction.

Rather than allocating instructional time for independent reading in the classroom, encourage

your students to read more outside of school. They can read with an adult or other family member.

Or, they can read on their own with books at their independent reading level. Of course,

students might also read on their own during independent work time in the classroom—for

example, as another small group is receiving reading instruction, or after they have completed one

activity and are waiting for a new activity to begin.

1 Select two or three brief passages from a gradelevel basal text or other grade-level material 

(regardless of students’ instructional levels). 

2. Have individual students read each passage 

aloud for exactly one minute.

3. Count the total number of words the student 

read for each passage. Compute the average 

number of words read per minute.

4. Count the number of errors the student made 

on each passage. Compute the average number 

of errors per minute.

5. Subtract the average number of errors read per 

minute from the average total number of words 

read per minute. The result is the average 

number of words correct per minute (WCPM).

6. Repeat the procedure several times 

during the year. Graphing students’ 

WCPM throughout the year easily 

captures their reading growth.

7. Compare the results with published 

norms or standards to determine whether 

students are making suitable progress in 

their fluency. For example, according to 

one published norm, students should be 

reading approximately 60 words per 

minute correctly by the end of first grade, 

90–100 words per minute correctly by 

the end of second grade, and approximately 114 words per minute correctly 

by the end of third grade.

Procedure for calculating words correct per minute

One-minute reading: Total words read-errors = words correct per minute
30

When should fluency instruction begin? When should it end?

Fluency instruction is useful when students are not automatic at recognizing the words in their texts.

How can you tell when students are not automatic? There is a strong indication that a student

needs fluency instruction:

● if you ask the student to read orally from a text that he or she has not practiced;

and the student makes more than ten percent word recognition errors;

● if the student cannot read orally with expression; or 

● if the student’s comprehension is poor for the text that she or he reads orally.

Is increasing word recognition skills sufficient for 

developing fluency?

Isolated word recognition is a necessary but not sufficient condition for fluent reading. Throughout

much of the twentieth century, it was widely assumed that fluency was the result of word recognition

proficiency. Instruction, therefore, focused primarily on the development of word recognition. In

recent years, however, research has shown that fluency is a separate component of reading that can

be developed through instruction.

Having students review and rehearse word lists (for example, by using flash cards) may improve

their ability to recognize the words in isolation, but this ability may not transfer to words presented in

actual texts. Developing reading fluency in texts must be developed systematically.

Should I assess fluency? If so, how?

You should formally and informally assess fluency regularly to ensure that your students are making

appropriate progress. The most informal assessment is simply listening to students read aloud and

making a judgment about their progress in fluency. You should, however, also include more formal

measures of fluency. For example, the student’s reading rate should be faster than 90 words a

minute, the student should be able to read orally with expression, and the student should be able to

comprehend what is read while reading orally.

Probably the easiest way to formally assess fluency is to take timed samples of students’ reading

and to compare their performance (number of words read correctly per minute) with published

oral reading fluency norms or standards.

Monitoring your students’ progress in reading fluency will help you determine the effectiveness

of your instruction and set instructional goals. Also, seeing their fluency growth reflected in the

graphs you keep can motivate students.

Other procedures that have been used for measuring fluency include Informal Reading

Inventories (IRIs), miscue analysis, and running records. The purpose of these procedures, however, is

to identify the kinds of word recognition problems students may have, not to measure fluency. Also,

these procedures are quite time-consuming. Simpler measures of speed and accuracy, such as

calculating words read correctly per minute, are more appropriate for monitoring fluency.
31

Fluency is ● the ability to read a text

accurately and quickly.

Fluency is ● it frees students to understand

important because what they read.

Reading fluency ● by modeling fluent reading

can be developed ● by having students engage in

repeated oral reading.

Monitoring student progress ● is useful in evaluating instruction

in reading fluency and setting instructional goals

● can be motivating to students.
32
33
34

Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. In general,

vocabulary can be described as oral vocabulary or reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers

to words that we use in speaking or recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words

we recognize or use in print.

Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. As beginning readers, children use

the words they have heard to make sense of the words they see in print. Consider, for

example, what happens when a beginning reader comes to the word dig in a book. As she

begins to figure out the sounds represented by the letters d, i, g, the reader recognizes that

the sounds make up a very familiar word that she has heard and said many times. Beginning

readers have a much more difficult time reading words that are not already part of their oral

vocabulary.

Vocabulary also is very important to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand

what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children

learn to read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words

that are not part of their oral vocabulary.

Researchers often refer to four types of vocabulary

listening vocabulary—the words we need to know to understand 

what we hear.

speaking vocabulary—the words we use when we speak.

reading vocabulary—the words we need to know to understand 

what we read.

writing vocabulary—the words we use in writing.

instruction
35

Students learn vocabulary 

indirectly when they hear and see

words used in many different

contexts—for example, through

conversations with adults, through

being read to, and through reading

extensively on their own.

Students learn vocabulary 

directly when they are explicitly

taught both individual words and

word-learning strategies. Direct

vocabulary instruction aids 

reading comprehension. 

WORD LEARNING

INSTRUCTION

SPECIFIC WORD

INSTRUCTION

What does scientifically based research tell us about

vocabulary instruction?

The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that (1) most vocabulary is learned

indirectly, and (2) some vocabulary must be taught directly. The following conclusions about

indirect vocabulary learning and direct vocabulary instruction are of particular interest and value

to classroom teachers:

Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly,

through everyday experiences with oral and written language.

Children learn word meanings indirectly in three ways:

They engage daily in oral language.

Young children learn word meanings through conversations with other people, especially 

adults. As they engage in these conversations, children often hear adults repeat words 

several times.They also may hear adults use new and interesting words.The more oral 

language experiences children have, the more word meanings they learn.

They listen to adults read to them.

Children learn word meanings from listening to adults read to them. Reading aloud is 

particularly helpful when the reader pauses during reading to define an unfamiliar word and,

after reading, engages the child in a conversation about the book. Conversations about 

books help children to learn new words and concepts and to relate them to their prior 

knowledge and experience.

They read extensively on their own.

Children learn many new words by reading extensively on their own.The more children read 

on their own, the more words they encounter and the more word meanings they learn.
36

Although a great deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly,

some vocabulary should be taught directly.

Direct instruction helps students learn difficult words, such as words that represent complex concepts

that are not part of the students’ everyday experiences. Direct instruction of vocabulary relevant to a

given text leads to better reading comprehension.

Direct instruction includes:

(1) providing students with specific word instruction; and 

(2) teaching students word-learning strategies.

Specific word instruction

Specific word instruction, or teaching individual words, can deepen students’ knowledge of word

meanings. In-depth knowledge of word meanings can help students understand what they are hearing

or reading. It also can help them use words accurately in speaking and writing.

In particular:

Teaching specific words before reading helps both vocabulary learning and

reading comprehension.

Before students read a text, it is helpful to teach them specific words they will see in the text.

Teaching important vocabulary before reading can help students both learn new words and

comprehend the text.

Extended instruction that promotes active engagement with vocabulary

improves word learning.

Children learn words best when they are provided with instruction over an extended period

of time and when that instruction has them work actively with the words. The more

students use new words and the more they use them in different contexts, the more likely

they are to learn the words.

Repeated exposure to vocabulary in many contexts aids word learning.

Students learn new words better when they encounter them often and in various contexts.

The more children see, hear, and work with specific words, the better they seem to learn them.

When teachers provide extended instruction that promotes active engagement, they

give students repeated exposure to new words. When the students read those

same words in their texts, they increase their exposure to the new words.

Teaching specific words: A teacher plans to have his third-grade class read

the novel Stone Fox, by John Reynolds Gardiner. In this novel, a young boy enters a

dogsled race in hopes of winning prize money to pay the taxes on his grandfather’s farm. 

The teacher knows that understanding the concept of taxes is important to understanding the novel’s plot.

Therefore, before his students begin reading the novel, the teacher may do several things to make sure that 

they understand what the concept means and why it is important to the story. For example, the teacher may:

● engage students in a discussion of the concept of taxes; and/or

● read a sentence from the book that contains the word taxes and ask students to use context and

their prior knowledge to try to figure out what it means.

To solidify their understanding of the word, the teacher might ask students to use taxes in their 

own sentences.

An example of

classroom 

instruction
A first-grade teacher wants to help her

students understand the concept of jobs, which

is part of her social studies curriculum. Over a period 

of time, the teacher engages students in exercises in which

they work repeatedly with the meaning of the concept 

of jobs. The students have many opportunities to see and

actively use the word in various contexts that reinforce its

meaning. 

The teacher begins by asking the students what they

already know about jobs and by having them give

examples of jobs their parents have. The class might have

a discussion about the jobs of different people who work

at the school. 

The teacher then reads the class a simple book about

jobs. The book introduces the idea that different jobs

help people meet their needs, and that jobs either provide

goods or services. The book does not use the words

goods and services, rather it uses the verbs makes and

helps.

The teacher then asks the students to make up

sentences describing their parents’ jobs by using the verbs

makes and helps (e.g., “My mother is a doctor. She helps

sick people get well.”)

Next, the teacher asks students to brainstorm other

jobs. Together, they decide whether the jobs are “making

jobs” or “helping jobs.” The job names are placed under

the appropriate headings on a bulletin board. They might

also suggest jobs that do not fit neatly into either

category.

The teacher might then ask the students to share

whether they think they would like to have a making or 

a helping job when they grow up.

The teacher next asks the students to talk with their

parents about jobs. She tells them to try to bring to class

two new examples of jobs—one making job and one

helping job. 

As the students come across different jobs throughout

the year (for example, through reading books, on field

trips, through classroom guests), they can add the jobs 

to the appropriate categories on the bulletin board.

An example of

classroom 

instruction

Extended and 

active engagement 

with vocabulary 

37

Word learning strategies

Of course, it is not possible for teachers

to provide specific instruction for 

all the words their students do not know.

Therefore, students also need to be able to

determine the meaning of words that are 

new to them but not taught directly to them.

They need to develop effective word-learning

strategies.Word-learning strategies include:

(1) how to use dictionaries and other reference

aids to learn word meanings and to deepen

knowledge of word meanings;

(2) how to use information about word parts

to figure out the meanings of words in text; and 

(3) how to use context clues to determine

word meanings.

Using dictionaries and other

reference aids. Students must learn

how to use dictionaries, glossaries, and

thesauruses to help broaden and deepen

their knowledge of words, even though

these resources can be difficult to use.

The most helpful dictionaries include

sentences providing clear examples of

word meanings in context.
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Using dictionaries and other reference aids: 

As his class reads a text, a second-grade teacher discovers that many of his students do not

know the meaning of the word board, as in the sentence, “The children were waiting to board the buses.”

The teacher demonstrates how to find board in the classroom dictionary, showing students that there are

four different definitions for the word. He reads the definitions one at a time, and the class discusses whether

each definition would fit the context of the sentence. The students easily eliminate the inappropriate

definitions of board, and settle on the definition, “to get on a train, an airplane, a bus, or a ship.”

The teacher next has students substitute the most likely definition for board in the original sentence to

verify that it is “The children were waiting to get on the buses” that makes the best sense. 

Repeated exposure to words: A second-grade class is reading a biography of Benjamin Franklin.

The biography discusses Franklin’s important role as a scientist. The teacher wants to make sure that

her students understand the meaning of the words science and scientist, both because the words are

important to understanding the biography and because they are obviously very useful words to know 

in school and in everyday life. 

At every opportunity, therefore, the teacher draws her students’ attention to the words. She points

out the words scientist and science in textbooks and reading selections, particularly in her science

curriculum. She has students use the words in their own writing, especially during science instruction. 

She also asks them to listen for and find in print the words as they are used outside of the

classroom—in newspapers, magazines, at museums, in television shows or movies, or the Internet. 

Then, as they read the biography, she discusses with students in what ways

Benjamin Franklin was a scientist and what science meant in his time.

Using word parts. Knowing some common prefixes and suffixes (affixes),

base words, and root words can help students learn the meanings of many new

words. For example, if students learn just the four most common prefixes in English

(un-, re-, in-, dis-), they will have important clues about the meaning of about two

thirds of all English words that have prefixes. Prefixes are relatively easy to learn

because they have clear meanings (for example, un- means not and re- means

again); they are usually spelled the same way from word to word; and, of course,

they always occur at the beginnings of words.

Learning suffixes can be more challenging than learning prefixes. This is

because some suffixes have more abstract meanings than do prefixes. For example,

learning that the suffix -ness means “the state or quality of” might not help students

figure out the meaning of kindness. Other suffixes, however, are more helpful.

An example of

classroom 

instruction

An example of

classroom 

instruction
39

Word parts include affixes (prefixes and suffixes), base words, and word roots.

Affixes are word parts that are “fixed to” either the beginnings of words (prefixes)

or the ending of words (suffixes). The word disrespectful has two affixes, 

a prefix (dis-) and a suffix (-ful). 

Base words are words from which many other words are formed. 

For example, many words can be formed from the base word migrate: migration, 

migrant, immigration, immigrant, migrating, migratory. 

Word roots are the words from other languages that are the origin of many English words. 

About 60% of all English words have Latin or Greek origins. 

For example, –less, which means “without” (hopeless, thoughtless); and –ful,

which means “full of” (hopeful, thoughtful). Latin and Greek word roots are found

commonly in content-area school subjects, especially in the subjects of science and

social studies. As a result, Latin and Greek word parts form a large proportion of

the new vocabulary that students encounter in their content-area textbooks.

Teachers should teach the word roots as they occur in the texts students read.

Furthermore, teachers should teach primarily those root words that students are

likely to see often.
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Using context clues: In a third-grade class, the teacher models how to use

context clues to determine word meanings as follows:

Student (reading the text): When the cat pounced on the dog, the dog jumped up, yelping, and knocked 

over a lamp, which crashed to the floor. The animals ran past Tonia, tripping her. She fell to the 

floor and began sobbing. Tonia’s brother Felix yelled at the animals to stop. As the noise and 

confusion mounted, Mother hollered upstairs, “What’s all that commotion?” 

Teacher: The context of the paragraph helps us determine what commotion means. There’s yelping

and crashing, sobbing, and yelling. And then the last sentence says, “as the noise and confusion 

mounted.” The author’s use of the words noise and confusion gives us a very strong clue as to what

commotion means. In fact, the author is really giving us a definition there, because commotion

means something that’s noisy and confusing—a disturbance. Mother was right; there was definitely

a commotion!

Using word parts:

● A second-grade teacher wants to teach her students how to use the base word play as a way to help

them think about the meanings of new words they will encounter in reading. To begin, she has

students brainstorm all the words or phrases they can think of that are related to play. The teacher

records their suggestions: player, playful, playpen, ballplayer, and playing field. Then she has the class

discuss the meaning of each of their proposed words and how it relates to play.

● A third-grade teacher identifies the base word note. He then sets up a “word wall,” and writes the

word note at the top of the wall. As his students read, the teacher has them look for words that are

related to note and add them to the wall. Throughout their reading, they gradually add

to the wall the words notebook, notation, noteworthy, and notable. 

Using context clues. Context clues are hints about the meaning of 

an unknown word that are provided in the words, phrases, and sentences that

surround the word. Context clues include definitions, restatements, examples,

or descriptions. Because students learn most word meanings indirectly, or from

context, it is important that they learn to use context clues effectively.

Not all contexts are helpful, however. Some contexts give little information

about a word’s meaning.An example of an unhelpful context is the sentence,

“We heard the back door open, and then recognized the buoyant footsteps of

Uncle Larry.”A number of possible meanings of buoyant could fit this context,

including heavy, lively, noisy, familiar, dragging, plodding, and so on. Instruction in

using context clues as a word-learning strategy should include the idea that some

contexts are more helpful than others.

An example of

classroom 

instruction

An example of

classroom 

instruction
41

Questions you may have about

vocabulary instruction

How can I help my students learn words indirectly?

You can encourage indirect learning of vocabulary in two main ways. First, read aloud to your

students, no matter what grade you teach. Students of all ages can learn words from hearing texts of

various kinds read to them. Reading aloud works best when you discuss the selection before, during,

and after you read. Talk with students about new vocabulary and concepts and help them relate the

words to their prior knowledge and experiences.

The second way to promote indirect learning of vocabulary is to encourage students to read

extensively on their own. Rather than allocating instructional time for independent reading in the

classroom, however, encourage your students to read more outside of school. Of course, your

students also can read on their own during independent work time in the classroom—for example,

while you teach another small group or after students have completed one activity and are waiting for

a new activity to begin.

What words should I teach?

You won’t be able to directly teach your students all the words in a text that they might not already

know. In fact, there are several reasons why you should not directly teach all unknown words.

● The text may have a great many words that are unknown to students—too many for direct

instruction.

● Direct vocabulary instruction can take a lot of class time—time that you might better spend

on having your students read.

● Your students can understand most texts without knowing the meaning of every word in the

text.

● Your students need opportunities to use word-learning strategies to learn on their own the

meanings of unknown words.

You will probably to be able to teach thoroughly only a few new words (perhaps eight or ten) per

week, so you need to choose the words you teach carefully. Focus on teaching three types of words:
42

Important words.When you teach words before students read a text, directly teach those words

that are important for understanding a concept or the text. Your students might not know several other

words in the selection, but you will not have time to teach them all. Of course, you should prepare your

students to use word-learning strategies to figure out the meanings of other words in the text.

Useful words.Teach words that students are likely to see and use again and again. For example, it is

probably more useful for students to learn the word fragment than the word fractal; likewise, the word

revolve is more useful than the word gyrate.

Difficult words. Provide some instruction for words that are particularly difficult for your students.

Words with multiple meanings are particularly challenging for students.

Students may have a hard time understanding that words with

the same spelling and/or pronunciation can have different

meanings, depending on their context. Looking up words

with multiple meanings in the dictionary can cause

confusion for students.They see a number of different

definitions listed, and they often have a difficult time

deciding which definition fits the context. You

will have to help students determine which

definition they should choose.

Idiomatic expressions also can be difficult

for students, especially for students who

are English language learners. Because

idiomatic expressions do not mean what the

individual words usually mean, you often will

need to explain to students expressions such

as “hard hearted,”“a chip off the old block,”

“drawing a blank,” or “get the picture.”

Words that are spelled the same but are 

pronounced differently 

Words that are spelled and pronounced 

the same, but have different meanings 

sow (a female pig);sow (to plant seeds)

bow (a knot with loops); bow (the front of a ship)

mail (letters, cards, and packages); mail (a type 

of armor)

ray (a narrow beam of light); ray (a type of fish);

ray (part of a line)

MULTIPLE-MEANING WORDS THAT EXAMPLES

CAN BE DIFFICULT FOR STUDENTS:
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How well do my students need to “know” vocabulary words?

Students do not either know or not know words. Rather, they know words to varying degrees. They

may never have seen or heard a word before. They may have heard or seen it, but have only a vague

idea of what it means. Or they may be very familiar with the meaning of a word and be able to use

it accurately in their own speech and writing. These three levels of word knowledge are called

unknown, acquainted, and established.

As they read, students can usually get by with some words at the unknown or acquainted levels.

If students are to understand the text fully, however, they need to have an established level of

knowledge for most of the words that they read.

Are there different types of word learning? 

If so,are some types of learning more difficult than others?

Four different kinds of word learning have been identified:

● learning a new meaning for a known word;

● learning the meaning for a new word representing a known concept;

● learning the meaning of a new word representing an unknown concept; and 

● clarifying and enriching the meaning of a known word.

These types vary in difficulty. One of the most common, yet challenging, is the third type: learning

the meaning of a new word representing an unknown concept. Much of learning in the content

areas involves this type of word learning. As students learn about deserts, hurricanes, and

immigrants, they may be learning both new concepts and new words. Learning words and

concepts in science, social studies, and mathematics is even more challenging because each major

concept often is associated with many other new concepts. For example, the concept deserts is

often associated with other concepts that may be unfamiliar, such as cactus, plateau, and mesa.

The word is completely unfamiliar and its meaning is unknown.

The word is somewhat familiar; the student has some idea

of its basic meaning.

The word is very familiar; the student can immediately 

recognize its meaning and use the word correctly.

Unknown

Acquainted

Established

LEVEL OF DEFINITION

WORD KNOWLEDGE
44

What else can I do to help my students develop vocabulary?

Another way you can help your students develop vocabulary is to foster word consciousness—an

awareness of and interest in words, their meanings, and their power. Word-conscious students know

many words and use them well. They enjoy words and are eager to learn new words—and they

know how to learn them.

You can help your students develop word consciousness in several ways. Call their attention to

the way authors choose words to convey particular meanings. Encourage students to play with words

by engaging in word play, such as puns or palindromes. Help them research a word’s origin or history.

You can also encourage them to search for examples of a word’s usage in their everyday lives.

TYPE OF WORD LEARNING EXPLANATION

Learning a new meaning for a known The student has the word in her oral or reading

word vocabulary, but she is learning a new meaning for it.

For example, the student knows what a branch is,

and is learning in social studies about both 

branches of rivers and branches of government.

Learning the meaning for a new word The student is familiar with the concept but he does

representing a known concept not know the particular word for that concept.

For example, the student has had a lot of experience

with baseballs and globes, but does not know that

they are examples of spheres.

Learning the meaning of a new word The student is not familiar with either the concept or 

representing an unknown concept the word that represents that concept, and she must 

learn both. For example, the student may not be familiar 

with either the process or the word photosynthesis.

Clarifying and enriching the meaning of The student is learning finer, more subtle distinctions, or 

a known word connotations, in the meaning and usage of words. For 

example, he is learning the differences between running,

jogging,trotting,dashing,and sprinting.
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Vocabulary refers to ● the words we must know to communicate

effectively.

● Oral vocabulary refers to words that we use 

in speaking or recognize in listening.

● Reading vocabulary refers to words we 

recognize or use in print.

Vocabulary is important ● beginning readers use their oral vocabulary to 

because make sense of the words they see in print.

● readers must know what most of the words 

mean before they can understand what they 

are reading.

Vocabulary can be developed ● indirectly, when students engage daily in oral 

language, listen to adults read to them, and 

read extensively on their own.

● directly, when students are explicitly taught 

both individual words and word learning 

strategies.
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47
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Comprehension is the reason for reading. If readers can read the words but do not

understand what they are reading, they are not really reading.

As they read, good readers are both purposeful and active.

Good readers are purposeful. Good readers have a purpose for reading. They may

read to find out how to use a food processor, read a guidebook to gather information about

national parks, read a textbook to satisfy the requirements of a course, read a magazine for

entertainment, or read a classic novel to experience the pleasures of great literature.

Good readers are active. Good readers think actively as they read. To make sense

of what they read, good readers engage in a complicated process. Using their experiences

and knowledge of the world, their knowledge of vocabulary and language structure, and

their knowledge of reading strategies (or plans), good readers make sense of the text and

know how to get the most out of it. They know when they have problems with

understanding and how to resolve these problems as they occur.

Research over 30 years has shown that instruction in comprehension can help

students understand what they read, remember what they read, and communicate with

others about what they read.

instruction
49

What does scientifically based research tell us about effective

text comprehension instruction?

Metacognition can be defined as “thinking about thinking.” Good readers use

metacognitive strategies to think about and have control over their reading.

Before reading, they might clarify their purpose for reading and preview the text.

During reading, they might monitor their understanding, adjusting their reading speed to fit

the difficulty of the text and “fixing up” any comprehension problems they have. After

reading, they check their understanding of what they read. 

Comprehension monitoring, a critical part of metacognition, has received a great deal of

attention in the reading research. 

The scientific research on text comprehension instruction reveals important information about what

students should be taught about text comprehension and how it should be taught. The following

key findings are of particular interest and value to classroom teachers.

Text comprehension can be improved by instruction that helps 

readers use specific comprehension strategies.

Comprehension strategies are conscious plans—sets of steps that good readers use to make sense

of text. Comprehension strategy instruction helps students become purposeful, active readers who

are in control of their own reading comprehension.

The following six strategies appear to have a firm scientific basis for improving text comprehension.

Monitoring comprehension. Students who are good at monitoring their comprehension 

know when they understand what they read and when they do not. They have strategies 

to “fix up” problems in their understanding as the problems arise. Research shows that 

instruction, even in the early grades, can help students become better at monitoring their 

comprehension.

Comprehension monitoring instruction teaches students to

● be aware of what they do understand,

● identify what they do not understand, and 

● use appropriate “fix-up” strategies to resolve problems in comprehension.
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Students may use several comprehension monitoring strategies.

● Identify where the difficulty occurs (“I don’t understand the second paragraph 

on page 76.”).

● Identify what the difficulty is (“I don’t get what the author means when she says,

‘Arriving in America was a milestone in my grandmother’s life.’”).

● Restate the difficult sentence or passage in their own words (“Oh, so the author 

means that coming to America was a very important event in her grandmother’s 

life.”).

● Look back through the text (“The author talked about Mr. McBride in Chapter 2,

but I don’t remember much about him. Maybe if I reread that chapter, I can figure 

out why he’s acting this way now.”).

● Look forward in the text for information that might help them to resolve the 

difficulty. (“The text says,‘The groundwater may form a stream or pond or create 

a wetland. People can also bring groundwater to the surface.’ Hmm, I don’t 

understand how people can do that . . . Oh, the next section is called ‘Wells.’

I’ll read this section to see if it tells how they do it.”).

Using graphic and semantic organizers. Graphic organizers illustrate concepts and 

interrelationships among concepts in a text, using diagrams or other pictorial devices.

Graphic organizers are known by different names, such as maps, webs, graphs, charts,

frames, or clusters. Semantic organizers (also called semantic maps or semantic webs) are 

graphic organizers that look somewhat like a spider web. In a semantic organizer, lines 

connect a central concept to a variety of related ideas and events.
51

Regardless of the label, graphic organizers can help readers focus on concepts and how they

are related to other concepts. Graphic organizers help students read to learn from informational

text in the content areas, such as science and social studies textbooks and trade books. Used with

informational text, graphic organizers can help students see how concepts fit common text

structures. Graphic organizers are also used with narrative text, or stories, as story maps.

Graphic organizers can:

● help students focus on text structure as they read;

● provide students with tools they can use to examine and visually represent 

relationships in a text; and 

● help students write well-organized summaries of a text.

Answering questions.Teachers have long used questions to guide and monitor students’

learning. Research shows that teacher questioning strongly supports and advances students’

learning from reading. Questions appear to be effective for improving learning from reading 

because they:

● give students a purpose for reading;

● focus students’ attention on what they are to learn;

● help students to think actively as they read;

● encourage students to monitor their comprehension; and 

● help students to review content and relate what they have learned to 

what they already know.

Question-answering instruction encourages students to learn to answer questions better and,

therefore, to learn more as they read. One type of question-answering instruction simply teaches

students to look back in the text to find answers to questions that they cannot answer after the

initial reading. Another type helps students understand question-answer relationships—the

relationships between questions and where the answers to those questions are found. In this

instruction, readers learn to answer questions that require an understanding of information that is 

● text explicit (stated explicitly in a single sentence);

● text implicit (implied by information presented in two or more sentences); or 

● scriptal (not found in the text at all, but part of the reader’s prior knowledge 

or experience).

Generating questions.Teaching students to ask their own questions improves their active

processing of text and their comprehension. By generating questions, students become aware of

whether they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading. Students

learn to ask themselves questions that require them to integrate information from different

segments of text. For example, students can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate to

important information in a text.
52

Examples of 

question-answer relationships 

Text: (from The Skirt, by Gary Soto)

After stepping off the bus, Miata Ramirez

turned around and gasped, “Ay!” The school bus

lurched, coughed a puff of stinky exhaust, and made

a wide turn at the corner. The driver strained as he

worked the steering wheel like the horns of a bull.

Miata yelled for the driver to stop. She started

running after the bus. Her hair whipped against her

shoulders. A large book bag tugged at her arm with

each running step, and bead earrings jingled as they

banged against her neck.

“My skirt!” she cried loudly. “Stop!”

Question: Did Miata try to get the driver to stop?

Answer: Yes.

Question-Answer Relationship (Text explicit, 

because the information is given in one sentence):

“Miata yelled for the driver to stop.”

Question: Why did Miata want the driver to stop?

Answer: She suddenly remembered that she had 

left a skirt on the bus. 

Question-Answer Relationship (Text implicit,

because the information must be inferred from 

different parts of the text): 

Miata is crying “My skirt!” as she is 

trying to get the driver to stop.

Question: Was the skirt important to Miata?

Answer: Yes.

Question-Answer Relationship (Scriptal, because the

information is not contained in the text, but must be

drawn from the reader’s prior knowledge): She

probably would not have tried so hard to get the

driver to stop if the skirt were not important 

to her. 
53

Recognizing story structure. Story structure refers to the way the content and 

events of a story are organized into a plot. Students who can recognize story structure 

have greater appreciation, understanding, and memory for stories. In story structure 

instruction, students learn to identify the categories of content (setting, initiating events,

internal reactions, goals, attempts, and outcomes) and how this content is organized into 

a plot. Often, students learn to recognize story structure through the use of story maps.

Story maps, a type of graphic organizer, show the sequence of events in simple stories.

Instruction in the content and organization of stories improves students’ comprehension 

and memory of stories.

Summarizing. A summary is a synthesis of the important ideas in a text. Summarizing 

requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading, to condense 

this information, and to put it into their own words. Instruction in summarizing helps 

students:

● identify or generate main ideas;

● connect the main or central ideas;

● eliminate redundant and unnecessary information; and

● remember what they read.

Students can be taught to use comprehension strategies.

In addition to identifying which comprehension strategies are effective, scientific research provides

guidelines for how to teach comprehension strategies.

Effective comprehension strategy instruction is explicit, or direct. Research shows 

that explicit teaching techniques are particularly effective for comprehension strategy instruction.

In explicit instruction, teachers tell readers why and when they should use strategies, what 

strategies to use, and how to apply them.The steps of explicit instruction typically include direct 

explanation, teacher modeling (“thinking aloud”), guided practice, and application.

● Direct explanation.The teacher explains to students why the strategy helps 

comprehension and when to apply the strategy.

● Modeling. The teacher models, or demonstrates, how to apply the strategy,

usually by “thinking aloud” while reading the text that the students are using.

● Guided practice.The teacher guides and assists students as they learn how 

and when to apply the strategy.

● Application.The teacher helps students practice the strategy until they can 

apply it independently.
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Effective comprehension strategy instruction can be accomplished through

cooperative learning. Cooperative learning (and the closely related concept, collaborative

learning) involves students working together as partners or in small groups on clearly defined

tasks. Cooperative learning instruction has been used successfully to teach comprehension

strategies in content-area subjects. Students work together to understand content-area texts,

helping each other learn and apply comprehension strategies.Teachers help students learn to work

in groups.Teachers also provide demonstrations of the comprehension strategies and monitor the

progress of students.

Effective instruction helps readers use comprehension strategies flexibly and in

combination. Although it can be helpful to provide students with instruction in individual

comprehension strategies, good readers must be able to coordinate and adjust several strategies

to assist comprehension.

Multiple-strategy instruction teaches students how to use strategies flexibly as they are needed to

assist their comprehension. In a well-known example of multiple-strategy instruction called

“reciprocal teaching,” the teacher and students work together so that the students learn four

comprehension strategies:

● asking questions about the text they are reading;

● summarizing parts of the text;

● clarifying words and sentences they don’t understand; and 

● predicting what might occur next in the text.

Teachers and students use these four strategies flexibly as they are needed in reading literature

and informational texts.
Questions you may have about

text comprehension instruction

Is enough known about comprehension strategy instruction for me to

implement it in my classroom? 

Yes. Scientific study of text comprehension instruction over the past 30 years has suggested

instructional approaches that are ready to be implemented in classrooms.

When should text comprehension instruction begin?

Even teachers in the primary grades can begin to build the foundation for reading comprehension.

Reading is a complex process that develops over time. Although the basics of reading—word

recognition and fluency—can be learned in a few years, reading to learn subject matter does not

occur automatically once students have “learned to read.” Teachers should emphasize text

comprehension from the beginning, rather than waiting until students have mastered “the basics” of

reading. Instruction at all grade levels can benefit from showing students how reading is a process of

making sense out of text, or constructing meaning. Beginning readers, as well as more advanced

readers, must understand that the ultimate goal of reading is comprehension.

You can highlight meaning in all interactions with text. Talk about the content, whether reading

aloud to students or guiding them in reading on their own. Model, or “think aloud,” about your own

thinking and understanding as you read. Lead students in a discussion about the meaning of what

they are reading. Help students relate the content to their experience and to other texts they have

read. Encourage students to ask questions about the text.

Has research identified comprehension strategies other 

than the six described here?

The six strategies described have received the strongest scientific support. The following strategies,

however, have received some support from research. You may want to consider them for use in

your classroom.

Making use of prior knowledge. Good readers draw on prior knowledge and experience 

to help them understand what they are reading. You can help your students make use of their 

prior knowledge to improve their comprehension. Before your students read, preview the text 

with them. As part of previewing, ask the students what they already know about the content 

of the selection (for example, the topic, the concept, or the time period). Ask them what they 

know about the author and what text structure he or she is likely to use. Discuss the important

vocabulary used in the text. Show students some pictures or diagrams to prepare them for 

what they are about to read.

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56

Using mental imagery. Good readers often form mental pictures, or images, as they read.

Readers (especially younger readers) who visualize during reading understand and remember 

what they read better than readers who do not visualize. Help your students learn to form 

visual images of what they are reading. For example, urge them to picture a setting, character,

or event described in the text.

Which comprehension strategies should be taught? 

When should they be taught?

Comprehension strategies are not ends in themselves; they are means of helping your students

understand what they are reading. Help your students learn to use comprehension strategies in

natural learning situations—for example, as they read in the content areas. If your students are

struggling to identify and remember the main points in a chapter they are reading in their social

studies textbook, teach them how to write summaries. Or, if students have read a chapter in their

science textbook but are unable to answer questions about the chapter, teach them questionanswering strategies. When your students find that using comprehension strategies can help them

to learn, they are more likely to be motivated and involved actively in learning.

Keep in mind that not all comprehension strategies work for all types of text. Obviously, you can

only teach story structure when students are reading stories, not informational text or poetry.
57

Text comprehension is ● comprehension is the reason

important because for reading.

Text comprehension is ● purposeful.

● active.

Text comprehension ● by teaching comprehension

can be developed strategies.

Text comprehension ● through explicit instruction.

strategies can be taught ● through cooperative learning.

● by helping readers use strategies 

flexibly and in combination.
58
For additional copies of this document, please contact:

National Institute for Literacy at ED Pubs

PO Box 1398

Jessup, MD 20794-1398

Phone 1-800-228-8813 Fax 301-430-1244

EdPubOrders@inet.gov

To download the document, go to the National Institute for Literacy 

website at www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading

The findings described in this document were drawn from the 

report of the National Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read:

An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and 

Its Implications for Reading Instruction—Reports of the Subgroups.

A complete copy of the NRP report can be read, downloaded,

or ordered at no cost from the NRP website at 

www.nationalreadingpanel.org.

Members of the National Reading Panel

Donald N. Langenberg, Ph.D., Chair

Gloria Correro, Ed.D.

Linnea Ehri, Ph.D.

Gwenette Ferguson, M.Ed.

Norma Garza, C.P.A.

Michael L. Kamil. Ph.D.

Cora Bagley Marrett, Ph.D.

S.J. Samuels, Ed.D.

Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D.

Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D.

Thomas Trabasso, Ph.D.

Joanna Williams, Ph.D.

Dale Willows, Ph.D.

Joanne Yatvin, Ph.D.