The Science of Reading for Educators

  Learning to read in the primary grades is a complex process that is essential for students to master. We all know that the outcomes for students who never learn to read proficiently are dire as these students are more likely to drop out of school (Alliance for Excellent Education 2002), have higher rates of delinquency (Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture 1997), and experience higher incidents of suicide (Daniel et all 2006).   Evidence on how the brain learns to read has long supported the fact that in order to learn to read proficiently, students must be taught phonics explicitly in order to master the written code.  As students begin to learn to read there are multiple components at work that must work in tandem to result in proficient reading. The National Reading Panel (2000) identified five key skill areas that must be present in literacy instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Kindergarten and first grade are key to building