Oral language encompasses both speaking and listening. Oral language skills include learning how spoken words sound, what words and sentences mean, and how to communicate ideas. Nurturing oral language skills provides a strong foundation for learning to read.
Phonics instruction teaches the relationships between the letters of written language and the sounds of spoken language. To read, children need to understand the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters represent the sounds of spoken language. Decoding is when we use letter-sound relationships to translate a printed word into speech.
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 individual speech sounds, or phonemes. A child’s skill in phonological and phonemic awareness is a good predictor of later reading success or difficulty.
Print awareness (also called concepts of print) is the understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words. Print awareness also includes an understanding of what books are used for and how a book “works” — how to turn pages, how to find the top and bottom of a page, and how to identify the title and the front and back covers.
Comprehension is the reason for reading. If readers can read the words but do not understand or connect to what they are reading, they are not really reading. Good readers are both purposeful and active, and have the skills to absorb what they read, analyze it, make sense of it, and make it their own.
Words that you can read instantly are called sight words. Orthographic mapping is the process of storing a word permanently in memory for instant retrieval — and key to effortless, accurate, and fluent reading.
Good spellers aren’t born, they are taught! Nearly 90 percent of English words can be spelled if a student knows basic patterns, principles, and rules of spelling. Good spellers end up as better readers and writers.
Vocabulary plays a fundamental role in the reading process and is critical to reading comprehension. Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language. Other words are learned through carefully designed instruction.
Writing is a complex process that requires a wide range of skills — a strong vocabulary; an understanding of genre, text structure, and voice; basic mechanical skills (grammar and punctuation); organizational skills; and higher order thinking.
The challenges of teaching English language learners to read. Hosted by Rita Moreno, Becoming Bilingual examines the challenges of teaching children to read in a new language. We visit six cities across the country to learn about the different ways schools are working to create bilingual readers.
Through children’s books, interviews with Black children’s authors and illustrators, classroom activities, online history resources, and powerful documentaries, we celebrate and learn about the lives and contributions of African Americans.
This episode focuses on phonological awareness. Reading expert Linda Farrell helps kindergartener Autumn learn to blend two parts of a syllable (onset and rime). Watch how Ms. Farrell gives Autumn explicit practice with onset and rime — a core phonological awareness skill that helps kids recognize and blend sound chunks within syllables. This is an essential step toward developing phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness, a vital pre-reading skill, is being able to blend, segment, and manipulate the sounds in words.
Join the conversation! We’re writing about the best practices in reading instruction, how to support literacy at home, building background knowledge, and choosing and using children’s books.
Browse our collection of books to help you continue to deepen your knowledge about reading, writing, and effective classroom instruction. You’ll also find books on reading motivation and reading aloud to children.
Meet your favorite book creators, launch an author study, browse our themed booklists, get tips on how to choose and use kids’ books, find guidance on building a more diverse bookshelf, celebrate annual literacy events with us, and more!
Use our Book Finder tool to create your own customized list of fiction and nonfiction books. Search through more than 5,000 books on Reading Rockets — by author, illustrator, age, genre, format, and topic. Book Finder also makes it easy to discover diverse titles.
Acclaimed authors and illustrators for young people — Jeannine Atkins, Ekua Holmes, Rita Williams-Garcia, Heather Lang, and Katherine Paterson got together to talk about women and girls in fiction and nonfiction books — and what makes a heroine.
Have you ever heard of “assumicide”? For generations, too many people assumed that children with disabilities couldn’t learn to read — so they never gave them a chance. Hosted by Molly Ringwald, A Chance to Read looks at the reading challenges facing kids with disabilities, and what schools across the country are doing to help them find success.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) influences how a child sees and experiences the world. Children on the autism spectrum bring many strengths to the classroom, yet they may also have challenges with social skills, language, and behaviors that require additional classroom supports for learning to read.
Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often have trouble paying attention, sitting still, or finishing tasks. Although it is not considered a learning disability, students with ADHD may have a harder time learning how to read. With the right supports, kids can thrive.
