Don’t forget the reading in the ‘science of reading’

Adopted by many states, the science of reading has become a major focus for educators across the country. Defining the science of reading is the easy part: it’s a collection of peer-reviewed scientific research from a variety of disciplines examining how humans learn to read.

How to put the findings of all that research into practice is a more complicated question, but one thing the science of reading makes clear is that learning to read is not something people do naturally. It’s a skill we need to work to master, and doing so requires explicit instruction.

That means that while working on phonics is important, students also need plenty of time for reading. Here’s a bit about why reading is an important component of the science of reading-aligned instruction—and how to fit it into the day.

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