The Science of Reading

Seminar: The Science of Reading: Background & Opportunities

There are ways to learn to read that are supported by science.

This seminar on teaching reading gives an overview of the way reading is currently taught in Wisconsin, explains the “Science of Reading”, provides examples of the ways that schools are implementing SoR, and offers options for support.

Some key points and highlights:

• There are only four public elementary schools in Wisconsin with greater than 80% proficiency in reading.
• Schools with 30% – 40% reading and math proficiency are considered to be “meeting expectations”.
• “Balanced Literacy”, an approach widely used in Wisconsin, doesn’t adequately address basic reading skills. (Find out why!)
• “The term ‘science of reading’ refers to the research that reading experts, especially cognitive scientists, have conducted on how we learn to read. This body of knowledge, over twenty years in the making, has helped debunk older methods of reading instruction that were based on tradition and observation, not evidence.”
• Learning to speak is natural. Learning to read is not. The strands that are woven into skilled reading include both language comprehension and word recognition. “There is no comprehension strategy powerful enough to compensate for the fact that you can’t read the words.”

“Reading is the single most important skill we teach. If you can’t read well, you will always struggle to learn.”

Download the presentation.