The Science of Reading & What It’s Missing

The way kids learn to read has been debated for decades. There’s been a “reading war” happening in schools and research centers. The outcome is a long string of reading struggles that put kids behind where they should be. As research converges on THE best way to teach reading, the hope is that more and more of the ⅔ of kids with remedial reading needs will be able to catch up. This is the hope of the Science of Reading.

What is the Science of Reading?

Essentially, researchers have looked at the ways reading is taught in school and the ways kids learn over the past several decades. From this, they’ve created a standard recommendation for the best, most effective way to teach reading.

What the Science of Reading promotes is an essential foundation in phonological processing and phonics, followed by phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension.

This approach moves away from whole-word reading (sight words) and back to the essential skills that we use to decode new words. 

This is good news! Kids who are unable to troubleshoot unknown words continue to struggle into high school and beyond as the words get more complex. However, there is another piece of the puzzle that the Science of Reading does not address. That is the ability of the brain to learn to read in the first place.

What Does the Science of Reading Miss?

Your brain uses cognitive skills to learn everything, including reading. If you struggle with working memory, processing speed, visual or auditory processing, or other key skills, even good reading instruction isn’t going to be good enough.

A foundation of strong cognitive skills is the ONLY way to make reading instruction effective for all learners.

Yes, focus on phonics and decoding skills with emerging readers. Yes, be excited for the changes that the Science of Reading will bring to classroom instruction. Its structured literacy approach is going to be great for many students. 

But if your child continues to struggle with reading, weak cognitive skills are likely to blame.  What sets LearningRx apart from all other reading interventions is the focus on building strong cognitive skills first, because they are the foundation for all learning.

Instead of just pushing through and relying on your child’s teacher (who is stretched thin as it is) to individualize reading instruction to their unique needs, build up your child’s ability to learn in the first place by targeting these weak cognitive skills. 

Brain training aligns perfectly with the goals of the Science of Reading. It just lays the groundwork that classroom teachers can’t cover.

Don’t just let your child struggle through another year. Our approach to reading help may be what makes your child more successful (as it has for thousands of other struggling readers). Give us a call today to learn more!