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Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds—phonemes—in spoken words. This foundational skill is essential for reading and spelling success, as it lays the groundwork for phonics. Learning activities can include segmenting words into phonemes, blending phonemes into words, and playing sound manipulation games.

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That's a complicated sounding term, but it's meaning is simple: the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

Identify words that rhyme

Count the number of syllables in a name

Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound)

Segment (break) a sentence into words

Identify the syllables in a word

The most sophisticated phonological awareness skill (and the last to develop) is called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When playing with the sounds in word, children learn to:

Blend individual sounds to make a word

Stretch out a word into its individual sounds

Swap in a different sound to the beginning, middle, or end of a word to make a new word

Strong phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Children who struggle with reading, including kids with dyslexia, often have trouble with phonemic awareness, but with the right kind of instruction they can be successful. Learn some of the warning signs for dyslexia in this article, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood.

Parents can make a big difference in helping their children become readers by practicing these pre-reading oral skills at home. Try some of the simple rhyming and word sound games described here.

Try these speech sound activities at home

Rhyme time

"I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?" Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? ( dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes

While you're out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the "kids" in the cat family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

Silly tongue twisters

Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

Tongue ticklers

Alliteration or "tongue ticklers" - where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again - can be a fun way to provide practice with a speech sound. Try these:

For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

Syllable shopping

While at the grocery store, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables. Show your child the sign for each and ask her to say the word.

"I spy" first sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this simple "I spy" game at home, on a walk, or at the grocery store. Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds. For example, if you're in the bathroom you can say, "I spy something red that starts with the "s" ssss sound ( soap)."

Sound scavenger hunt

Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound. "Can you find something in our house that starts with the letter "p" pppppp sound? Picture, pencil, pear "

Which letter sounds do I teach first?

Reading expert Linda Farrell recommends that you begin with teaching the letter names, and then focus on the letter sounds that are closest to their letter names (such as /v/). And here's a great tip for teaching the trickier letter name-letter sound combinations - use arm motions. In this video, Linda demonstrates motions for /x/ and /y/. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

Sound games

Practice blending sounds into words. Ask "Can you guess what this word is? m - o - p." Hold each sound longer than normal.

First sounds

When you're reading together with your child, pick a word from the book and say it with emphasis on the first sound. Pick another word and compare them. "Zzz-zookeeper and rrr-rhinoceros. Can you hear what sound zzz-zookeeper starts with? Is it the same as rrr-rhinoceros?

Jump, skip, hop!

Create simple picture cards that you draw or cut out of magazines. Have your child, identify what's in the picture, and then break that word into its individual sounds. For example dog is d-o-g, three sounds (phonemes). Three sounds? You and your child do three jumping jacks, skips, or hops (followed by a high-five). You can also do this game outdoors without the cards, just call out simple words for your child.

Snail talk

Tell your child you're going to communicate in "snail talk" and they need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

"I spy" blending

Here's an easy phoneme blending game you can play while talking a walk. For blending, you can say, "I see a sign that says s-t-o-p" Then your child has to blend the sounds to guess your word - stop. (Remember to say only the sounds in the word - not the letters.) Keep the words short, moving from two to three to four sounds depending on your child's skill level.

Sound counting

Using LEGO bricks, beads, or pennies, say a word and have your child show you how many sounds the word makes. For example, top = t-o-p = three sounds, so your child would place three objects in a row. Then have them tap each object as they say the sound. Remember, your child is just showing you the sounds they hear. So the word bike would be = b-i-k (silent e) = only three sounds.

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Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener

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Phonological and phonemic awareness are important pre-reading skills, related to the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Children with strong phonological awareness skills are ready to become readers.

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Phonics teaches the relationship between phonemes (the sounds of spoken language) and graphemes (the letters and spellings that represent those sounds in written language). It's a method for teaching reading and writing by developing learners' phonemic awareness, enabling them to decode words. Activities include letter-sound matching, word decoding, and reading practice.

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Favorite Phonics Games, Apps, and Websites | Common Sense Education

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Favorite Phonics Games, Apps, and Websites is a list of 16 apps, games, and websites curated by Common Sense Education editors.

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Vocabulary refers to the collection of words that a person knows and uses in their daily communication. Having a robust vocabulary is essential for effective communication and is foundational for proficient reading comprehension and writing skills. Developing a strong vocabulary is not only crucial for academic achievement and professional success but also enhances everyday interactions and personal expression. This development is a lifelong process, continuously enriching one's ability to understand and interact with the world

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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.

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Fluency is the ability to read text accurately, quickly, and with proper expression. It's a critical component for understanding, as it enables readers to focus on the meaning of texts rather than on decoding words. Practice through repeated readings, performance reading, and guided oral reading can help develop fluency.

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Fluency: Activities for Your First Grader

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Reading fluency is a child’s ability to read a book or other text accurately, with reasonable speed, and with appropriate expression. A fluent reader doesn’t have to stop and “decode” each word and can focus attention on what the story or text means. Fluency is the bridge between decoding words and understanding what has been read!

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Fluency is the ability to speak or read a language with ease and accuracy, and it is an essential component of language proficiency. When students aren't fluent they not only speak in fragments but also have difficulty understanding what is being said. This is why it is important to incorporate activities to increase fluency into routine reading instruction and reading intervention.

Fluency activities are designed to help English Learners improve their fluency by providing opportunities to practice speaking and listening in a natural and fun way. We'll explore some effective fluency activities that can be used in the classroom or at home to help language learners develop their fluency and reading skills. These activities are designed to be fun and engaging while also providing learners with the opportunity to practice their language skills in a real-life context.

Why Is Reading Fluency Important?

Building fluency is important for a number of reasons. It allows for better comprehension and understanding of the text being read. This is also sometimes referred to as comprehension instruction. When a reader is fluent, they are able to read smoothly and accurately, which means they can focus on the meaning of the text rather than decoding of the words. Improving fluency skills is also important for vocabulary acquisition, as it allows readers to encounter and process more words in a shorter amount of time as they become more fluent.

Research has shown reading fluency has been positively correlated with academic success. Children who are more fluent readers tend to perform better in school and have an easier time learning new information. But along with an ease of learning, fluency has the potential to develop a love of reading as well-because at the heart of education, we don't just want students to simply understand what they are reading. We want them to care about what they are learning as well. Strong reading fluency has the ability to join academic success with an adoration of reading.

Ten Reading Fluency Activities

Obviously one of the best ways to increase reading fluency skills is simply to read. But there are a number of different ways to make the simple task of reading more fun and engaging for young learners. Many of these activities are not meant to be done exclusively, but instead in combination with each other. Incorporating a variety of activities will allow learners to experience different aspects of each activity they may not get from doing just one routine assignment.

Repeated Reading

Repeated reading is a strategy that involves reading the same passage multiple times with the goal of increasing fluency and reading comprehension. The idea behind this activity is that with each reading, the student will continually become more familiar with the text.

Quite often, we miss things on a first read through that we pick up later-even adults. Therefore, repeated reading is good practice for everyone. This activity can lead to improved fluency, accuracy, and understanding of a given text. It can also help with vocabulary acquisition and retention.

One tip for repeated reading is to focus on a different aspect of the text. For example, on the first reading, students can focus on the meaning or plot of the text. On the second reading, they can focus on the structure or the author's choices. And on the third reading, they can focus on the vocabulary. With each reading, students will become more fluent as they add each focus to their repertoire.

Sentence Pyramids

This activity involves building a pyramid of sentences by starting with a short, simple sentence and adding more complex elements to it with the goal of helping readers understand the structure and meaning of a sentence.

Some of the benefits of using this activity include improved understanding of sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary. As sentence pyramids build upon each other, readers see how different parts of speech work together to create meaning.

One tip for sentence pyramids is to have the teacher or students write the initial sentence at the top of a page or a board and then work their way down as the sentence begins to grow and expand. You should then be able to draw an actual triangle around the completed assignment to give students a visual of how sentences can grow and expand.

Partner Reading

Partner reading involves having two people read a text together, usually with one person reading aloud and the other person listening and providing feedback. This allows students to practice basic skills such as identifying sight words and decoding, but it can also help to improve pronunciation and intonation for the reader. The listener in this activity will also develop listening skills and critical thinking skills as they provide feedback.

As students take turns reading and listening in partner reading, a private yet supportive setting is created, where both reading comprehension and reading confidence can grow. More student-centered approaches like partner reading or dialogic reading allow students to take more active roles in their learning.

One tip for partner reading is to encourage partners to offer a "glow" and a "grow." A "glow" is something their partner did really well during the reading, and a "grow" is a suggestion for improvement.

Stop the Pointing

Sometimes students will point at each word they are reading when they learn. While this may help at first, it can eventually hinder students from reading seamlessly and fluently. Pointing at the words as they are reading them can cause a student's reading to sound like a choppy robot voice rather than smooth.

Instead of having students point at every word as it is being read, have students only point at unknown words. This can help develop vocabulary skills by only slowing students down on new words that may need a little more thought rather than pausing on every word.

Reading Contests

Learners always seem to be motivated by competition, and reading can involve a spirit of competitiveness. Set up a reading contest that encourages students to read a certain number of books or pages-or for a certain amount of time-and then reward them for their efforts.

The reading contest goals should be set up against themselves, not against each other. By having students compete against themselves, teachers are letting each student practice goal setting based on their own reading abilities and interests. Teachers can even place students in small groups with similar interests and independent levels as a way of creating a support system of peers who can encourage students in their reading goals.

Scooping Phrases

Scooping phrases involves breaking a sentence into smaller chunks or phrases and reading them one at a time instead of reading the entire sentence all at once. This allows students to focus on the meaning of individual parts of a sentence, which can be more approachable for students at a younger reading level.

This activity is especially beneficial for students who are only reading and pronouncing one word at a time in a sentence with a big pause in between each word. Moving from reading each individual word to reading whole phrases is an important step many students struggle with at first.

One tip for how to implement this activity is to use phrase cards, similar to how one would use flashcards to learn individual words. Write some common phrases on the cards with a long curved line underneath the whole phrase. Have students read each word and then trace the line with their finger as they reread the whole phrase smoothly.

Echo Read

Echo reading involves reading a sentence or passage out loud and then having someone repeat it, imitating their intonation and inflection. This is often done first with a teacher modeling how to read a text fluently before students practice echoing the teacher's fluency and expression. Students can also echo read with a peer and take turns reading a book together.

Echo reading promotes fluency in a guided way that eventually fosters fluency during independent reading as well. When students see how words can come to life through proper expression and pronunciation, the meaning of the words becomes more powerful.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud is one of the most traditional forms of learning how to read, creating a more accurate reader of each student. Even as education has transformed with advancements in research and technology, the timeless act of reading out loud has always been a beneficial activity. One thing to remember with the read aloud is it will grow and evolve with each varying grade level. At a younger age, students need to hear the teacher reading aloud often as a model for fluency. However in older grades, students take a more active role in practicing their fluency by reading aloud. For example, fluency for fourth and fifth grades may involve more interactive activities, like a reader's theater.

Timed Reading

One element of fluency is the speed at which a student can read. Timed reading is an activity helpful for measuring the speed and accuracy of a student. A passage with more high-frequency words may be read more quickly, but reading passages with new vocabulary and complex syntax may cause students to read more slowly.

One tip for timed reading activities is to record a student's oral reading of a book or passage. Set a timer, hit record, and see how much the student is able to get through in the given time. Then, both students and teachers can use the recording to evaluate their performance. Another tip is to use a short amount of time, such as one to two minutes. With practice, students will be able to increase their words per minute over time.

Audio Books

Audio books are a great resource when it comes to utilizing technology to support teaching fluency. Often, especially at a younger age, reading involves much more than just the eyes. Students may need to read with their eyes as they look at the words, their fingers as they trace the words across the page, and their ears as they hear a text being read out loud to them.

Audio books are especially beneficial for students who may have a learning disability like dyslexia. When a teacher cannot read every text out loud to each student, audio books allow for differentiation and assistance. As students hear the sounds and rhythms of spoken language, they improve their own reading skills. Just make sure students are still following along with a printed version of the text if possible rather than use audio books in isolation.

Final Thoughts

Time spent frequently reading is the best way to achieve fluency, and there are a myriad of different activities that can make words on a page come to life for all types of learners. The key to fluency really is repetition of reading, and with so many different options and activities, students can become stronger readers while also having fun. Fluency is one of the key elements of reading that we focus on at Voyager Sopris Learning ®, and we strive to assist educators by offering tools and resources to support their reading instruction.

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Reading Activities That Will Increase Fluency

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Fluency is the ability to speak or read a language with ease and accuracy, and it is an essential component of language proficiency. When students aren't fluent they not only speak in fragments but also have difficulty understanding what is being said.

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A sound scavenger hunt would be a great activity to help kids become more understanding of phonemic awareness. This activity promotes independent play while still having students recognizing individual sounds in a word. This activity is suitable for all students because they are working to find the items and together as a class we will work together to see if the correct items were found and why or not.

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Comprehension is the ability to understand and interpret meaning from both spoken and written language. Essential for effective communication, comprehension facilitates learning, problem-solving, and everyday decision-making. In educational contexts, it is crucial for students to process and engage with complex materials successfully, aiding in overall academic achievement and the ability to follow discussions and instructions.

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1. Anderson, R.C., Hiebert, E.H., Scott, J.A., & Wilkinson, I.A.G. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC: The National Institute of Education.

2. Durkin, D. (1978-1979). What classroom observations reveal about reading comprehension instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 15, 481-533.

3. Dole, J. A., Duffy, G. G., Roehler, L. R., & Pearson, P. D. (1991). Moving from the old to the new: Research on reading comprehension instruction. Review of Educational Research, 61, 239-264.

4. Heilman, A. W., Blair, T. R., & Rupley, W. R. (1998). Principles and practices of teaching reading. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall.

5 Baker, L., & Brown, A.L. (1984). Metacognitive skills in reading. In P.D. Pearson (Ed.), Handbook of reading research (pp. 353-394). New York: Longman; Paris, S.G., Wasik, B.A., & Turner, J. C. (1991). The development of strategic readers. In R. Barr, M.L. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, & P.D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. 2, 609-640). New York: Longman.

6 Dole et al., 1991.

7 Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading. Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

8 Paris, S. C., Wasik, B. A., & Turner, J. C. (1991). The development of strategic readers. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 2, pp. 609-640). New York: Longman.

9 Paris, S.G., Lipson, M.Y., & Wixson, K.K. (1983). Becoming a strategic reader. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 293-316.

10 Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehensionmonitoring activities. Cognition & Instruction, 2, 117-175.

11 Palincsar & Brown, 1984.

12 Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995.

13 Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.

14 Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (1998). What reading does for the mind. American Educator, 22, 8-15.

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What Research Tells Us About Reading, Comprehension, and Comprehension Instruction

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The purpose of reading is comprehension - getting meaning from written text. Find out what else research tells us about the active process of constructing meaning, and how good readers consciously employing comprehension strategies.

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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.

Strong readers think actively as they read. They use their experiences and knowledge of the world, vocabulary, language structure, and reading strategies to make sense of the text and know how to get the most out of it. They know when they have problems with understanding and what thinking strategies to use to resolve these problems when they pop up.

Teachers can play a critical role in helping students develop their comprehension skills. Reading research has shown that comprehension instruction can help students do a better job of understanding and remembering what they read. Good instruction can also help students communicate with others, verbally and in writing, about what they've read.

What good readers do

Draw on prior knowledge. Good readers draw on prior knowledge and experience to help them understand what they are reading.

Draw inferences. In addition to understanding the literal points that the author is making, good readers are able to "read between the lines" and draw inferences about a wide range of hidden meanings, such as why events are unfolding as they do, why characters behave in a certain way, what the characters are thinking, and what might happen next.

Self-monitor. During reading, good readers learn to monitor their understanding, adjust their reading speed to fit the difficulty of the text, and address any comprehension problems they have. After reading, they check their understanding of what they have read. Students who are good at monitoring their comprehension know when they understand what they're reading and when they don't.

Form mental images. Good readers often form mental pictures, or images, as they read. Readers (especially younger readers) who picture the story during reading understand and remember what they read better than readers who do not create a picture in their mind.

Summarize and retell. Summarizing requires students to determine what is important in the text and then put it into their own words by retelling, verbally or in writing. Instruction in summarizing can help students become more purposeful as they read and more skillful in comprehending. Summarizing can help students to:

Identify main ideas orally or in writing.

Connect the main or central ideas orally or in writing.

Learn to weed out unnecessary information.

Remember what they have read.

Can your child tell you what happened in the story?

This video is from Home Reading Helper, a resource for parents to elevate children's reading at home provided by Read Charlotte . Find more video, parent activities, printables, and other resources at Home Reading Helper .

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Comprehension is understanding what you read - the goal of reading! It is the thinking process readers use to understand what they read. Strong vocabulary, background knowledge, and an understanding of how language works are keys to comprehension.

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A rich vocabulary allows children to say exactly what they mean. Knowing and using lots of words helps them to understand what others are saying, to talk and write in an engaging way, and to better understand the world around them.

Support from parents makes a massive difference to the number and variety of words a child knows. One of the best ways to improve your child's vocabulary is to play word games and activities at home. Not only is this an effective way to boost your child's future success - it can also be fun and engaging for the whole family!

Here are some ideas for fun games you can play to build your child's vocabulary and confidence with words.

Building your toddler's vocabulary

Ask questions about stories. For example, 'Is Buzz helpful to Woody? Is the Gruffalo really scary? Do you think the mouse is a clever mouse? How do you know?'

From nursery onwards, encourage your child to answer questions in developed phrases rather than in one or two words.

Try to add more description to your own speech. For example, saying 'Please could you pass me the large blue spoon with the wooden handle?' exposes your child to more words than just saying 'Please could you pass me the spoon?'

Building your child's vocabulary at primary school

Ideally, a new word needs to be used six to twelve times, in different ways, to be remembered long term. Here are some ideas for repeating and reusing words in interesting ways.

1. Play word games

You could explore synonyms (words that mean the same thing) together. See how many different words your child can think of for nice, pretty, or tall. Some healthy competition with friends or siblings can help to make this fun.

2. Act out abverbs

Ask your child to scamper silently, crawl slowly, scuttle rapidly, smile sweetly, or speak menacingly. Children love this!

3. Master meaning

When reading together, ask your child questions focusing around a particular word, such as:

'Could we say that Verruca Salt is selfish? Why? Why not?'

'Could a selfish person ever be kind? Can you give an example?'

'Is Charlie Bucket selfish? Could we say he is unselfish?'

'When have you been unselfish? Does unselfish mean the same thing as kind?'

4. Talk at the table

Talk about food when you're at the dinner table. Use interesting words to describe what you are eating: 'My peas are not just nice and tasty - they are delicious, they are scrumptious. Do you think they are scrumptious?'

Dinnertime is also a good opportunity to ask your child about their day. For example, you could ask, 'What do you remember from your lessons today?' and encourage lots of detail. You can model this by talking about your own day first.

5. Use interesting words

When you talk to your child, try to use interesting words. For example, 'When I gave my friend her present, she was delighted. Delighted is a strong word for happy. I'm always delighted when you help me tidy up - what makes you delighted?'

Try to model using adjectives (words that describe nouns, like 'yellow' or 'smooth') and adverbs (words that describe verbs, like 'happily' or 'quickly') in your day-to-day speech. For example: 'Can you smell the freshly cut grass?'

6. Discover language on the go

Visit your local museum and ask your child to describe the pictures or exhibits they see. Take your child along with you as you head off to the bank, the grocery shop, or the post office, and see what new words you can discover.

7. Play 'word/not word'

Another way to stretch your child's use of new words is to play 'word/not word'. This works by choosing a word (for example, 'delightful'), and seeing what ideas your child associates with it. For instance, you could say to your child, 'If I say something that you love, say "delightful". If you don't love it, say "not delightful".' Then ask your child why they responded as they did.

For example, you could try these ideas: opening presents on your birthday; eating sprouts; laughing at the puppy; eating ice cream; going to bed early; reading a book; riding your bike.

Now you can vary the game, using 'beautiful/not beautiful', 'hilarious/not hilarious', 'exciting/not exciting', and so on.

Things worth remembering

Try to make time for your child to give full answers. Encourage them to answer in full sentences, or starting with because.

It's okay for your child to make mistakes, and it's okay for you to correct them. A gentle way to do this is to say something back to them the correct way. For example, if your child says 'It weren't me!', you could respond, 'It wasn't you?'.

A good idea to boost vocabulary is to watch BBC Newsround with your child and discuss the issues involved. This is great for improving your child's understanding of the world too!

Teach the correct word for things as they come up in conversation (for example, 'helmet' instead of 'hat' or 'rabbit' instead of 'bunny').

Have a simple dictionary or thesaurus to hand and explore word meanings together. Googling on your phone can also be helpful if you're not sure.

Above all, have fun and remember that children learn at different speeds!

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Building a strong vocabulary: How to help at home - Oxford Owl for Home

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A rich vocabulary allows children to say exactly what they mean. Knowing and using lots of words helps them to understand what others are saying, to talk and write in an engaging way, and to better understand the world around them. Support from parents makes a massive difference to the number and variety of words a child knows.

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National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000b). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups (NIH Publication No. 00-4754). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

National Reading Panel (2001). "Frequently asked questions." [Online]. Available: http:// www.nationalreadingpanel.org/faq/faq.htm

New York State Education Department, Office of Bilingual Education. (2000). The teaching of language arts to limited English proficient/English language learners: A resource guide for all teachers. Albany, NY: Author.

Peregoy, S. F. & Boyle, O. F. (2000). English learners reading English: What we know, what we need to know. Theory into practice, 39(4), 237-247.

Ramirez, J.D. (2001). Bilingualism and literacy: Problem or opportunity? A synthesis of reading research on bilingual students. A Research Symposium on High Standards in Reading for Students in Diverse Language Groups: Research, Policy, and Practice. Washington, D.C.: Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, U.S. Department of Education.

Rodriguez, A. (1988). Research in reading and writing in bilingual education and English as a second language. In A. Ambert (Ed.), Bilingual Education and English as a Second Language. New York: Garland Pub.

Snow, C., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

U.S. Congress, No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110), 2001.

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English Language Learners and the Five Essential Components of Reading Instruction

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Find out how teachers can play to the strengths and shore up the weaknesses of English Language Learners in each of the Reading First content areas.

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Research shows that to get every child reading and spelling we need to teach phonics with a systematic and explicit approach. In the United Kingdom this approach is known as synthetic phonics. We're a global team, but it's the UK's recommendations that have informed Phonics Hero; it's thorough, comprehensive and well-tested.

What is a Synthetic Phonics Approach?

Synthetic phonics is a strange, technical name that has nothing to do with being artificial! The 'synthetic' name comes from the synthesising or blending of sounds to make a word and enable children to read. The teaching reading and spelling with synthetic phonics will have the following characteristics:

1) A simple to complex logic

The English language has 26 letters but 44 unique sounds, each with lots of different ways to spell them. A synthetic phonics approach will teach these 44 sounds from the simple to the more complicated logic.

First off, children are taught that each alphabet letter has its own unique sound. For example:

Once children have this concept, the logic is made a little harder. Two (or sometimes three) letters can also come together to make a new sound. For example:

The next layer of complexity is where you really start to see spelling improve. Children learn that a sound can be represented in many ways. For example the /ee/ sound:

Finally, children will learn that a letter or group of letters can represent different sounds. For example:

2) Decoding is the first strategy to read and it should happen quickly

As soon as children have learned between 6-8 alphabet sounds, they must start blending to read words. Many programs will wait until children know all 26 alphabet sounds. This is completely unnecessary - it should be done much earlier. By doing it earlier, we demonstrate to children why we are learning the sounds; to blend words to read.

The process of reading involves decoding or 'breaking' words into separate sounds, which can then be blended together to read an unknown word. Children tackle each word with four steps:

3) Spelling is taught alongside with reading

The process of spelling is the reverse to reading. It requires children to identify the sounds in a word and then to match a letter (or letters) with that sound to essentially 'make' the word. This takes a five step process:

4) Children practise their skills with decodable texts

Let's assume that children have learned eight sounds:

The texts children practise and apply their knowledge with, should only use the sounds the children have been taught. Many phonics books and apps make the mistake of giving words which are child-friendly and use the target sound, but throw in sounds which the children simply have not learned yet. For example:

The /oo/ in 'moon', the /u/ in 'mud' and the /e/ in 'men' haven't been taught yet (remember the child has only learned: satpinmd, so far). It is therefore unfair to expect a child to read these words if they don't have the knowledge of all the sounds. In synthetic phonics, children only read words which use the sounds they have learned - they will be entirely decodable. Look at all the words they could read with only these 8 sounds:

At a Glance, Synthetic Phonics Teaches Children:

That spoken words are composed of sounds.

The 44 sounds of the English language.

To blend sounds in a word to read.

To listen for sounds in words to spell.

All the different ways each sound can be represented, e.g. the sound /a/ as in 'apron' can be spelled: 'ay' like in 'pay, 'ai' like in 'paid', 'a' like in 'apron', 'eigh' like in 'eight' and so on.

Irregular, high-frequency words (we call them camera or tricky words), which are essential to help children progress the quality of their writing and move onto reading full sentences.

The sound first and then the letter name.

Learn More:

Watch our introductory video

For more reading on synthetic phonics, check out:

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Synthetic Phonics Explained | Phonics Hero

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Synthetic phonics explained! How it works for both reading and spelling. 7 day trial for parents & free resources for teachers.

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Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression.Fluent reading builds stamina for reading lengthy or complex texts. Reading fluency serves as a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

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Ready4K® - Evidence-Based Family Engagement

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I recently got into a debate about learning languages with a fellow educator. As an ELL teacher, my friend had worked with students who spoke a huge variety of home languages - Urdu, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Russian, Hindi, and Bengali, just to name a few. Our conversation centered on the question of which language was most complex to learn, as a first or as a second language.

After dueling over the intricacies of sentence structure, pronunciation, and verb conjugation, we arrived at the topic of vocabulary development. Our debate morphed into curiosity, and we ended up researching the alphabet and the total count of words estimated in each of the top three languages spoken in the world today (according to Berlitz). Here's what we learned:

1. English is estimated to have over 1 million words made using 26 letters (though the average dictionary only contains around 400,000 defined entries.)

2. Mandarin uses about 7,000 characters to create 106,230 words.

3. In Hindi, writers have access to over 1.5 lakh (i.e. 150,000 words) using 48 letters, but only if they're using the Devanāgarī alphabet - Brahmi is a bit different.

Though we still have differing opinions about language complexity, my friend and I did agree on one thing: our students' vocabulary development is essential for their future success in school and the world beyond.

Vocabulary development and its impact on literacy

Let's take a closer look at the intricacies of vocabulary development and its impact on a student's reading skills like decoding and other core abilities!

What do educators mean by "vocabulary"?

Put simply, when we educators talk about a student's vocabulary, we are referring to the words they know and can use accurately to communicate. There are four types of vocabulary that children build as they grow:

Listening vocabulary, which refers to the words a child needs to know to understand what they hear

Speaking vocabulary, or the words a child uses when talking

Reading vocabulary, also known as the words a child needs to know to understand what they are reading

Writing vocabulary, which refers to the words a child uses in writing

Each plays an important role in vocabulary development overall. They also have positive effects in building early reading skills and more, too.

What's the nature of vocabulary acquisition and growth?

Language is a foundation for literacy, so it's not surprising that vocabulary development in children starts at the same time as their oral language development, beginning as early as 10 months of age. There are two types of language that children build in these early years. Expressive language refers to the use of words, sentences, gestures, and writing to convey meaning to others. Receptive language refers to understanding words and language around a child, though not necessarily using them.

Both expressive vocabulary and receptive vocabulary are important for children to communicate effectively. They also play an essential role in vocabulary development and other areas of literacy, such as phonetic skills, later in that child's life. Individual differences in children's early language skills can be affected by a number of factors, too, like home environment and socio-economic status. When combined, these can contribute to or reduce the risk of a vocabulary gap developing between kids by the time they reach age 2 ( Attig & Weinert, 2020).

This method of learning has been studied by researchers for decades, helping educators understand why a language-rich environment matters for early vocabulary development in young children ( Hansen & Broekhuizen, 2020). Educators and families both can make meaningful differences in individual children's literacy when they help them build both expressive vocabulary and receptive vocabulary early on.

How do teachers teach vocabulary?

In addition to exposing children to a wide range of words in multiple ways, educators can - and should - also explicitly teach vocabulary to individual children to build their knowledge of words and expand their ability to communicate in multiple ways. More specifically, effective and explicit vocabulary instruction should "[bring] students' attentional focus to words in ways that promote not just knowing word meanings, but also understanding how words work and how to utilize word knowledge effectively" ( McKeown, 2019).

Here's how one teacher describes her approach to vocabulary instruction in the classroom:

"My daily Language Arts classroom routine begins with silent independent reading (indirect). We continue on with the direct instruction of the day's two new vocabulary words and then on to the literary analysis [of reading material] and/or writing tasks of the day... No matter what, vocabulary instruction is paramount."Vocab Gal

Because of the nature of vocabulary acquisition, teachers have a huge variety of ways they can teach students new words and their meanings from context or more explicitly. These include, but are not limited to:

Using semantic mapping, where words are visually displayed with connections linking to related words or concepts

Repeatedly exposing students to words across multiple contexts, such as seeing them on a poster board in class, hearing them spoken by their teacher, and reading them in different texts

Teaching students specific word analysis strategies that help students break apart a word into recognizable parts to help them practice saying it and understanding it in context

Creating a visual reference for a word, like a picture or even a visual dictionary, to pair with print vocabulary and help students understand its meaning from context

For more methods driving vocabulary development in school, take a look at WeAreTeachers' list of activities for kids across grades K-12.

How can teachers assess vocabulary growth? Do "vocabulary scores" exist?

Vocabulary growth and knowledge is highly nuanced, which makes any measure of vocabulary equality nuanced. In their article published with Reading Rockets, Katherine Stahl and Marco Bravo share that US educators often assess vocabulary development in American children "at the end of a unit using a multiple-choice task, a fill-in-the-blank task or matching task." There are other generalized tools available to teachers as a measure of vocabulary, such as the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test or other standardized tests that might vary by state.

In short, there are a number of tools available that may serve as a measure of vocabulary, but no single method is the way to assess this knowledge. What's clear, though, is that becoming a strong, confident reader means much more than having specific vocabulary scores or other measures of word knowledge.

Continue reading Stahl and Bravo's article to explore the nuances of vocabulary assessments further.

What impact does learning vocabulary have on reading?

A student's development of vocabulary isn't just about learning a new language, independent reading, or improving crossword puzzle skills - though it certainly helps! Vocabulary is a core factor that contributes to a child's overall literacy and reading competency, both of which help children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

As the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education explains, "To learn to read, children must develop both fluent word reading and language comprehension ( Gough & Tunmer, 1986). Language comprehension encompasses vocabulary and morphology, knowledge, syntax, and higher-level language skills."

It's worth noting that each of these factors of literacy come from a body of scientific literature known as the science of reading. Though commonly misunderstood as a specific curriculum or type of instruction, the science of reading really refers to what research tells us about reading development and things like the nature of vocabulary acquisition.

In their 2015 study, Duff, Tomblin, and Catts found meaningful differences in vocabulary growth between students, impacted by a student's reading ability. A student's rate of vocabulary growth after 4th grade was significantly related to that student's word reading in the 4th grade. As the authors described it, "Strong readers [in 4th grade] experienced a higher rate of vocabulary growth than did average readers."

This effect on vocabulary growth rates matters hugely for vocabulary development - especially for the 25 million American children who struggle with reading and English language learners who may need up to 14 exposures to a word and its meaning in order to fully learn it.

It's essential to understand that vocabulary development isn't just critical for toddlers or school-age children. Yes, little ones are especially good at absorbing new information about the world around them, sponging up things like words and their meanings. And yes, the number of words in a student's vocabulary in kindergarten can affect the expansiveness of their 10th-grade vocabulary.

However, vocabulary development also continues well into adulthood. In their 2022 examination of longitudinal studies on adult vocabulary, Gitit Kavé found that in general vocabulary scores and knowledge increases across one's life all the way up to and through their mid-60s. While there is much to be studied about the precise nature of vocabulary acquisition in adulthood, it's clear that learning new words and gaining exposure to them benefits students long after they leave the classroom.

The role of families in building a strong vocabulary

And... vocabulary development in school can be positively impacted by vocabulary development at home, and vice versa!

Parents, caregivers, and guardians play an essential role in their children's language development across all ages, from fundamentals like phonetic skills to more complex knowledge like academic vocabulary. Families also possess immense wealth of knowledge about that child's use of language at home and out in the community. This information can be crucial for an educator to guide that student's vocabulary growth. Further, for multilingual learners especially, effective family engagement strategies are especially powerful in helping them improve their knowledge of the English language.

When school staff employ a strengths-based approach to partnership, they unlock amazing support for student vocabulary development that complements formal reading instruction. If you're familiar at all with ParentPowered and our ParentPowered curricula, our enthusiasm for getting families involved in vocabulary development shouldn't be a surprise!

High-impact family engagement is at the heart of everything that we build. This emphasis on strong family-school partnerships stems from research long indicating the benefits that engaged families offer to school communities. Among these benefits are improved reading scores, increased attendance rates, and increased graduation rates - just to name a few.

In the end, families contribute greatly to student literacy, and especially vocabulary development. It takes the adults both at school and at home to create strong readers with expansive vocabularies.

Expanding vocabulary development at home, from birth to adolescence

Across all grade levels, families have the opportunity to positively influence students' level of vocabulary knowledge. We've compiled a list of family activities geared towards building reading, writing, listening, and oral vocabulary with kids, from birth to adolescence. Share them with your community today, or continue exploring more examples of family engagement activities at home!

Infancy & early childhood

In the first months of a child's life, they develop their earliest speech and language skills that will later support learning vocabulary as they get older. A variety of factors can influence this early learning and rates of vocabulary growth, for better or worse. In fact, longitudinal studies have shown that the effects of socio-economics are evident in children at just 18 months of age ( Fernald, Marchman & Weisleder, 2013).

Insights like this underscore the essential role of families in vocabulary development - and the need for educators and community organizations to support all families equitably in that role. After all, equity in education is critical for student success at any age.

Here is a family-friendly and equitable activity from ParentPowered curricula to support infants with early language development:

For more insights about early language and speech development, take a look at key milestones by age outlined by Stanford Children's Health.

PreK & Kindergarten

As children approach their first day of formal schooling, their vocabulary development shifts into a higher gear. Children's total vocabulary expands rapidly between ages 4 to 6, with students acquiring an average of 70 new words and their meanings per month!

Research also shows that children's vocabulary during these years is closely connected with their development of comprehension skills later in elementary school, so it is essential for families to continue nurturing word recognition, usage, and exposure.

Share this activity from our ParentPowered programs with your PreK families to expand kids' vocabularies and set them up for successful reading in the future:

Did you know? ParentPowered has a series of family workshops for families and kids alike! These videos guide students to explore and practice critical academic and life skills, including learning new words. Share these and more clips from The Big Fancy Word Lady with your PreK and kindergarten families!

Elementary school

Students continue expanding their vocabularies throughout elementary school, combining this knowledge with greater maturity as they also develop their comprehension skills, fluency, and more abilities that contribute to reading.

While classroom activities often apply explicit approaches to build vocabulary, teachers also use subtle ways, such like reading out loud. As one elementary school teacher puts it, "The key to 'real-life-like' vocabulary instruction is not to force it...what's more crucial to ongoing vocabulary development is modeling when and how to be inquisitive about words."

Outside of the classroom, families can also foster students' curiosity through exposure to new words, their meanings in context, and their use in language. Most recommendations emphasize the importance of creating a language-rich environment around their children, which research suggests boosts not only children's vocabulary in kindergarten but also later in elementary school ( Walker et al, 1994). But "language-rich" doesn't just mean having more books or other resources around a student at home. Elementary school families can nurture vocabulary development without needing extra time, tools, or expertise.

Your upper elementary school families will love this ParentPowered activity geared towards helping 4th-grade students explore new words:

For more family-friendly ways to support elementary school vocabulary growth, take a look at this list of activities from Upper Elementary Snapshots.

Middle & high school (aka adolescence)

Between the ages of 6 and 12, just before adolescence, an average student has grown their total vocabulary knowledge from about 20,000 words to over 50,000! That rate of word acquisition is the fastest in a student's learning life thus far. But vocabulary development in school doesn't stop here - and neither does a family's role in building these skills.

Research indicates that ongoing growth of vocabulary is essential for middle school students' literacy needs ( Harmon, 2000), as larger vocabularies allow students to dive deeper into learning in other subject areas. But vocabulary development can be challenging for adolescents who already struggle with reading. A lack of word knowledge also disrupts both reading comprehension and fluency in reading, two critical literacy skills at any grade level.

It's also important to recognize that high school and middle school family engagement look quite different from that of elementary school. Rather than take a direct approach to support student learning, families can make a greater impact in adolescents' learning through indirect approaches like academic socialization and supporting social-emotional development.

This activity is one of our favorite ways to encourage adolescent family engagement and boost vocabulary and reading development in students at home:

Many classroom-based activities can also be adapted to the home environment. Take a look at Professor William P. Bintz' exploration of middle school vocabulary instruction, or explore these activities shared by teachers from the field. For both middle and high school activities, this guide to vocabulary development in secondary grades is a helpful starting point.

Expanded vocabulary unlocks expanded potential

"There's a power in words. There's a power in being able to explain and describe and articulate what you know and feel and believe about the world, and about yourself."Tracy Chapman

A student's words hold immense potential and influence in their learning journey. Developing and expanding their vocabulary knowledge becomes essential to empower each and every child to become a self-sufficient, compassionate, and collaborative adult in the world.

When educators and families come together with this mission in mind, they create a continuous and supportive learning community around a student that catalyzes their growth. In such an environment, students can navigate any challenge - whether it's learning multiple languages, solving a crossword puzzle, or changing the world!

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4 Vocabulary Development Activities for Families at All Ages

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Vocabulary development is essential for reading and writing. Discover how ParentPowered helps families boost students' word knowledge!

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Adams, M., Treiman, R., & Pressley, M. (1998). Reading, writing and literacy. In I. E. Siegal and K. A. Renniger (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Child psychology in practice (5th ed., Vol. 4, pp. 275-355). New York: Wiley.

Bear, D. Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (1996). Words their way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (1991). Conditions of vocabulary acquisition. In P. D. Pearson (Ed.), The Handbook of Reading Research (Vol. 2, pp. 789-814). New York: Longman Press.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Omanson, R. C. (1984). The fertility of some types of vocabulary instruction. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., Hamilton, R. L., & Kucan, L. Getting at the meaning: How to help students unpack difficult text. American Educator, 22, 66-71, 85.

Beck, I. L., McCaslin, E. C., & McKeown, M. G. (1980). The rationale and design of a program to teach vocabulary to fourth-grade students. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center.

Berninger, V., Vaughan, K., Abbott, R., Brooks, A., Abbott, S., Reed, E., Rogan, L., & Graham, S. (1998). Early intervention for spelling problems: Teaching spelling units of varying size within a multiple connections framework. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 587-605.

Berninger, V., Vaughan, K., Abbott, R., Abbott, S., Brooks, A., Rogan, L., Reed, E., & Graham, S. (1997). Treatment of handwriting fluency problems in beginning writing: Transfer from handwriting to composition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 652-666.

Durkin, D. (1993). Teaching them to read (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Ehri, L., & Soffer, A. (1999). Graphophonemic awareness: Development in elementary students. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3, 1-30.

Fletcher, J. M., & Lyon, G. R. (1998). Reading: A research-based approach. In W. Evers (Ed.), What's gone wrong in America's classrooms (pp. 49-90). Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press.

Graham, S., Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Abbott, S., & Whitaker, D. (1997). The role of mechanics in composing of elementary school students: A new methodological approach. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 170-182.

Learning First Alliance (1998). Every child reading: An action plan. Washington, DC: Author.

Moats, L. C. (1995). The missing foundation in teacher education. American Educator, 19(2), 9, 43-51.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Fluency. Chap. 3 in Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: Reports of the subgroups (pp. 3-1-3-43). Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Text comprehension. Part 2 of Chap. 4 in Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: Reports of the subgroups (pp. 4-39-4-118). Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Vocabulary instruction. Part 1 of Chap. 4 in Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: Reports of the subgroups (pp. 4-15-4-38). Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.

Pressley, M. (1998). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. New York: Guilford Press.

Scarborough, H., Ehri, L., Olson, R., & Fowler, A. (1998). The fate of phonemic awareness beyond the early school years. Scientific Studies of Reading, 2, 115-142.

Snow, C., Burns, S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children (pp. 80-83). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Treiman, R. (1993). Beginning to spell. New York: Oxford University Press.

In addition to their mention in Every Child Reading: An Action Plan, these components are commonly delineated in documents such as research reviews, state standards on instruction, the Reading Excellence Act funding criteria, curriculum guidelines, and teacher instructional manuals.

Of course, as the National Reading Panel notes, "phonics teaching is a means to an end... . In implementing systematic phonics instruction, educators must keep the end in mind and ensure that children understand the purpose of learning letter sounds and that they are able to apply these skills accurately and fluently in their daily reading and writing activities" (Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Health, 2000, p. 10). The panel's report also states that, notwithstanding the fact that explicit, systematic, synthetic phonics is the most effective approach, there remain unanswered questions on how to make this instruction as effective as possible. For example, the panel notes that more research is needed on questions such as how long single instruction sessions should last, how many letter-sound relations should be taught, and how many months or years a phonics program should continue. Moreover, some children will learn and appropriately apply phonics skills quickly and effortlessly, while others must be taught slowly, step by step. The individual variation in any group remains a continual challenge to teacher judgment, resourcefulness, and program management skill.

In the standardization of the Texas Primary Reading Inventory, these subtests combined predict the likelihood of success or failure with about 90 percent accuracy.

The readability of text, as reflected in sentence complexity and frequency of vocabulary, can now be assessed with software. Readability formulas tend to have more validity for children who have attained a reading level above 2nd grade than they do for those who are just beginning to read, and readability does not reflect the extent to which a text is decodable on the basis of what a child has been taught.

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9 Components of Effective, Research-Supported Reading Instruction

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We know from research that an effective reading program must address several aspects of reading. Among others, these aspects include the alphabetic code, fluency, comprehension, and motivation.

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1. Read to students every day

2. Support students' comprehension as much as possible

3. Teach the alphabet when necessary

4. Teach phonics in context

5. Check comprehension frequently

7. Support native language literacy

8. Encourage reading outside of the classroom

9. Establish an English Language Learner Center

10. Make up individualized activity packs for your newcomers

You are welcome to print copies for non-commercial use, or a limited number for educational purposes, as long as credit is given to Reading Rockets and the author(s). For commercial use, please contact the author or publisher listed.

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Supporting ELLs in the Mainstream Classroom: Reading Instruction

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You can and should use what you already know to be effective, research-based reading instruction to English language learners (ELLs). However, ELLs will need additional support in learning how to read, and the strategies here will help you to provide assistance in your everyday teaching, particularly for newcomers (students who have recently arrived in the U.S.).

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This blog post is part of a Science of Reading series. This post is written by Lindsay Kemeny.

The more I learn about literacy, the more important it is to me to listen to high quality science of reading podcasts that encourage and understand effective, evidence-based reading practices. Here is a list of my favorite science of reading podcasts.

This is one of my go-to sources for information on the science of reading. The host is extremely knowledgeable, asks pertinent questions, and has a constant stream of expert guests.

Check out this interview with Margaret Goldberg and Alanna Mednick from The Right to Read Project. They address the science of reading in an easy to understand manner.

This podcast also has a recent series where they deconstruct Scarborough's Reading Rope, with a podcast dedicated to each strand of the rope. It's a must listen! Listen to the first episode in the series here.

This has quickly become one of my top favorite podcasts. Melissa and Lori are both fun, energetic, and engaging. They are both teachers so I love that their episodes are relatable and applicable.

I absolutely love this interview of a kindergarten teacher and how she learned about the science of reading and began implementing it immediately. It's inspiring and entertaining to listen to. I hope they do a follow up interview!

I know I can completely trust any information shared here on the Reading League's podcast. Laura Stewart is an amazing host and my only complaint is that there are not new episodes recorded more frequently.

Perhaps my favorite podcast episode ALL summer is the interview with Linnea Ehri. It was riveting to listen to her as she describes an interaction she had with Ken Goodman (who is often referred to as the father of whole language). Linnea Ehri is a literacy legend and this is an episode I can't wait to listen to again.

I also have to add the interview with Anita Archer. Dr. Archer is a personal hero of mine and I could listen to her all day.

I just recently discovered this podcast by Anna Geiger and quickly fell in love! Anna shares her journey into the science of reading. It's fascinating listening to her reactions of being offended and put off by Emily Hanford's articles and then her complete turn around to join forces with those of us implementing the science of reading. Her podcast is full of simple strategies and tips for teaching. Most of her episodes are only around 15 minutes long, making it an easy podcast to listen to on your way to work.

It's hard to choose a favorite, but this one will be a great place to start!

I love this podcast and Laura Axtell is such a great host.

I have always admired and respected William Van Cleave and the fact that he recently passed away makes this episode even more special. He is your go-to resource for writing, syntax, and grammar.

Glean Research is another solid podcast.

Dr. Jan Hasbrouck is THE fluency guru and this is a great interview where she talks about some of her recent research.

This podcast is sponsored by Voyager Sopris Learning. It is another credible podcast with a knowledgeable host, Pam Austin.

I bet you can guess the guest from the title. It's Anita Archer and, I mean, basically any time she gives a presentation or interview, I am hooked.

In Conclusion

Thank you so much Lindsay for helping us connect with science of reading podcasts that help us expand our Science of Reading knowledge and journey. Follow along with Lindsay's future endeavors on her website, The Learning Spark. Be sure to catch all future blog posts in the series by viewing tab. Thanks so much for joining in and see you again soon! - Tara West

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THE SCIENCE OF READING: Literacy Podcasts Worth Listening To

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This blog post is part of a Science of Reading series. This post is written by Lindsay Kemeny. The more I learn about literacy, the more important it is to me to listen to high quality science of reading podcasts that encourage and understand effective, evidence-based reading practices.

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The Five Essential Components of Reading | Reading Eggs Online Program | Learn to Read

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Comprehension: Defining the Key to Understanding

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Comprehension is the key to understanding. Discover the definition and importance of comprehension in this blog.

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by Jody B. Miller MA, CCC-SLP Integrated Pediatric Therapies

Since comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading, the importance of vocabulary development cannot be overestimated. A robust vocabulary improves all areas of communication - listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Vocabulary is critical to a child's success for these reasons:

Vocabulary growth is directly related to school achievement

The size of a child's vocabulary in kindergarten predicts the ability to learn to read

Vocabulary helps children to think and learn about the world

Expanding a child's knowledge of words provides unlimited access to new information

A 2012 study by Meredith Rowe, an Associate Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education at Harvard, discusses the ideas of quantity versus quality of speech used with infants and toddlers. At early ages (between 12 and 24 months), the amount of language used is important. Parents and other caregivers should speak to the child all the time and provide consistent word models. Children need to hear words modeled many times before they will begin to use the words, so the more frequently they are exposed to words, the better the likelihood that they will gain that word in their vocabulary. Between 24-36 months, it is recommended that caregivers begin to use different words, with greater variety to expand vocabulary skills.

Between 36-48 months, vocabulary begins to be more related to quality. During this stage, it is important to provide a child with narratives. Caregivers can speak about past and future events and provide explanations of these things. Begin using more sophisticated language and provide examples so the child can learn to understand new words based on descriptions related to words they already know. The important thing is to stay one step ahead of children in their development - modeling words and phrases that are slightly beyond the child's level will help develop a stronger vocabulary.

How do we help children do this? There are many ways to embed vocabulary into children's daily lives. Engaging in conversations and talking kids through their daily routines is a great way to build vocabulary skills. Concepts such as body parts are learned through diaper changing, dressing and bath times. Talking during pretend play, block building, meal times, motor play, music and sensory activities will introduce kids to a variety of concepts and descriptive words (i.e., hot, cold, big, tall, up, down, wet, dry, fast, slow).

Reading is another great activity to develop vocabulary. Parents shouldn't feel like they have to stick to the words on the page, either. Books with many pictures and few words are great conversation starters. Caregivers can talk about what they see on the page, point out interesting details, or follow the lead when their child points to something. Avoiding vague words is important as well. While it's easy to gesture in a general direction and say "that one" or "over there," nondescript words won't increase a child's vocabulary and knowledge the same way that pointing towards an object and describing it will--think of how many concepts the sentence "I see a big, green truck on the bottom shelf" includes!
Fun Ways to Practice Vocabulary
Use Theme-Related Magnet or Sticker Boards to Create Stories:
Animals, transportation, rooms in a house, princess castles or characters from familiar children's stories, such as The Three Bears
*Important for vocabulary development

Play Games:
I spy, hide-and-seek, Twenty Questions and bingo boards
*Great for identifying items based on clues

Incorporate Toys:
For example, Mr. Potato Head
*Helps with body part recognition

JCFS Chicago provides a continuum of therapeutic interventions for children from birth through adolescence. We evaluate and treat social, emotional and developmental delays using a variety of therapies, including developmental, occupational and speech and language therapies, social work and social skills development. In our clinic or in your home, our expert pediatric therapists bring a family-focused approach to your child's treatment. Call 847.412.4379 to schedule a free consultation.

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by Jody B. Miller MA, CCC-SLP Integrated Pediatric Therapies Since comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading, the importance of vocabulary development cannot be overestimated. A robust vocabulary improves all areas of communication - listening, speaking, reading and writing. Vocabulary is critical to a child's success for these reasons: