In 2000, the National Reading Panel determined that effective reading instruction required five key concepts: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. In recent years the evidence-backed approach is making headlines in a concerted effort to turn the tide against low reading scores.

Now, school districts are changing their outdated textbooks across the country and banning ineffective teaching methods. Many teachers, students, and parents discussed their frustration with the false teaching methods and are promoting the science of reading.

Jack Silva from the Bethlehem school district discovered that elementary school teachers were not using phonics skills to learn to read new words.

The article discussed the "reading wars" of whole language and phonics instruction. After the National Reading Panel report, whole language enthusiasts repackaged their approach as balanced literacy, which still did not support what we have learned in science. After much research, the Bethlehem school district changed its motto to "When we know better, we do better." Since 2015, their reading scores have increased dramatically.

The Science of Reading still has not infiltrated all of our higher-level institutions. Faculty have ignored the scientific research that informs reading acquisition. Progress is slowly being made to teach teachers the correct way to teach reading.

The article also noted the principles and methods of SL instruction. These include being explicit, hands-on, and engaging, and being diagnostic and responsive to adjust teacher instruction and pace.

^{Review of skills to use;}

^{a. Review homework and relevant previous learning.}

^{b. Review prerequisite skills and knowledge.}

^{2. Presentation a. State lesson goals. b. Present new material in small steps. c. Model procedures. d. Provide examples and non-examples. e. Use clear language. f. Avoid digressions.}

^{3. Guided practice a. Require a high frequency of responses. b. Ensure high rates of success. c. Provide timely feedback, clues, and prompts. d. Have students continue to practice until they are fluent.}

^{4. Corrections and feedback: a. Reteach when necessary.}

^{5. Independent practice a. Monitor initial practice attempts. b. Have students continue practicing until skills are automatic.}

^{6. Weekly and monthly reviews}

^{Example of what to do when scaffolding:}

^{They take a complex skill (e.g., a multistep strategy) and teach it in manageable and logical pieces or chunks.}

^{2. Sequence skills so that they build on each other.}

^{3. Select examples and problems that progress in complexity.}

^{4. Provide demonstrations and completed models of problems.}

^{5. Provide hints and prompts as students practice a new skill.}

^{6. Provide aids such as cue cards and checklists to help students remember the steps and processes used to complete tasks and solve problems.}

^{1. I love the example of making a poem suitcase. Students write a poem on an index card (after explicit, systematic instruction) and attach it to an object. Throughout the year, when there are a few extra minutes in the day, a chosen child takes one of the objects and reads the poem. The class then discusses and celebrates the writing.}

2. ^{Writing notebooks are shared with the class, and revisions are discussed individually. A respectful community of writers is developed.}

3. ^{Mentor texts guide children by providing examples they can imitate.}

4. ^{The teacher also writes each day and shares her writing with the class.}

5. ^{explicit instruction is given on what vivid verbs are. The teacher reads a book orally while students put up two fingers for a "v" and discuss the vivid verb in the story's context.}

6. ^{Semantic Gradient Words are given to groups of students (after a discussion of vocabulary). Students work together to arrange words from less precise to most precise.}