5 Important Articles on the Science of Reading
A Curated List
There’s a lot of information out there about the science of reading (“SoR”).
Much of the content is lacking: Blog posts that only look at one angle. YouTube videos that get it 100% wrong. Facebook groups that serve as echo chambers.
Instead, here are five articles I read in Reading Research Quarterly that will help you feel more confident and knowledgeable as a literacy leader about this topic.
A Confluence of Complexity: Intersections Among Reading Theory, Neuroscience, and Observations of Young Readers by Catherine Compton-Lilly, Ayen Mitra, Mary Guay, and Lucy K. Spence
The authors offer a competing response to attempts to oversimplify reading instruction.
“The complexity of reading demands complex situations that honor teacher expertise and involve well-funded and culturally responsive schools and communities.”
They also point out the lack of evidence for approches SoR advocates call for, such as structured literacy programs and the simple view of reading.
The Science of Reading Progresses: Communicating Advances Beyond the Simple View of Reading by Nell Duke and Kelly B. Cartwright
Duke and Cartwright pick up the critique of SoR where Compton-Lilly and colleagues left off.
Specifically, the authors question the belief that if students can simply decode and comprehend, then they will be proficient readers.
Motivation, self-efficacy, and metacognition are just some of the factors that are missing from the simple view of reading’s original theory.
Disrupting Racism and Whiteness in Researching a Science of Reading by H. Richard Milner IV
When schools move toward more structured and subsequently less responsive reading instruction, who is left out?
Milner points out that when motivation and cultural relevance are ignored, students from historically marginalized communities are often the ones who suffer.
“If we want to know more about the science of reading, we must carefully examine the who, the racial and ethnic identities and perspectives of those building the knowledge.”
How the Science of Reading Informs 21st-Century Education by Yaacov Petscher et al.
It’s important to read from thought leaders who come from different philosophies on this topic. For example, the article offers a helpful definition of the science of reading.
While Petscher and colleagues hold a more technical perspective to the complex nature of reading instruction, they acknowledge there is a lot we do not know yet.
Reading Volume and Reading Achievement: A Review of Recent Research by Richard L. Allington Anne M. McGill-Franzen
I am surprised, given all the research. that supporters of SoR do not advocate more for students to be engaged in reading lots of texts they want to and can read.
As the authors point out, “proficient reading, like virtually every other human proficiency, benefits through extensive engagement (or practice) with the activity.”
All of this knowledge can be had with a $24 annual subscription to Reading Research Quarterly.
I’ve only read a small fraction of the literature out there on this topic. What respected articles and research are you finding to be helpful in your own knowledge building of effective reading instruction?
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I am happy to see that you listed the Allington/Franzen-McGill article encouraging lots of time for sustained reading where kids apply what they have been taught in books of their own choosing. This reminds me of the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcom Gladstone. He looked at success in various fields: pilots, musicians, computer programmers. He came up with the observation that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to get good at anything. This applies to becoming a proficient reader and writer. Thank you for sharing.