For Other Professionals
Reading 101: What You Should Know
Teaching reading is a hugely complicated task. So much so that researcher Louisa Moats ended up entitling her influential article "Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science." (This, incidentally, also became the basis for the Reading Rockets name!).
- Print awareness
- The sounds of speech
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonics
- Informal assessment
- Fluency
- Vocabulary
- Spelling
- Writing
- Comprehension
Although children go through a series of predictable steps on their journey to becoming readers, many things can derail them, such as having inadequate exposure to language at home or having a learning disability. Teachers who know the art and science of teaching reading, though, are able to provide skillful, effective reading instruction, and can help students who need it overcome obstacles to becoming readers.
The links above are to sections of this website that provide more detailed information on the components of effective reading instruction. It's where you'll discover how to be the most effective teacher you can be at helping kids learn to read.
First Year Teachers
New teachers and those who want to learn more about literacy instruction can visit our First Year Teachers section and take advantage of our self-study online course.
