Across the school day, students are exposed to new vocabulary during story reading, discussions, and content area instruction. Yet, hearing or reading a new word in a single context is not the same as learning it! Students may need 5 to 20 exposures to recognize and fully understand a new word. Beyond repetition, a teacher can also expand student learning by modeling rich vocabulary and using new words in a variety of meaningful contexts.

Your sight word memory is all the words that you can read both accurately and effortlessly. And for most adults, their sight word memories are somewhere between 30,000 and 70,000 words. So, when you sit down to read an article like this, most of the words on the page just come to you instantly, and that's because they sit in your sight word memory. There's only one way to get a word into your sight word memory — through a process that's commonly called 'orthographic mapping'

Learn more about our lose-the-rules approach and practical strategies for decoding big words, watch this "Andrew Reads Fantastic" video.

Phonemic Awareness is the awareness of and ability to manipulate the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words (Kilpatrick, 2015). Phonemic awareness is a subset of the broader category of phonological awareness, which is one’s conscious awareness of and ability to “play with” the sound structures in oral language (Paulson & Moats, 2010). 

Reading is an essential building block to student success and is inextricably linked to student outcomes. A child’s ability to read has a direct impact on how well they perform in academic settings. Few people argue the importance of reading and teaching one to read as essential to overall student success. However, the best and most effective way to teach someone to read has become a source of intense debate.

Identifying and manipulating speech at the word, syllable, onset-rime, and sound level are the marks of phonological awareness.

The International Dyslexia Association originated the term structured literacy. It encompasses a science-based, structured approach to literacy instruction. It provides explicit, systematic, engaging, multisensory, and developmentally appropriate instruction. It teaches students the key skills they need to become efficient and accurate decoders. These skills lead not only to strong word identification but also to deeper text comprehension.

Early literacy holds the keys to preventing reading failure for most students. By establishing practices rooted in the science of early literacy, students will be put on a path to become skilled readers and thus orthographic mappers efficiently and engagingly.

The Science of Reading uncovers the intricate ways that our brains learn to read. Scarborough’s Reading Rope is one of the most approachable ways to better understand the complex processes of what is happening in our brains as we are learning to read. The Reading Rope model offers a clear framework to help us better understand the intricacies of reading.

Really Great Reading is turning reading research into classroom practice, ensuring teachers have cutting-edge strategies and tools in classrooms across the country. Our Science of Reading curriculum incorporates 7 key instructional components needed for optimal student literacy outcomes.

As California pushes schools to adopt research-based approaches to teaching reading, known as the “Science of Reading,” some educators and advocates for English learners worry these techniques may not be effective for students learning English as a second language.

The science of reading is a body of research that incorporates insights and research from disciplines that include developmental psychology, educational psychology, cognitive science, and cognitive neuroscience. The science of reading has been documented around the world, in all languages and cultures, in studies that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. In short, the science of reading has demonstrated the methods that best help children learn to read, from the earliest steps in spoken language to being able to successfully decode unfamiliar words.

Recently, the Science of Reading has become a buzzword. States are mandating and providing budgetary support for the Science of Reading. As a result, many publishers have coopted the term the Science of Reading. However, the great majority do not meet the curricular criteria necessary for effective teaching and lasting student outcomes. That is why it is imperative that educators and administrators understand the Science of Reading terminology.

Welcome to the Phonics and Science of Reading Glossary of Terms! We understand that delving into the world of the Science of Reading and phonics can seem overwhelming. We believe that by understanding these terms, you'll gain valuable insights into the fundamental principles of reading instruction. From phonological awareness to decoding strategies, from orthography to morphemes, this glossary will help demystify a wide range of concepts that form the foundation of effective reading instruction.

Emily Hanford, an award-winning education reporter who has produced groundbreaking podcasts including At a Loss for Words: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers, Hard Words: Why aren't kids being taught to read?, and Hard to Read: How American schools fail kids with dyslexia is releasing an eagerly awaited new podcast series.

Orthographic mapping is the process through which unfamiliar words are transformed into instantly recognizable sight words. This crucial process allows readers to build a large library of words that they recognize accurately and effortlessly. It is essential for fluent reading and strong literacy outcomes