Fluent Text Reading One way for children to learn to read effectively is by listening to their teachers read text aloud. Once children have adequate word recognition skills, they can also follow along in a text as they listen to their teachers read aloud or to a corresponding audiotape. Providing children with opportunities to read aloud has been shown to improve their reading accuracy and speed, as well as their voice intonation and rhythm. Generally, by the second and third grades, children can practice reading text aloud, either with their class or with a partner. Repeated readings of text and direct feedback have also been shown to be beneficial to reading fluency in elementary school (Hudson et al., 2005; Rasinski, 2006). Vocabulary Explicit instruction in vocabulary is also important for helping children learn to read. This instruction should include words that are not only important for communicating with others in everyday conver- sation but also essential to learning effectively in school. Academic vocabulary refers to words that are common in formal writing and classroom settings. Academic vocabulary often appears in instructions for assignments and includes words such as define , compare , or select . Children benefit when they are provided with clear and concise definitions for new academic vocabulary being introduced to them and are given examples of how to use these new words (Beck et al., 2013). Additionally, students benefit when they are taught content-specific vocabulary to help them understand new words they may encounter in literacy, science, social studies, and math texts. Teachers can also enhance students’ vocabularies by helping them draw connections between new words and known words and by connecting vocabulary to students’ real-world experiences (Shanahan et al., 2010a). Ultimately, expanding children’s vocabulary enables them to recognize more words in text and understand the words’ meanings (Mitchell & Brady, 2013). Thus, vocabulary growth is important to both word recognition and reading comprehension (Duke & Cartwright, 2021). Comprehension Children need to learn a wide array of strategies to comprehend text. Many of these skills can be taught through explicit instruction. Common strategies to enhance students’ understanding of what they read include asking questions, retelling stories, and visualizing stories. Teachers are encouraged to model these strategies through guided class discussions on the reading material (Shanahan et al., 2010b). Additionally, students benefit from learning strategies that enhance their verbal reasoning , or their ability to go beyond literal interpretations of what is written. Drawing inferences is a key verbal reasoning skill (Cain, 2010; Shanahan et al., 2010b). It is recommended that teachers help children draw information from key words in the text and from their own experiences to make better inferences when reading (Shanahan et al., 2010b).
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The Science of Reading | What Research Says About Setting Young Readers Up for Success
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