Introduction As the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, Scholastic has an unwavering commitment to children learning and loving to read. Scholastic believes research and evidence-based practices should inform reading instruction. Reading is a powerful tool. When reading is enjoyable, children grow in their understanding of the world, their ability to imagine, and their confidence in themselves. Reading is also a critical skill necessary to successfully function in society, as strong literacy skills positively impact academic achievement, socio- economic status, citizen participation, and health outcomes. The process of learning to read begins early in children’s education, with formalized reading instruc- tion commonly starting in prekindergarten. In early elementary school, it is important that young children receive high-quality instruction in learning the alphabet, phonics, decoding, and language comprehension. Yet data show that only 35 percent of U.S. fourth-grade students score as proficient on the National Assessment of Education Progress Reading Assessment (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2019), putting them at risk for learning losses not only in literacy but also in science, social studies, and mathematics. These striving readers may include children with reading disabilities and multilingual learners, who all have unique reading needs and require more tailored support to reach their reading potential. Children who have not yet mastered the skills for successful reading are at risk for academic under- achievement (Lesnick et al., 2010), and they are less likely to experience the delight and satisfaction that comes with reading for pleasure. Fortunately, decades of research on education, psychology, and human development have identified the skills necessary for successful reading and the ways those skills can be taught through explicit instruction. This report draws on a range of research and evidence to summarize the development of foundational reading skills and best practices in reading instruction from prekindergarten through Grade 3. Through this report, we seek to enhance understanding of the Science of Reading and support educators and caregivers as they foster the next generation of young readers.
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The Science of Reading | What Research Says About Setting Young Readers Up for Success
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