Components of Literacy Instruction: A Brief Overview
The National Reading Panel was assembled in 1998 by request of Congress and the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development to research and create a detailed report of the effective instructional components of literacy learning. By 2000, The Panel prepared their findings on the five components of reading and literacy instruction, though not exhaustive, in a report titled, "Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction."
The goal of Sarasota County's Striving Reader Plan includes an emphasis on the understanding of the five essential components of literacy instruction and the systematic and sequential process of literacy development to better diagnose and support striving readers.
The goal and purpose of this website is to provide general information on effective reading instruction and emphasize the importance of the research behind multi-sensory instruction for striving readers. Each component can be accessed to see specific multi-sensory instructional practices that can be implemented to support learners.
Below are descriptions of the five components in more detail:
The goal of Sarasota County's Striving Reader Plan includes an emphasis on the understanding of the five essential components of literacy instruction and the systematic and sequential process of literacy development to better diagnose and support striving readers.
The goal and purpose of this website is to provide general information on effective reading instruction and emphasize the importance of the research behind multi-sensory instruction for striving readers. Each component can be accessed to see specific multi-sensory instructional practices that can be implemented to support learners.
Below are descriptions of the five components in more detail:
Component 1: Phonological AwarenessPhonological awareness is the general appreciation or acknowledgement of sounds in spoken language. It has been said that phonological awareness can be assessed in the dark; this is because the focus is on sounds. In the broadest concept, phonological awareness can be discussed by breaking sentences in words and words into syllables. Phonological awareness includes onset-rime, rhyming, alliteration, and sounding of syllables (Chard and Dickson). Phonological awareness is what allows us to make rhyming songs, identify and manipulate syllables; like foot/ball, or identify words with the same onset as in “hat” and “hammer”. Another component of phonological awareness is phonemic awareness, or the specific ability to focus on and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Students can identify the sounds that make up individual words, as in c/a/t or sh/ee/p. Phonemes are the smallest units comprising spoken language (Attunez, 2018). This is best explained through the following graphic presented in Chard and Dickson’s Phonological Awareness article:
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Component 2: Phonics
Phonics describes the matching of individual speech sounds (phonemes) and letters or letter combinations (graphemes). Letter-sound patterns must be systematically and explicitly taught. This includes letter-sound representations, vowel patterns, diagraphs, blends, and syllable patterns. Children learn to read and spell by learning the relationship between letters and sounds, and then remembering the sequence and patterns represented by those sounds. Effective phonics instruction includes reading and writing.
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Component 3: Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read automatically, with accuracy and at a pace that allows for intonation, rhythm and expression. Fluent readers are able to recognize words with automaticity rather than use decoding skills while at the same time comprehend the words as they are connected. A less fluent reader may stumble on words while decoding and lack comprehension because of the rate, accuracy, and effort spent on decoding. Fluency is an essential component to reading comprehension. This is often referred to as "oral reading skills."
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Component 4: Vocabulary
Vocabulary instruction refers to the ability to decode words, understand word meanings and apply word meanings to establish comprehension and ability to communicate. The National Reading Panel (2000) presented five components to effective vocabulary instruction:
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Component 5: Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension or text comprehension can commonly be defined as the reader's intentional interaction or understanding of the meaning of the words as they are put together to create a complex visual. According to the National Reading Panel’s research, (2000) The content of meaning is influenced by the text and by the reader’s prior knowledge and experience that are brought to bear on it. Reading comprehension is the construction of the meaning of a written text through a reciprocal interchange of ideas between the reader and the message in a particular text.
While reading comprehension is typically developed informally, teachers can assist and instruct in systematic processes to assist striving readers in developing skills necessary for reading comprehension. The act of reading comprehension is an active process, not a passive process according to the National Reading Panel, and is derived from the development of certain procedures that readers progress through to understand the text. By explicitly teaching the procedures, readers will develop an understanding of the active processes needed to understand text. |
Attunez, B. (2018, September 07). English Language Learners and the Five Essential Components of Reading Instruction. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/english-language-learners-and-five-essential-components-reading-instruction
Chard, D. J., & Dickson, S. V. (n.d.). Phonological Awareness: Instructional and Assessment Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/6254/
Elements Comprising the Colorado Literacy Framework:. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/clf/eightelements_01-fivecomponents
The National Reading Panel. (2000, February 27). Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction [Cong. Rept.]. Retrieved from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf
Chard, D. J., & Dickson, S. V. (n.d.). Phonological Awareness: Instructional and Assessment Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/6254/
Elements Comprising the Colorado Literacy Framework:. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cde.state.co.us/coloradoliteracy/clf/eightelements_01-fivecomponents
The National Reading Panel. (2000, February 27). Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction [Cong. Rept.]. Retrieved from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf