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Connecting the Science of Reading to the Five Elements

The five key elements of the science of reading spiral throughout a student’s journey in terms of reading instruction. As educators, we need to understand how these five elements (phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) connect to the science of the teaching of reading. Beginning at a young age, students learn print concepts. Here, young readers begin to understand the basic features of print and how print is organized to make sense. Next, students become phonologically aware by demonstrating their understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds/phonemes. Then, students learn phonics and word recognition, where they know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills as they endeavor to decode words. Subsequently, they develop stronger word knowledge, also known as instant and effortless access to words. This, in turn, helps them develop their sight vocabulary. Meanwhile, reading fluency is activated as students begin to read with sufficient accuracy and at an appropriate rate so that they can comprehend what they are reading. Thus, explicit instruction using these five research-based elements rewards students with the gift of reading.

Because the five key elements of reading are intertwined and necessary for reading proficiency, the following table can be used to help you determine exactly what to teach under each element as well as when this typically occurs.

When should each element of reading be taught according to the Science of Reading best practices?

The five key elements of reading should be direct, focused, and intentional in all classrooms. In kindergarten and into first grade, students should be taught the foundational skills of reading. Students should learn to blend sounds together to make words. For example, the word hat has three sounds, or phonemes, /h/ /a/ /t/. By combining each of these three sounds and blending them together, an emergent reader can then create the spoken word hat. Similarly, when teaching segmenting in kindergarten and into first grade, students learn that words are comprised of individual sounds which are called phonemes. Phonemes are the smallest unit of individual sounds in a word. Thus, continuing our example above, the word hat can be segmented into its individual phonemes: /h/ /a/ /t/. Additionally, in kindergarten and into first grade, students should be taught sounds and basic phonics beginning with simple hard consonants and short vowel sounds, blending them to create words. At this level, fluency begins with those sounds and words, all while learning new vocabulary and practicing one’s listening comprehension.

Phoneme analysis is teaching students to recognize sound and symbol relationships to create words. Beginning in first grade and continuing through grade 6, phoneme analysis should be integrated throughout the teaching process. As they progress along the continuum, students learn to add, delete, and substitute phonemes to create new words. At this level, students should also learn and interact with multisyllabic words. They should be taught how words connect to their reading and they should be able to listen and read to gain new vocabulary, all in an effort to comprehend what is being read (either in written or oral form). Overall, as can be seen from the chart above, the five key elements (phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension) are intertwined throughout the entire teaching and learning process. In following this progression along with the principles of the science of reading, young, inexperienced readers begin to grow into confident and successful lifelong readers.

You’ve Got This!

Notwithstanding, teachers play a significant role in the development of readers, especially at the elementary level. Unfortunately, many students enter kindergarten without the necessary skills to learn to read at the same pace as their classmates, which is where the first reading chasm appears. Without focused reading instruction using the science of reading principles and intervention in grades K-2, students may enter third grade still lagging, thus widening the gap. Because of this, focused and systematic reading instruction in grades 3-6 is more important than ever. Educators must make it a priority to help all students reach their full reading potential, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, and cultural differences. To accomplish this, teachers need to fully understand how the human brain learns to read and what reading can do for society. Literacy is so much more than just reading words; it molds students’ minds and lifts their self-esteem, helps build higher levels of concentration, allows students to develop critical and analytical thinking skills, strengthens their memory skills, and expands their vocabulary. Learning to read has vastly positive effects on students by supporting their cognitive development and improving their imagination and creativity. Reading is at the core of our development as learners and learning to read gives students the tools they need so that they can more easily transition into using reading as a tool to learn, both now and in the future.

Are you curious? Want to take a deep dive on this topic?

To learn more about the five key elements of the science of reading, visit the Professional Development Institute (PDI) website or our Boosting Comprehension for Struggling Readers using Science of Reading (Grades 3-6) course.

For over 27 years, PDI has provided high-quality and affordable online professional development courses to K-12 teachers worldwide. Our online courses are designed to offer practical strategies that can be implemented in classrooms immediately. All our courses are instructor-led and conducted entirely online. Graduate-level university credit for every PDI online course for teachers is available through the University of California San Diego Division of Extended Studies. PDI offers an extensive catalog of online courses that cover the most critical topics in today's classrooms.