How to Get Started with SoR

Districts that want to jump in and start implementing the Science of Reading (SoR) can often do so pretty easily. The transition is simple because most districts are already using some key elements. SoR is not a new method of teaching reading; instead, it is a large body of research supporting some instruction practices while deemphasizing others.

At the very core of SoR are the Big 5 Ideas that detail the five skills which are the pillars that form the foundation for SoR:

These skills evolved out of an extensive review by the National Reading Panel which identified skills students must master in order to be reading well by Grade 3.

Most readers will be familiar with the Big Five because they are being taught in your schools. As a starting point, then, consider simply taking stock of how well your students are learning these critical skills. The sequence of steps can be completed this year with the goal of planning additional steps for next year.

A good first step in getting started with SoR then is to check on student learning. Rule #1: It's not whether you teach these skills, it's whether students learn them. Hence, near the end of the year you could screen all students with respect to key SoR skills for each grade.

Key SoR Skills at Each Grade

Results from these assessments should indicate most students have mastered these skills. However, many district will find 20-40% of students have not mastered the Big Five. Hence, those students will be embarking on a school career lacking the one skill that is critical to all future learning: Reading.

This step is critical because it is those lower 20-40% of students that you most want to reach. In our book (Functional Assessments: A Step-by-Step Guide to Solving Academic Behavior Problems) we listed five specific reasons why students fail to make adequate progress. The five reasons below are listed in descending order from the most to the least likely.

Reason #1

They do not want to do it. There are only two reasons why students don't do their work: They can't do the work or they won't do the work. That is, they lack the skill motivation. Surprisingly about 25% of students perform below level because of lack of "won't do" problems. It's easy to check whether a student has a can't do or won't do problem using the process described here. Once you know what type of problem is holding the student back, it's easy to intervene using either instructional or motivational interventions. However, these two problems can appear exactly the same and lead professionals to lose valuable time with instruction because "won't do" students are not motivated to engage in the intervention.

Reason #2

They have not spent enough time doing it. The problem is frequently that instruction is excellent; however some students are not able to learn the skill in the time allocated for instruction and the class moves on. It is critical to have a mind set that the learning of these skills must occur even if this means finding more time for instruction or different instruction for some students. Is the time allocated sufficient for "mastering" the task? To learn, children must practice. For important things such as the Big 5 in reading, they should practice until the skill is at an automatic level. Also, students need opportunities to practice at their instructional level. Practice on material which is too difficult does not help the student.

Reason #3

They have not had enough help doing it. Some students have difficulty because they are not receiving enough assistance. Teachers generally interact frequently with students to help them to learn. Although these interactions appear very complex because of all the different ways teachers can assist a student, there is a small number of tried and true principles that account for most of the interactions. The basic unit of instruction is the learning trial. A learning trial begins with the teacher presenting a question which elicits a student answer. Feedback is then provided (e.g., "Correct!"). Research shows that the number of these learning trials is strongly related to student learning. The learning trial contains the "active ingredients" that produce learning, especially feedback about whether the student was correct or incorrect. This feedback helps the student learn to do task correctly. On newly learned skills, instruction can be conducted in small teacher led groups. As students gain skill and confidence, practice can be delivered by a computer.

Reason #4

They have not had to do it this way before. Small changes in a task can make it much more difficult for the student. A good example in math is that division can be symbolized with the division symbol (÷). a slash (12/3=4). or a fraction. Often students can tell you the how they are doing something which allows you to see they are using a method that does not apply in this particular situation.

Reason #5

The task is too hard. The most common reason for this problem is a lack of pre-requisite skills. Using a skill diagnostic in reading will help you to identify skill levels for the student. Reading comprehension tasks are often too difficult for students because they require several pre-requisite skills including reading fluency (the brain can't focus on the content if it's busy decoding words), vocabulary, oral language, and background knowledge. Once the student is equipped with the pre-requisite skills, the task will be less difficult.

By doing some assessment and analysis this year, you can determine if SoR will help your school and, if so, you have the data to plan for a full roll out next year.