Families and Caregivers

The science of reading is a vast body of knowledge about how the brain learns to read, why it sometimes has difficulty doing so, and the kinds of instruction that most effectively help children learn to read. To learn more about the science of reading, download The Science of Reading: Defining Guide, available in English and Spanish.

Additional information on some of the findings from decades of scientific research on reading and issues related to reading and writing:

Building language is one of the most powerful things you can do for your child before they enter school. When we read, we are reading language, so the more oral language ability children have, the more likely they are to understand texts once they learn to decode print. Building oral language ability involves immersing children in words through conversation, read-alouds of children’s books, listening to audiobooks and podcasts, singing, and more. Such activities introduce them to rich, sophisticated words and more complex sentence structures than those that occur in typical, everyday conversations. Children learn to speak in complete sentences and begin using sophisticated words themselves as they converse with you. There are several ways to build oral language.

The Language Environment Analysis (LENA) describes the importance of having interactions and turn-taking conversations with your child and provides caregivers with an analysis. The LENA and other resources provide insight into the importance of oral language development in the home.

As mentioned earlier, many organizations support families and caregivers by ensuring they have access to books for read-alouds. Some even provide books tailored to your children’s age levels in your mailbox every month at no cost to you.

Organizations that provide children’s books for free:

• Reach Out and Read
• Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
• Little Free Libraries
• Children’s eBooks on Project Gutenberg
• The Spanish Experiment

If your child does not seem to be making progress in speaking and building language, each state has early intervention services to help. Here is a state-by-state guide to find services:

Building language and reading books to your children is important, but it’s not enough to develop skilled literacy. When students enter school, they will learn to turn the printed strings of letters on the page into language. This is easier for some children than others. Families and caregivers can prepare their children by developing their knowledge about speech sounds, letter names, letter sounds, and how letters blend together to make words. This can be done by learning songs, playing games, and asking children to read texts featuring “sound out” words containing letter sounds that they know (see decodable texts section).

Learning Games:

Decodable Texts

Decodable texts are designed to provide beginning readers opportunities to practice applying what they have learned about letters and sounds to decoding words. Practicing these skills by reading decodable texts encourages them to attend to the letters and sounds instead of guessing based on pictures or other cues. Children become accurate and automatic when decoding. Decodable texts are not designed to be useful for read-alouds; children’s fiction or nonfiction books featuring rich vocabulary are a better tool for this goal.

Practices to Avoid

Avoid using flashcards to memorize words. Also, do not ask your child to read early reader texts that heavily repeat common words and require looking at the picture to “read” the words. Both of these strategies reduce opportunities to apply letter sounds to print. Children come to rely on guessing based on pictures,  the first letters in words, or the inefficient approach of memorizing words based on how they look rather than sounding them out. Practices such as these are NOT in alignment with findings from scientific research on how the brain learns to read.

Word recognition, letter sounds, phonics, and decoding are essential to teach and practice in a manner that aligns with the science of reading, but they not the only aspects of reading that must be assessed and taught. Developing vocabulary, oral language, sentence structure, writing, background knowledge, comprehension strategies, and many other aspects are important, too.

Reading Buddies is an early childhood show on YouTube and some PBS stations. Dott, Alphabott, and the Alphabotteers use the science of reading to help Dusty the dog learn to read. 

The Reading League developed this open-access television show as an early literacy resource for learning phoneme awareness, letter names and sounds, letter formation, rich vocabulary, and how to blend sounds to read words. Characters on the show also develop language by making up stories, practicing social skills, and so much more.

When your child enters school, it can be difficult to know if the instruction they’re receiving is aligned with the science of reading. Fortunately, many tools are available to help parents and caregivers understand what’s happening in the classroom and how to talk with the school about it. The Reading League developed Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines, a reliable, evidence-based tool that intentionally highlights ineffective practices (red flag practices) within reading programs. This tool is mainly for educators; however, parents and caregivers can learn about effective and ineffective reading instruction and compare it with what children are learning and doing in the classroom.

The Reading League’s Curriculum Navigation Reports, available on the Compass: Curriculum Decision Makers page, provide reviews of the nation’s most widely used curricula for alignment with the science of reading, with more reports to come.

The Right to Read Project provides guidance answering the question: Is My Child’s School Getting Reading Right?

The Colorado Department of Education developed a Literacy Dialogue Tool to guide families and caregivers in having conversations with their children’s schools.

It is important for schools to use universal screeners for reading difficulties because they identify students who may be at risk early on. They provide a quick snapshot of where each student stands to ensure that no child falls behind. However, this initial screening is just the first step. Diagnostic assessments provide insights into the specific literacy skills each student needs to develop, such as phonemic awareness or decoding. 

Assessments based on leveled readers, while commonly used, do not provide information about how well a student has learned the foundational skills required for reading. Instead of pinpointing the skills a student is struggling with, leveled reader assessments focus on matching students with texts of varying complexity, which ignores any existing gaps. 

If a student is not making adequate progress while receiving evidence-aligned instruction, additional assessment is needed to identify a possible learning disability. Overall, it is essential for schools to use valid and reliable assessments to ensure that every student gets the targeted instruction they need to become a successful reader.

Much of the national conversation on the science of reading has centered on the debunked “three-cueing” approach to teaching decoding that has long been widely popular in schools. The three-cueing approach does not support the development of pathways in the brain that lead to accurate and automatic word recognition. Such neural circuitry needed for skillful reading is only built by attending to the sounds and spelling patterns in words. Three-cueing approaches encourage children to rely on cues outside of the word: pictures on the page, predictable and repeated sentences, the first letter of a word, and other practices by skipping a word or rereading a sentence. These practices are detrimental to students later on when they have learned habits, such as memorizing or guessing words, rather than how to accurately and automatically read words and know how to decode unknown words. 

Unfortunately, the three-cueing approach continues to be taught to pre-service teachers in their educator preparation programs. Today, some programs are realigning course content (and some state education departments are prohibiting programs that feature three cueing) so that future educators use approaches that are grounded in scientific evidence when teaching students how to read. 

Learn more about three cueing approaches:

When students are having difficulty learning to read, they need additional instruction and practice to develop accuracy and automaticity. If they continue to have difficulty despite the additional support, assessments to determine if they have a language-based learning difference such as dyslexia or developmental language disorder (DLD) should be given.

Resources on understanding dyslexia:

Resources from the Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children:

The Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children (DABC) is 501(c)(3) national nonprofit organization that has a mission to eliminate the amplified inequities for Black children experiencing unaddressed Dyslexia and related learning disabilities. Founded in 2020, DABC started as a board composed of parents, educators, and advocates mobilized to address the urgent issues facing Black children with dyslexia, language-based reading disorders, and reading difficulties. DABC has since become an established thought leader and catalyst for change. Through impactful workshops, family literacy programs, and partnerships with educators, DABC has reached hundreds of families and professionals, creating a powerful alliance that advocates for equity in literacy.

Dyslexia Roadmap: This interactive Dyslexia Roadmap provides a step-by-step video guide for effectively advocating for dyslexia intervention and resources. This is your companion for a journey towards eliminating the inequities for children experiencing unaddressed dyslexia.

Sometimes students can read the words on the page without issue, but they cannot comprehend what they mean. They may also have a hard time expressing themselves when they speak. Assessments can determine if they have a learning difference called developmental language disorder (DLD).

Sometimes, students struggle with both decoding and language. The Quadrant Model helps explain this in greater detail.

Learning to read can be more challenging for students who are also learning the language of instruction. This does not mean that they should stop speaking their home language. Their home language is an asset that should be built upon. 

English learners/emergent bilingual (EL/EB) students require additional support in English language development (ELD) through their core classroom instruction and/or during specialized instruction offered outside of their core classroom, sometimes referred to as intervention.  

Resources providing information about supporting the needs of EL/EB students:

If your child is not making adequate progress in reading, there are resources pertaining to your rights as a parent or caregiver. These are recommended reading and should not be considered legal advice.

Pediatricians have knowledge of language development and other childhood milestones. Many pediatricians also partner with organizations like Reach Out and Read to provide families with access to children’s books to help reinforce the importance of caregivers reading aloud to children for social-emotional benefits and literacy development. However, the milestones for decoding development and the research on how children reach these milestones through evidence-aligned reading instruction are traditionally outside of the scope of pediatrician training. Providing pediatricians with information on educational practices aligned with the vast body of research on how students learn to read, along with information on “red flag” practices that can prevent the development of skilled reading, could benefit their understanding of how to support their patients who struggle with reading. Pointing pediatricians to signs of and screeners for dyslexia and developmental language disorder, two of the most common reasons for reading difficulties, could also help them to better serve the families in their care. Share this page with your pediatrician, and tell them to stay tuned in 2025 for a Compass page dedicated to pediatricians.

Special thanks to Marion Waldman of Teach My Kid to Read for providing the following information. We welcome parents and families to share this section with their local library.

Public libraries can serve as valuable resources for families, caregivers, and educators seeking materials to support reading instruction at home and in the classroom. By providing selections of decodable books, libraries can assist educators in implementing effective phonics-based instruction within the classroom and support families and caregivers in reinforcing reading outside of the classroom.

Teach My Kid to Read has provided education and support to hundreds of libraries serving as literacy hubs for their communities. Learn more about engaging with your public library at Teach My Kid to Read.

To show your librarian how other libraries are implementing collections of decodable books, visit the following libraries:

The National Center on Improving Literacy (NCIL), provides resources for parents and families, targeted technical assistance for family and community-based organizations, and developed the Literacy Skill Checklist for caregivers.

Parents for Reading Justice (PFRJ) empowers parent advocates to push for evidence-aligned reading instruction in school districts, with the goal of improving nationwide K-12 literacy achievement. PFRJ addresses the gap between research and classroom practices and facilitates parental involvement at the district level. Strategies include raising parent awareness, empowering them to use their vast influence, shifting perceptions about teachers’ training needs, providing advocacy support, and influencing teacher preparation at institutions of higher education.