The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading

The essential guide to the science behind reading and its practical implications for classroom teaching in primary schools.

Teaching children to read is one of the most important tasks in primary education and classroom practice needs to be underpinned by a secure foundation of knowledge. Teachers need to know what reading entails, how children learn to read and how it can be taught effectively.

This book is an essential guide for primary teachers that explores the key technical and practical aspects of how children read with strong links to theory and how to translate this into the classroom. Bite-size chapters offer accessible research-informed ideas across all major key topics including phonics, comprehension, teaching children with reading difficulties and strategies for the classroom.

Key features include:

• Discussions of implications for the classroom
• Questions for further professional discussions
• Retrieval quizzes
• Further reading suggestions
• Glossary of key terms

Table of Contents

PART 1: READING AND ITS ORIGINS

1. A brief history of reading and writing
2. Useful frameworks for reading
3. The trouble with English

PART 2: DECODING

4. Phonics

5. Fluency

PART 3: LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION

6. Listening comprehension

7. Situation models

8. Comprehension monitoring

9. Inference

10. Text structure

11. Vocabulary

12. Background knowledge

13. How the different elements of comprehension combine

PART 4: OPPORTUNITIES TO ENHANCE READING

14. Independent reading / reading for pleasure

15. Reading across the curriculum

16. Writing

PART 5: ADDRESSING READING DIFFICULTIES

17. Dyslexia

18. Assessment

19. Intervention

PART 6: THE READING DIET

20. The current situation

21. Getting the balance right

22. Questioning and discussion

23. Text choice

24. Action plan for classroom teachers

25. Action plan for reading coordinators

Afterward

Glossary

Appendix A: The '345 List' of tier two vocabulary for primary schools

Appendix B: Latin and Greek root words for primary schools

Appendix C: Example timetables for explicit vocabulary instruction

Index