Nearly 40 percent of students nationwide cannot read at a basic level, and educators need training and tools to address the crisis. Many are turning to Structured Literacy, based on the science of reading and decades of research, as the preferred approach to ensure students are receiving the support they need in the classroom.

Structured Literacy, rooted in the science of reading, is crucial to reading instruction because it provides a research-based framework to teach students at every level how to read. The evidence-based approach ensures that literacy curriculums consist of systematic, tailored, and explicit instruction, which are strategies that we know lead to improved reading outcomes for all students, especially those with learning difficulties like dyslexia. Structured Literacy offers an evidence-based approach to effectively teach decoding and comprehension skills by understanding the cognitive processes involved in reading acquisition.

For teachers to effectively apply Structured Literacy in the classroom, it’s important to first understand the relationship between Structured Literacy and the science of reading and why they make such a difference in student learning outcomes. 

Structured Literacy vs. The Science of Reading: What’s the difference

 

The science of reading is a comprehensive body of research that encompasses years of scientific knowledge and expert opinions across a multitude of fields. This information provides a deeper understanding of how we learn to read, what skills are involved, how they work together, and which parts of the brain are responsible for reading development. From this research, we can identify an evidence-based best practice approach for teaching foundational literacy skills called Structured Literacy.

Structured Literacy is an approach based on the science of reading that prepares students to decode words explicitly and systematically with more difficult concepts building upon one another. This approach is not only specifically helpful for students with dyslexia, but there is also a great amount of evidence that it is effective for every student regardless of their reading level. Literature and studies in the science of reading support this approach and highlight the difference it has for every student in the classroom as they learn how to read. 


Structured Literacy and the Orton-Gillingham Method

 

Structured Literacy teaches components of reading and literacy that are essential for students at every single reading level to learn how to read. These six subcategories of Structured Literacy  build upon one another based on the effectiveness of comprehensive and explicit instruction.

 

Phonological Awareness

 

Phonology is the study of sound patterns and speech sounds in a language. Phonology includes speech patterns, and rules, and clearly highlights the relationship between individual sounds, vowel sounds, and symbols. There are two important subcategories within phonology: phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, which are each important pillars of Structured Literacy as they are identified as some of the most effective methods to teach students with dyslexia how to read.

 

Sound-Symbol Association

 

Sound-symbol association is the connection between phonemes (individual sounds and vowel sounds) and graphemes (symbols and letters). Students can use this association to progress and understand more difficult sentence structures and alphabetic principles over time. Sound-symbol association is taught in two different ways: visual to auditory (reading) and auditory to visual (spelling). Understanding and quickly recognizing individual sounds and vowel sounds are essential to students learning more complex literary concepts as they progress in their literacy journey.

 

Syllables

 

Syllables are the smaller units of oral or written language consisting of one vowel sound or individual sound. Instruction includes teaching the six basic syllable types in English which helps students organize the spoken language and break up complicated sentence structures and words. Once students have a good understanding of syllable types, they can break more complex words into manageable parts by sounding them out. 

 

Morphology

 

Morphology is the study of words and the smaller units they are made up of. These smaller units are also referred to as morphemes and are defined as the smallest meaningful units of a word or phrase and are fundamental for phonics in both reading and spelling. These building blocks help students predict the meaning of a word they don’t know yet. 

 

Syntax

 

Syntax is a fundamental part of grammar and refers to the way that words and phrases are arranged to form sentences. When syntax is taught, students learn the variety of structures and rules of written and spoken language, which consists of word order, punctuation, and grammatical rules. Understanding syntax is key to improving reading comprehension and building complex sentences.

 

Semantics

 

Semantics is understanding the meaning of words and sentences. Through structured literacy instruction, students are taught semantic awareness by focusing on developing key vocabulary, word meanings, and comprehension strategies. Once students understand the connection between words and their meanings, they can grasp more complex vocabulary and reading concepts.

 

The Orton-Gillingham Method

 

During the 1920s, Dr. Samuel T. Orton and Anna Gillingham created a reading instruction method that was based on phonics, systematic, explicit instruction, highly structured, and multi-sensory literacy models specifically to support students with dyslexia. This is now known as the Orton-Gillingham method and it is a Structured Literacy approach that breaks reading and spelling down into smaller skills involving letters and sounds and then builds on these skills over time. It was the first approach to use explicit, direct, sequential, systematic, and multi-sensory instruction to teach reading, which is not only effective for all students but essential for teaching students with dyslexia. 

 

Is Structured Literacy the Same As The Science of Reading?

 

Structured Literacy is the application of knowledge from the science of reading that teaches children to read in an evidence-based and systematic way. The two are related, however, Structured Literacy is based on the science of reading. The science of reading is the decades of research that informs the Structured Literacy approach.

 

The Five Principles of the Science of Reading

 

The science of reading identifies five key components of proficient reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. All of these elements build upon one another so that students can become proficient in reading and move from one challenging concept to another. 

 

Embrace Structured Literacy with IMSE

 

IMSE provides schools and districts with a wide range of products and training programs to transform your literacy curriculum in a way that reaches every student with proven and applicable strategies. Districts that participate in IMSE’s literacy training have access to in-person and virtual programs to ensure every educator can learn about how to apply Orton-Gillingham and Structured Literacy at their own pace. 

 

Research suggests that over 90% of children could learn to read if their teachers used instructional methods grounded in the science of reading. IMSE’s Structured Literacy and Orton-Gillingham method are based on decades of research and have proven to be effective for every student no matter their reading capability. 

 

FAQs About Structured Literacy vs Science of Reading

 

Is Structured Literacy an approach grounded in the science of reading?

 

Structured Literacy is a reading instruction approach that is firmly rooted in the science of reading. This means that this approach uses evidence-based practices based on decades of research on how children learn to read to guide its instructional methods. Structured Literacy is considered to be a direct application of the science of reading in the classroom.

 

What are the three principles of Structured Literacy?

 

The three principles of Structured Literacy are explicit instruction, systematic and cumulative instruction, and diagnostic instruction. These three principles ensure that teaching is clear and direct and based upon previously learned skills in a logical sequence. Students move from level to level depending on assessment but can do so because of the way that Structured Literacy ensures skills build upon one another. 

 

Explicit Instruction: Explicit instruction is a teaching method that aims to simplify reading concepts for students. By directly modeling a skill they are taught based on an evidence-based approach, using multiple examples, and verbally explaining their thought process behind a concept, students can easily follow their teacher’s explicit instruction and learning materials. The way that this is done ranges from teachers working with students one-on-one to allowing students to engage with their work independently. 

 

Systematic and cumulative instruction: This principle refers to how language is organized in ways to best teach students how to read. Structured literacy builds on previously learned concepts, meaning that material is organized in an order that begins with the most basic concepts and sequentially progresses to more challenging ones as students master the content. The objective of systematic and cumulative instruction is to help students automatically apply their knowledge of language to decoding the meaning of a text. This instruction helps fluent readers focus on understanding the meaning of a text rather than spending all their time decoding‌ it. 

 

Diagnostic: Diagnostic is the way that teachers understand and react to their students’ learning process. With the Structured Literacy approach, teachers can recognize that students are struggling early on and then intervene accordingly. This is especially important for students struggling with dyslexia and without early intervention, they continue to fall further behind in school. 

 

How effective is Structured Literacy?

 

Years of evidence have shown that Structured Literacy is effective in the classroom. It is based on scientifically proven strategies that have been proven to work for every student at every level. However, the Structured Literacy approach is more effective when teachers are provided with comprehensive training in both the content of instruction and how it can best be applied in the classroom. 

 

What approach is the science of reading?

 

The science of reading is a research-based approach to teaching reading that focuses on systematic and explicit instruction of foundational literacy skills that build upon one another. This includes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension and is based heavily on evidence from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and education fields to better understand how the brain learns to read effectively and the best practices that follow. The science of reading emphasizes the importance of a structured approach to decoding words based on the relationship between letters and sounds, prioritizing evidence-based practices over other methods

 

What is taught in Structured Literacy?

 

Structured Literacy prepares students to decode words and learn how to read explicitly and systematically. This literacy approach covers the following topics: 

 

With the most current information on Orton-Gillingham, Structured Literacy, and the science of reading, IMSE is known as one go-to resource for educators and districts to transform literacy outcomes. Schools and districts nationwide need to continue implementing strategies that we know work so that all students at every level can be set up for long-term success in and outside the classroom.

 


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