Phonics Series: How Phonics Instruction Supports Comprehension

May 29

Do you teach upper elementary and feel a bit “left out” when others talk about the science of reading? It’s true, it seems like the science of reading is all about the younger years - and for good reason. Early phonics instruction is essential. But for all you upper elementary school teachers out there - I’m happy to say this blog post is for you, too. Today, we’ll be discussing the misleading idea that the science of reading is phonics only and other components that are just as essential - comprehension being one of them.

Phonics Instruction and its Link to Comprehension

As many of you are well aware, the National Reading Panel identified 5 main components of literacy instruction: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. One Google search will show you a plethora of graphics connecting these 5 components together - one of these is called the Simple View of Reading.

The Simple View of Reading is a formula that takes the five components into consideration and makes it even simpler: word recognition x language comprehension = reading comprehension. This theory demonstrates that a child cannot have reading comprehension skills unless he or she has both word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension skills. The Simple View of reading is widely accepted and backed by tons of research. So when we understand this formula, we are able to better see why phonics is of course important, but isn’t the only component of literacy we should be teaching. Through this idea, we also see how closely linked comprehension and phonics truly are. You cannot gain access to one (comprehension) without the other (phonics). Understanding this formula means we can better understand our weaknesses and therefore provide the necessary and adequate instruction.

Another popular visual is Scarborough’s Reading Rope, which is essentially a “zoomed-in” look at the Simple View of Reading. In this reading rope, there are many “threads.” These “threads” fall under two categories and yep, you guessed it: word recognition and language comprehension. These threads contain the important components to each category and when all weaved together, they are the ingredients that make a skilled reader. The Rope also tells us that good reading must have all five components: phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. ALL of these work together to create a skilled and thoughtful reader.

Comprehension Struggles in the Upper Grades

So, what happens when our upper elementary kids struggle with one of these components - mainly comprehension? When our upper elementary students struggle with reading, we often think that they struggle with comprehension. We compensate for this by doing various summarizing and main idea activities, discussing what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and even through guided reading. And although there’s absolutely nothing inherently wrong with any of those great activities, the Simple View of Reading tells us that perhaps we need to look deeper and rewind the clock a bit. It suggests that we may need to look all the way back to the foundation: phonics.

Even so, we as teachers hear all the time that the issue is comprehension and not phonics. Many still believe that the two aren’t linked together. This is where I believe the three cueing systems got its start, along with the whole language theory. Before the science of reading came onto the horizon (or at least before people learned about it), this theory had students compensate for weak decoding skills by guessing at words, using the picture to find an unknown word, or using context clues. We’ve since then learned that this is not how students learn to read. When we make decoding the focus, we are actually teaching struggling readers how to sound out those unknown words in the text instead of relying on pictures, surrounding words, or even guessing. Essentially, we’re teaching them how to actually read instead of guessing their way through a story.

Teaching our students how to decode promotes fluency. And we know what fluency promotes - comprehension! When students become fluent, they are spending less time decoding and freeing up space in their brains for other things, like vocabulary, comprehension, and background knowledge. See how this all ties together with the Simple View of Reading? So, upper elementary teachers, if you see that one of your readers is struggling with comprehension, most of the time it’s due to a phonics struggle - not comprehension. When our phonics is strong, it is only then that our comprehension can be, too.

How We Fix It

So if your students (upper and lower elementary grades alike) show a comprehension deficit, it’s best that we work backward to find the issue and dig a little deeper. Many times, the struggle lies in phonological awareness and phonics. And it’s our job as teachers to fill in those gaps where needed. We can reach these other areas of the rope if we focus on phonological awareness and phonics first. So pull out those explicit, consistent, and systematic phonics activities and work on them during small group time with students who are struggling with comprehension. You’ll likely find that this is the root of the problem!

And if your students aren’t fluently reading yet, you can still build their comprehension skills through read-alouds and conversations. I cannot stress enough how essential reading aloud to your students is and how important it is to have conversations about the stories you read together. When we read to our students, we’re modeling good inflection, pace, and pausing. When we have conversations about what we read through different genres, we’re strengthening background knowledge and vocabulary. By doing these things, we are gifting our students the gift of rich language and experiences so that when they're ready to make that jump from decoding to fluency, they’re prepared to do just that.

Speaking of comprehension and fluency, it’s important to note that not all of the 5 components of literacy are created equally - they will be dependent upon specific instruction for your specific student's needs and gaps. One component of literacy can come easily to a student while others may lack. It’s our job to find these gaps and fill them in during our sacred small group times.

Know Better, Do Better

With all of the hot topics surrounding phonics these days, it’s easy for us as teachers to feel like the science of reading is all about phonics. And in the early years, phonics is essential and plays a critical role in development. But as I always say: when we know better, we do better. And because we know that phonics instruction lends itself to comprehension, we can now better serve our struggling students in the upper grades who are struggling in comprehension - and who knew it started with phonics?