Science of Reading

Parent and child reading together

The Science of Reading

Bridge the gap between pedagogy and classroom instruction with easy-to-use core, supplemental, and intervention products that are proven to work.

The Critical Need for Effective Foundational Literacy

36%

Percent of grade 4 students who met grade-level proficiency in reading in 2019.

Source: NAEP

3rd

Grade by which students who aren’t proficient readers are more likely to experience academic difficulty.

Source: Chiang, et al., 2017

1 in 6

children who aren’t reading proficiently in grade 3 will not graduate from high school on time.

Source: Institute of Education Sciences

What is the science of reading?

More than 5 decades of peer-reviewed research from the fields of educational psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience contribute to our understanding of how children learn to read and what instructional approaches are most effective.

Scientific evidence shows that students need strong language comprehension skills, word recognition skills, and bridging skills to read successfully. Because reading skills do not develop naturally, learners must be explicitly taught these skills in a systematic manner.

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Language comprehension skills include:

  • Content knowledge
  • Text structures
  • Verbal reasoning
  • Language structure
  • Theory of mind

Word recognition skills include:

  • Alphabetical principle
  • Phonological awareness
  • Phonemic awareness
  • Phonics
  • Sight word recognition

Bridging skills include:

  • Print awareness
  • Reading fluency
  • Vocabulary knowledge
  • Morphological awareness

Why apply the science of reading?

teacher and class sound out letters while reading together

The science of reading answers the call for effective, research-backed methods of teaching literacy.

Literacy skills are critical for academic, social, and economic success. Using a proven, evidence-based approach to explicit reading instruction will close the literacy gap, improve student outcomes, and help students reach their full potential.

Reading is a complex task. Applying the science of reading in the classroom isn’t easy, either. If you’ve invested in training through a program such as LETRS®, we can help you implement the research.

Imagine Learning’s powerful solutions not only provide evidence-based materials — we also make it easy for educators to plan and execute best practices in the classroom.

Products Aligned to the Science of Reading

a group of students in classroom learning on tablets

Core

Imagine Learning EL Education

Explore a content-based approach to literacy instruction that helps students learn to read and read to learn. Primary students build strong foundational reading skills with structured phonics instruction, while educators utilize compelling, real-world texts to engage and excite all K-8 learners. Our research-informed program earned all green scores from independent reviewer EdReports.

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elementary aged student working on a laptop

Supplemental

Imagine Language & Literacy

Give students a head start with a personalized literacy solution grounded in research and proven to increase student outcomes. Not only does Imagine Language & Literacy teach the “Big 5” components of reading, but it also provides direct, explicit, and systematic instruction and practice of language and literacy skills in tandem — the heart of science of reading research.

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Students in computer lab

Supplemental

Imagine Español

Experience an authentic, culturally relevant SLA solution that accelerates language and literacy development for your elementary students. Adaptive and standards-aligned instruction advances biliteracy and cultural competency.

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Student reading in library

Intervention

The Sonday System® from Winsor Learning

Winsor Learning is now part of Imagine Learning. The Sonday System is an Orton-Gillingham-based structured literacy program aligned with the science of reading. It empowers educators to help students of all ages learn to read effectively through a multisensory, systematic, and explicit approach.

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Apply the Science of Reading

Explore easy-to-implement solutions that improve student outcomes.

Discover Solutions that Apply the Science of Reading