A Closer Look at the Five Essential Components - Learning Point ...

Conclusion
Teaching children to read is a challenging responsibility. Fulfilling this responsibility requires
knowledge of effective instructional practices and a willingness to use them. Teachers who have
a thorough understanding of the five essential components of effective reading instruction are
equipped to teach children to read using instructional strategies and materials that have proven
to be effective.
The five essential components of effective reading instruction represent ingredients that must
be present in order for children to learn to read. Effective teachers know how to blend these
ingredients in the right proportions to meet the unique needs of each child. They understand
the roles of phonemic awareness and phonics in building word-recognition skills, and they know
how to identify and correct students’ weaknesses in these areas. They also know that these two
foundational components will receive less emphasis as students gain competence as readers.
Effective teachers know how fluency facilitates comprehension, and they know how to use
research-based strategies for helping students become fluent readers. These teachers are
continually building each student’s vocabulary and the ability to learn the meanings of new
words through a variety of word-learning strategies. Finally, they know that comprehension is
the ultimate goal of reading instruction, and they are adept at helping students learn to apply
appropriate comprehension strategies as they read.
Those who accept the responsibility for teaching children to read understand that it includes a
commitment to continually search for more effective ways to help children gain competence in
this very important skill. This paper is intended to provide teachers with a clear description of
these components, how they influence reading and reading achievement, and how they can be
taught effectively. An in-depth understanding of these components will enable teachers to plan
an effective program of reading instruction, diagnose reading difficulties and provide
instruction that targets those difficulties effectively, evaluate reading materials and instructional
practices, and help others become more effective teachers of reading.
Effective Reading Instruction? 39