Oral language comprehension is essential.

Without language comprehension, students will not be able to read and comprehend. In other words, if a student cannot listen to a text, they will not be able to comprehend the text while reading, even if they can decode all the words.

Decoding is essential.

Decoding is also an important part of the reading equation. If a student cannot decode accurately and fluently, they will not be able to comprehend a written text, even if they can listen and comprehend the text.

While Teaching Decoding

Continue to build language comprehension skills by reading aloud and providing audiobooks.

Tips for Building Comprehension Skills

Use these tips for written texts, read alouds, and audiobooks.

  • Discuss Texts Together

    High-quality discussions about texts improve reading comprehension even without explicit instruction in comprehension strategies (Kamil et al., 2008, p.6).

  • Teach Vocabulary & Front-Load Words

    Teach new vocabulary words in spelling analysis before they appear in a text. Explicit vocabulary instruction has strong evidence of improving reading comprehension (Kamil et al., 2008).

  • Build Background Knowledge

    Pre-teach and build the knowledge necessary to understand a text.

  • Teach Text Types

    Understanding the form and purpose of a text is critical for comprehension. Knowing if an article is factual or satire changes the meaning.

  • Model Comprehension Monitoring

    Demonstrate how to actively think about if the text is making sense. Identify if something seems wrong and repair misunderstandings (Zargar et al., 2020; Cain et al., 2020).

  • Model Making Inferences

    The ability to make inferences is vital to comprehension. Students who struggle with inferences struggle to comprehend  (Elleman et al., 2019; Cain et al., 2020).

  • Look to Bloom's Taxonomy for Further Comprehension Skills

    Bloom's Taxonomy provides a framework for deepening comprehension skills. The framework includes ways:

    • to remember and recall facts.
    • for students to demonstrate they understand the text.
    • to apply the information to solve problems and find solutions.
    • to analyze texts.
    • to evaluate, critique, and fact check texts.
    • to create new texts, artworks, inventions, and ideas inspired by a text.

    (Armstrong, n.d., Bloom’s Taxonomy, n.d.)

Controlled Readers

What is a controlled reader?

Controlled texts include words that use only the phonetic concepts the student has learned so far in their scope and sequence.

Are decodable readers the same as controlled readers?

Decodable reader and controlled reader are synonyms. At Logic of English we prefer to call them controlled readers to emphasize that the text has been controlled for the phonograms and spelling rules aligned with the scope and sequence.

Who benefits from controlled readers?

Emerging and striving readers benefit from reading texts that include only the phonics concepts they have been taught.

Students who are able to pick up a book and read do not need controlled readers; though they may benefit from learning systematic phonics to improve spelling and deepen their knowledge of the written structure of English.

With accurate phonics rules, every book is decodable!

Learn More About Systematic Phonics

Why Are Controlled Readers Beneficial?

How To Use Controlled Readers

Model Comprehension Skills

Controlled texts are an excellent way to model comprehension skills for emerging readers. Discuss the texts, model comprehension monitoring, discuss the type of text, and apply skills from Bloom's Taxonomy.

Read Aloud Repeatedly

Ask students to read controlled texts aloud. Then ask them to read the text again. Repeated oral reading has been shown to improve fluency in all ages of students (Padeliadu, 2018).

With repeated oral reading, you can also ask students to focus on reading with expression. Encourage them to pause at the end of a sentence or add intonation.

Limits of Controlled Readers

Controlled Readers & Language Comprehension

Decodable texts alone are not adequate for building language comprehension. Many decodable texts, especially early in the scope and sequence, are limited in vocabulary and sentence structure. Continue to provide audiobooks, engage in rich oral conversation, and read aloud to continue to develop students' language comprehension skills.

Logic of English

Controlled Readers

Foundations and Essentials curricula include decodable readers.

These are best used to support emerging and striving readers as they develop their decoding skills.

Explore Logic of English Controlled Readers

View more

References

Armstrong, P. (n.d.). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Center for Teaching Vanderbilt University. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northeast/onlinetraining/ResourcesTools/Bloom’s%20Taxonomy.pdf

Cain, K., Oakhill, J., & Elbro, C. (2020). Reading Comprehension: From Research to Practice. Reading League Journal, 1(3).

Elleman, A. M., & Oslund, E. L. (2019). Reading Comprehension Research: Implications for Practice and Policy. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 6(1), 3–11. doi: 10.1177/2372732218816339

Gough, P. B., & Tunmer, W. E. (1986). Decoding, Reading, and Reading Disability. Remedial and Special Education, 7(1), 6–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193258600700104

Kamil, M., Borman, G. D., Dole, J., Kral, C., Salinger, T., & Torgesen, J. (2008). Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED502398

Padeliadu, S. (2018). A Synthesis of Research on Reading Fluency Development: Study of Eight Meta-Analyses. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1477124

Zargar, E., Adams, A. M., & Connor, C. M. (2020). The relations between children’s comprehension monitoring and their reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge: an eye-movement study. Reading and Writing, 33(3), 511–545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09966-3