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How Children Learn to Read

Structured Literacy is a field of study that brings together various disciplines to understand how children learn to read, how their reading skills develop over time, and how different factors, such as language, cognition, and environment, impact their reading ability. Research in this field has identified specific skills that produce the greatest outcomes for children learning to read.

Skills Needed to be a Proficient Reader

As parents, we know when our child is struggling to read. The issue is we don’t know WHY. Below are the skills that must work together for a child to become a proficient reader. By understanding which skill or skills they are having difficulty with, we can find the most appropriate instructional method or intervention to address it. Click a skill to learn more and find examples of what it looks like when a child is struggling from the child’s perspective, a parent’s perspective and a teacher’s perspective and strategies to help!

Oral Language ~ Speak and understand spoken words, including understanding how to produce oral language (say words), what words mean and how to use words to express themselves.
Phonemic & Phonological Awareness ~ Identify and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words.
Phonics & Word Decoding ~ Link sounds to form letter-sound relationships and spelling patterns.
Fluency ~ Read words, phrases, sentences and stories accurately, with appropriate speed and expression.
Vocabulary ~ Understand what words mean, how and when to use them when speaking and writing.
Comprehension ~ Understand the topic and ideas from written or oral communication.

How do I figure out why my child is struggling with reading?

All public and public charter schools in NH are required to conduct a reading/literacy screener with all children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. This includes children who currently receive special education or are on 504 plans. By using a screening process, schools can identify children who may be at risk for reading/literacy challenges and provide extra help and support earlier. Your child’s screening data can give you important information about why they are struggling. Visit our page on NH’s Reading Screening Process for more information.

Your child’s school may have reading/literacy interventions that support children to strengthen specific literacy skills. However, there may come a point where your child is not making enough progress in the classroom even with small group instruction and/or other reading/literacy interventions. If you suspect your child needs special education, you can make a referral for special education. You can find a sample referral letter here or you may contact the Parent Information Center to talk more about your specific situation.

Research also demonstrates that literacy skills tend to develop in a certain order and across typical age ranges. Below you can see what literacy skill development looks and how you can support pre-readers, early readers and older readers by clicking on the title. You can also see what literacy skills look like and how to support specific grade levels by clicking on the grade range. Please keep in mind that while the grade levels associated with each skill are to serve as a helpful reference point, they should not be viewed as rigid benchmarks for every child’s progress.