Teaching Reading is Brain Science
Dr. Louisa Moats famously said, “Teaching reading is rocket science.” It’s true. Reading is one of the most complex tasks of the human brain, but it’s even more than that. Teaching reading is brain science. No analogy needed.
Humans aren’t born wired to read.
As we learn, the brain builds new pathways that connect sounds, letters, and meaning to store words in long term memory for automatic recognition. This behind the scenes cognitive process is known as orthographic mapping. Brain imaging shows that an area once used for recognizing faces becomes specialized for recognizing words. Dr. Stanislas Dehaene calls this area the letterbox. Words that are stored in long term memory can be read instantly, by sight. Contrary to popular belief, sight words are not "irregular" words that must be memorized. Any word read instantly is a sight word.
Research shows that explicit, systematic phonics instruction best develops accurate and automatic word recognition. [Note: A letter between slashes (e.g., /a/) represents the sound of the letter, not the letter name.]
Phonics is the explicit teaching of how letters and letter combinations represent speech sounds. It is most effective when underpinned by the ability to identify, blend, and segment individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words- known as phonemic awareness. This enables students to blend sounds to read (e.g., mmmaaat → mat) and segment them to spell (e.g., dog → /d/ /o/ /g/). Decoding and spelling are reciprocal processes that work together to strengthen word recognition.
High-impact instruction integrates handwriting with phonics. Saying the sound while writing the letter is a multimodal practice that activates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic systems and anchors letter–sound knowledge in long-term memory.
Research continues to develop, but the benefits of systematic phonics instruction are about as close to settled as science gets. With expertly designed practice and responsive feedback, early readers move from effortful decoding to fluent reading- freeing mental space for comprehension.
The two examples below illustrate the orthographic mapping process. It can't be taught directly as it is an invisible brain function, but it can be supported with quality instruction. You'll see that there's no difference between the mapping of what we might consider "regular" or "irregular".
Children must be explicitly taught and consistently reminded to keep their eyes on the letters. No guessing. Ever.
Finger or pencil tracking helps students stay focused from left to right as they apply their phonics knowledge to decode a word accurately. Strategies that encourage guessing from pictures or context have been debunked and can hinder reading development. They do not support the behind the scenes cognitive process of orthographic mapping.
As students solidify their knowledge of letter-sound correspondences (e.g., a spells /a/), frequent practice with texts containing a high percentage of decodable words helps build a strong sound-symbol decoding foundation. Decodable texts align with the phonics patterns students have already been taught, encouraging them to rely on letter-sound relationships rather than develop ineffective compensatory habits. This bridges explicit phonics instruction to authentic reading and lays the groundwork for confident, independent readers.
Again, learning to read rewires the brain by linking sounds, spellings, and meaning- even in young children who begin with neurobiological differences in these circuits.
Every brain must orthographically map words in order to read fluently. What varies is the dosage of instruction and the type of practice each learner requires. Some children map words quickly and effortlessly. Those who struggle, including students with dyslexia, need targeted practice and monitored intervention as early as possible to support their brain's circuitry in converting print to speech and vice versa.
Alongside systematic phonics instruction, students must also become flexible decoders.
The English written code is variable- many spellings can represent more than one sound (e.g., the spelling pattern ai can represent the /ā/ sound as in rain or the /ĕ/ sound as in said). To navigate this, students must develop flexible decoding skills. The first and most important step is to carefully attend to each letter, slide through the word, and apply sound-spelling knowledge. If the word does not match a known word in their vocabulary or does not make sense in context, the reader must recode by trying alternate sounds. Researchers call this set for variability, and it plays a crucial role in building accurate word recognition. It strengthens the sound-symbol decoding foundation necessary for orthographic mapping and supports the self-teaching process that leads to independent word learning without the need for explicit instruction every time.
While learning to decode words is a nonnegotiable focus in reading instruction, decoding alone isn’t enough.
Reading is a layered and dynamic process. Proficient reading develops through interconnected processes with many overlapping skills from the start. For a deep dive into a review of research that describes the interplay of word recognition, language comprehension, and self-regulation, check out the Active View of Reading. For now, keep reading for an overview.
Oral language is the true prerequisite and ever evolving foundation for formal reading instruction. Unlike reading, spoken language develops naturally from birth as children gain experience and knowledge.
Children develop the ability to receive and express ideas through talking, listening, singing, and playing. Even so, explicit instruction is necessary. To comprehend, readers rely on vocabulary, grammar, context, and background knowledge. From the earliest stages of literacy, students should be taught how words and sentences are structured. For example, learning that the –s in frogs signals more than one introduces morphemes (the smallest units in words that hold meaning)- an important bridge between spoken language and print.
Academic vocabulary and knowledge can be explicitly taught through content areas like science, social studies, and the arts. Teaching topic-specific vocabulary not only supports word learning but also builds the knowledge students need to comprehend what they read. For instance, the word amphibian has four syllables and two meaningful parts: amphi means “both” and bian (from bios) means “life.” Frogs are called amphibians because they live both on land and in water- a perfect example of how one word can unlock science content while reinforcing vocabulary. Throw in that the "ph" is another spelling for the /f/ sound and you're getting even more bang for your buck! This one word supports word recognition, builds knowledge, and boosts comprehension all at once.
Teaching literacy through rich content is a win-win. Students strengthen reading through high-interest topics and deepen understanding by discussing and writing about them. Though often overlooked in reading instruction, writing is a powerful tool for strengthening comprehension. It helps students process and organize what they’ve learned, make connections to background knowledge, and develop both oral and written language.
Oral language development must remain a central focus from birth and throughout literacy instruction. Read-alouds, shared conversations, and language-rich environments strengthen the mental framework that supports comprehension, writing, and long-term literacy. Prior knowledge stored in memory helps readers make meaningful connections for deeper understanding and retention.
Instructional needs in language skills are wildcards.
Students’ language needs are less predictable than their decoding needs because language development varies widely based on experience. Some can use their well-developed language to their advantage, while others have gaps that affect comprehension. Though we can’t always predict what a student will need to understand a given text, intentional planning and structured teaching of language skills across the curriculum help ensure all learners can access and comprehend increasingly complex material. Also- to level the playing field and cultivate independent readers, we must equip students with effective self-monitoring tools.
Instruction in metacognitive skills is a game-changer.
Metacognition is the ability to monitor and regulate one’s thinking while reading and can empower students to take control of their comprehension. Successful readers approach texts with purpose, monitor their understanding, and apply strategies flexibly when meaning breaks down. Whether facing an unfamiliar word, a confusing sentence, or limited background knowledge, self-regulated readers take action rather than guessing or relying on the teacher. Even at the beginning stages of learning to read, students can get in the habit of correcting mispronunciations and recoding as needed. Self-regulation is a key component of metacognition.
With explicit instruction and guided practice, all students can learn to be active, strategic readers.
The goal isn’t for students to use comprehension strategies in isolation, but to apply them strategically and flexibly while engaging with meaningful texts. Instead of passively being assessed on what they understand, students learn how to improve their comprehension. They can learn to strategically preview the text and set a purpose beforehand, actively monitor their comprehension as they read, and summarize to check understanding afterwards. This increases the likelihood that they’ll be successful.
Educators can promote strategic, self-regulated reading through explicit instruction, including think-alouds that model metacognitive processes. As students read, the practitioner can coach them to actively engage with the text. Equipped with a toolbox of strategies that can be flexibly applied depending on the need, developing readers can feel empowered and confident to navigate challenging texts.
Dr. Moats’ point resonates: Teaching reading is a highly skilled expertise. It literally rewires the human brain, opening up the world of literature and learning for a lifetime. The complexity of it all requires the adaptive expertise of a teacher who coordinates the art of teaching with the science of reading, who can respond flexibly and effectively with knowledge of how the brain learns. Together, these cognitive and metacognitive processes build fluent, strategic, and successful readers. The evidence is clear: teaching reading literally is brain science.
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