Approximate time to complete: 30 minutes 

Download the Course Companion document before starting this course. You can use the Companion Document to take notes on your learning, address reflection prompts, and as an easy way to retrieve course resources.  

Learning Objectives: 

Participants will be able to: 

  • Explain the different readings skills that underly the two major components of the Simple View of Reading: word recognition and language comprehension 
  • Identify how to improve their instruction to ensure students develop the skills that are essential to reading comprehension

Consider This Scenario

Connection Point

In your Course Companion Document, consider these questions:  

  • Can you relate to this scenario? In what ways are your challenges in literacy instruction similar or different? 

Mr. Beal is a fourth-grade teacher at Weller Elementary. Throughout his career he has relied on a few techniques to support students' reading. These include using pictures and context cues to help students figure out words they struggled to read. However, Mr. Beal recently took a training on the Simple View of Reading and now understands that his previous approaches were not the best for teaching all children to read. He is excited to change his instruction to support word recognition and language comprehension. However, he is not sure how to begin to make these changes. 

What are the Essential Components of Reading?

According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is a product of word recognition and language comprehension.

Figure 1. The SIMPLE VIEW OF READING

formula illustrating that reading comprehension is the product of word recognition and language comprehension

Word recognition is the ability to transform print into spoken language and language comprehension is the ability to understand spoken language. However, each of these components - word recognition and language comprehension - are made up of a complex network of multiple skills that need to be addressed in reading instruction. 

For example, in the conventional literacy phase, word recognition and language comprehension are each comprised of multiple, critical reading skills. 

Figure 2. Conventional Language and Literacy

more detailed illustrated formula that reading comprehension is the product of word recognition and language comprehension

The Essential Components of Reading with Carolyn Turner

This video, featuring Carolyn Turner covers the essential components of reading in more detail. There is a place in your Course Companion to take notes. 

Knowledge Check

Take the following quiz to test your knowledge of the essential components of reading. Click on the square button to expand the quiz. 

Resources

One of the most popular conceptualizations of the components of reading is Scarborough's Reading Rope. The Reading Rope provides a visual representation of the components of word comprehension and language recognition, which are vital for reading comprehension. Read the article Scarborough's Reading Rope from Really Great Reading to learn more. 

After reading the article consider the following questions: 

  • Which of the components represented in Scarborough's Reading Rope are currently taught in your classroom or building? Are there areas to address any components that are missing? 

Course Reflection

Answer the following questions in your Course Companion: 

  • How has the learning in this course affirmed or challenged your understanding of how students learn how to read? 
  • What questions do you still have about the components of reading? 
  • What is a step you can take to improve your current approach to reading instruction in response to what you have learned in the course? Who needs to be involved to make this step successful? 

To Learn More

The following resources can help you learn more about the components of reading: 

  • Ohio's Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement provides an in depth overview of the components of reading for students in the emergent, early, conventional and adolescent literacy stages. 
  • Models of Reading from Reading Rockets provides an introduction to widely-used models that help to explain how children learn to read. 

Feedback: 

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Last Modified: 2/26/2025 9:26:37 AM