Why is reading important anyway?

Outside the classroom, reading is used in our everyday lives. From recognizing street signs for directions to sending a text message, language is all over the place. It is truly important to navigate the world and to learn from it. Literacy is important more than ever due to the increase of digital spaces. Online news, communication, and other places of information are very prevalent. Above all, reading enriches your life in various ways, making it a valuable skill to cultivate!

What is Scarborough’s Rope?

The concept of the reading rope was invented by Dr. Hollis Scarborough in 2001. This rope consists of two different components: word recognition and language comprehension. Within each strand are even more complex skills.

All of the rope must be strong in order for the reader to become stronger.

Word Recognition

In order to help support our developing readers, we must build up the foundations of language. It is ideal that we get our readers to be able to automatically recognize a word (Joo et al, 2021). The three parts of word recognition are: phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition. Reading and writing are not innate skills, however speaking is (Liberman, Shankweiler, & Liberman, 1989). Being able to understand language rules allow readers to easily decode words. Our goal for this part of the reading rope is to take less time to decode words. By decreasing the processing time, we are able to focus our attention on understanding what we are reading.

Language Comprehension

The second part of Scarborough’s rope comprises background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge. These skills are obtained through exposure to different books, life experiences, and most of all: reading! When it comes to a new text, it is important to have a knowledge of the context, who wrote it, and much more. Readers are then able to grasp the author’s intentions and its purpose. Having a wider vocabulary allows our readers to enjoy a whole new world of texts. 

How can I help my reader?

• Practice sight words: Sight words are words that appear frequently in texts. This will help your reader spend more of their energy to decode much difficult words.

• Encourage reading! Read with them, listen to them talk about what they read, ask questions! It is important to help them stay motivated and interested.

• Try challenging them to learn something new from what they read. Or to explore a world in a book.

• Ask open ended questions during the reading process. This encourages your student to describe, predict and reflect on what they have read. It engages conversation and experience with comprehension and expressive vocabulary.

• Incorporate vocabulary learning with context. A wide range of vocabulary is very important for comprehension. To create a rich reading experience, we recommend for readers to use context to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words.

• Repeated Reading! Reading the same passage multiple times is important. It is through repetition that readers can increase their prosody and accuracy.

• Differentiation: Using visual flashcards or story maps. Listening to audiobooks or reading aloud while following a text. Trace letters in sand or using magnetic letters to spell words.

How BetterGradez apply this method in 1:1 Tutoring for Reading?

At BetterGradez, we apply Scarborough’s Reading Rope framework in our 1:1 tutoring sessions by focusing on strengthening both word recognition and language comprehension. Our personalized approach tailors each session to the student’s specific needs, ensuring that foundational skills like phonological awareness, decoding, and sight word recognition are thoroughly developed. Through repeated reading exercises and phonics activities, we help students become faster and more accurate in word recognition, allowing them to shift their attention toward comprehension.

In the comprehension part of the reading rope, we integrate context-based vocabulary learning, background knowledge, and verbal reasoning into reading sessions. Tutors expose students to diverse texts and encourage critical thinking by asking open-ended questions that prompt students to reflect on the material and make inferences. We also reinforce these concepts through differentiated techniques, such as using visual aids like flashcards and story maps, while engaging multiple senses through activities like tracing letters in sand or listening to audiobooks.

Our tutors consistently revisit reading passages to increase fluency, accuracy, and prosody through repeated reading, helping students internalize reading strategies and develop stronger comprehension skills. This holistic approach helps students build the essential reading skills described by Scarborough, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding and lifelong love of reading.

References:

Joo S.J. et al. (2021). Automaticity in the reading circuitry. Brain and Language 214 (2021) 104906. https://edneuro.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Automaticity-in-reading.pdf 

Liberman, I.Y., Shankweiler, D., & Liberman, A.M. (1989). The Alphabetic Principle and Learning To Read. ERIC. ED427291.

Keywords: 

Reading comprehension tutor, reading tutoring near me, online reading tutor, 1-on-1 reading tutor, reading help for kids, reading comprehension tutoring for elementary students, private reading tutor, best reading tutor near me, reading comprehension strategies for kids, personalized reading tutoring, improve reading comprehension skills, reading tutoring for struggling readers.