2019 Utah Rural Schools Conference

There is a science to teaching reading. When teachers understand this science and utilize strategies the support the science of reading, they will be more effective and their students more successful. This session will outline how the brain learns to read and what it means for those that teach reading. Additionally, strategies and resources will be shared that support how the human brain best learns to read and will include examples of explicit instruction, routines, and more. Participants will leave equipped to make small changes in their teaching which will lead to huge gains in student outcomes.

Reading is not hard-wired in the human brain, yet with recent advances in neuroscience, we understand, better than ever, the science of how humans learn to read. When educators understand this science, they can become more effective reading teachers. This session will briefly review how humans process and store information when learning to read and how this translates to best practices in the classroom. In addition, participants will leave with a collection of effective strategies for teaching phonics, "sight" words, vocabulary, and comprehension.