Focusing on the Science of Reading Comprehension

Helping all students learn to read successfully remains one of the highest priorities for educators and the public. Researchers and practitioners continue to learn more about the science of reading. Plus, we can all benefit from focusing on different aspects of the process of learning to read, then seeing how the pieces of the puzzle provided by different fields and researchers fit together.1

Take a Multifaceted Approach

As we grapple with this complexity, leading researchers, and the most recent research into the science of teaching reading, encourage us to remember the vital importance of synthesizing what we know when working with real students:

“A mind-set to bring to this piece is that fostering reading comprehension development across a wide range of readers requires a multifaceted approach. Scientific research has revealed many individual instructional practices and combinations of practices that foster reading comprehension development. Some conversations about reading comprehension engage an either/or approach, such as these two statements, respectively: (1) Don’t teach strategies; build knowledge. (2) Don’t focus on comprehension; focus on word reading. This tendency does not reflect research findings and does not maximize the likelihood that we will meet the needs of all developing readers.”2

Reading comprehension is not “just” one of the pillars of the science of reading. It’s the reason that teasing apart these skills and then practicing integrating all the other pillars is so important. That’s why having students regularly and consistently practice reading complex texts that are rich in meaning is such a cornerstone of a quality education.

Broadly speaking, as shown in the well-known diagram of the Simple View of Reading (below), when we read, the skills associated with word recognition (WC) are multiplied by those associated with language comprehension (LC), to yield reading comprehension (RC). This helps explain why read-alouds of complex texts build reading comprehension—through general language development, as well as through developing specific overlapping skills such as inferencing, visualizing, and making personal connections.

Instruction Should Be Simultaneous, Not Sequential

While research continues to emphasize that for skilled readers, literacy skills are not isolated but interwoven (see Scarborough’s Rope below), questions of instructional planning and practice remain. Educators must ascertain how to create effective curricula for all students that support all these aspects of learning to read.

Fortunately, researchers are drawing together studies that provide some guidance. Although reading comprehension does depend on foundational skills, recent research by Dr. Nell K. Duke and others states clearly that instruction, support, and practice in making meaning from texts should be “simultaneous, not sequential.”

“Given the absolute necessity of foundational word-reading skills, it is tempting to think that instruction should begin with a focus on developing those and later turn to comprehension. However, research has supported a simultaneous, rather than sequential, model of reading instruction. Along with the development of phonological awareness, print concepts, and alphabet knowledge, young learners in preschool and early elementary school benefit from efforts to develop oral language comprehension, including efforts to develop oral comprehension of written language (i.e., through read-­ alouds; e.g., Cervetti, 2020; Swanson et al., 2011).”3

The diagram below by Dr. Duke and Dr. Kelly Cartwright helps us deepen our understanding of the science of reading comprehension, especially through the addition of “bridging processes” between word recognition and language comprehension, as well as the initial circle showing the role of “active self-regulation.” This reader model organizes and integrates other research in ways that help explain the impact of various literacy experiences for students.

The Active View of Reading

Duke and Cartwright, 2021 4

Reader, “text, task and context” adjustments help educators tailor shared literacy experiences to provide instruction and practice in these complex, overlapping aspects of being a good reader.

Rich, Complex Texts are Critical

The importance of all students engaging in rich, collaborative language experiences around complex texts as part of the English language arts curriculum cannot be overstated. Decades of research on both the general principles and specific practices and programs demonstrates that learners cannot be reduced to a reading score or always work in leveled groups. Language development and reading comprehension can be effectively coached and improved while working with a much wider range of students, from a much earlier age, than some might expect.<sup>5</sup>

Such experiences demand the rich, meaningful complex texts Junior Great Books® provides and the detailed support for teachers in planning Shared Inquiry™ learning, including higher-level questions and activities aligned with research-based practices for building fluency, vocabulary, and background knowledge. Each engaging text and genre offers fresh opportunities to make meaning and to read for deeper comprehension. In Junior Great Books, students learn to strategically weave together elements of language comprehension, print conventions, background knowledge, and more over time as they also practice using their foundational reading skills.

The Junior Great Books program and Shared Inquiry learning engage readers with the task of collaboratively making meaning of complex texts. This provides students with reading comprehension practice, plus gives teachers opportunities for coaching and further instruction. Differentiation in instruction and support throughout the process enables all students to develop new skills and knowledge, while providing practice integrating other reading and language arts skills.

Decades of research and many multi-year implementations in a wide variety of classrooms around the world have demonstrated the power of this productive student discussion model to help build better readers, thinkers, and communicators.6 Learn more about Great Books professional development in the collaborative Shared Inquiry approach for all ages and explore the outstanding texts and skill-building interpretive activities of Junior Great Books by downloading sample lesson plans for your grade level.

  1. For an introduction to this topic, as well as other posts on the science of reading, please see:
    1. What Makes a Good Reader? It’s Complicated
    2. Productive Student Discussion Builds Better Readers
    3. Orchestrating Learning: How Junior Great Books Transforms Classroom Discourse
    4. The Science of Reading and Junior Great Books
    5. How to Ensure That Gifted Students Grow as Readers
  2. Duke, N. K., Ward, A. & Pearson, P. D. “The Science of Reading Comprehension Instruction.” The Reading Teacher, Vol. 74 No. 6, May/June 2021.
  3. Duke, et al. See also
    “Comprehensive Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners,”by Laurie Olson, PhD, National Committee for Effective Literacy.
  4. The Active View of Reading graphic: Duke, N. K., & Cartwright, K. B. “The Science of Reading Progresses: Communicating Advances Beyond the Simple View of Reading.”
    Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1), S25–S44, 07 May 2021.
    https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rrq.411
  5. Mike Schmoker and Timothy Shanahan,
    “Small-Group Reading Instruction is Not as Effective as You Think.”
    Education Week, 26 September 2025.
  6. The Great Books Foundation. Evidence for the Effectiveness of Great Books K-12 Programs and Inquiry-Based Learning.

Senior Academic Consultant Denise Ahlquist has enjoyed leading thousands of Shared Inquiry discussions with participants ranging from ages 4 to 99, across the United States and abroad. A veteran educator and “road warrior,” she has introduced thousands of other teachers and learners to the Shared Inquiry method and supported them in a wide variety of K–12 environments.

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