What is the Science of Reading?
Quick answer: The Science of Reading is a large body of research, built over decades, that explains how children and teens learn to read. It points to explicit, systematic instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, morphology and more, not guessing at words from pictures or context. Kids Up starts with an evaluation, then teaches your child the exact skills they still need to learn with tutoring based on the Science of Reading.
In This Post
What Does the Science of Reading Actually Mean?
The Science of Reading is not a single curriculum, program, or company. It is the name given to decades of research across fields like cognitive psychology, neuroscience, linguistics, and education. It's all focused on one question: how do children and teens learn to read, and why do some struggle even when they are bright and hardworking?
One of the central findings is that reading is not learned the way spoken language is. Children pick up talking just by being around it. Reading has to be taught, especially the code that connects the sounds in spoken words to the letters on a page. When that code is taught explicitly and in a logical order, with enough practice and repetition, almost all children and teens can learn to decode and, eventually, read fluently.
It helps to understand how this research connects to another term you may have seen: Structured Literacy. According to the International Dyslexia Association, Structured Literacy describes both what to teach and how to teach it, and it is informed by the Science of Reading. The two terms are related but not interchangeable.
Where Does This Research Come From?
This research did not appear overnight. It comes from reading scientists, linguists, and literacy researchers who have spent decades studying how the brain processes written language. From how a young child first notices individual sounds in words, to how a skilled reader recognizes thousands of words almost instantly with orthographic mapping.
The findings from this research do not point to one branded program. They point to a set of principles: instruction should be explicit (skills are taught directly, not left for a student to discover), systematic (skills follow a planned sequence, so none are skipped along the way), and cumulative (new skills build on what was already taught). Programs and methods can look a little different on the surface and still be grounded in the same research.
What Does Science of Reading Instruction Look Like in Practice?
In practice, each session of instruction based on the Science of Reading addresses several skills together, rather than focusing on just one:
Phonological skills: segmenting, blending, and manipulating the sounds in spoken words.
Phonics and decoding: connecting those sounds to letters and letter patterns through explicit phonics instruction, so a student can sound out an unfamiliar word instead of guessing from context, the first few letters or a picture.
Fluency: building enough automaticity that reading becomes effortless, accurate, and expressive, all at the same time. Reading quickly without accuracy or comprehension is not fluent reading.
Spelling: teaching the letter-sound patterns in both directions ("What sounds can the letters "ea" represent?" as well as "What are all of the ways you know to spell the long e sound?" since spelling and reading rely on overlapping skills.
Vocabulary and comprehension: making sure a student understands and can talk about what they read, not just decode the words on the page.
Orton-Gillingham is one well known, structured approach for teaching many of these skills, and it is often mentioned alongside the Science of Reading because it shares the same explicit, sequential approach.
Why Doesn't Every Classroom Teach This Way?
Parents often ask this once they learn what the research says. For years, many schools used approaches that leaned heavily on picture clues, context, and repeated exposure to whole words, sometimes called balanced literacy or three cueing. Some students learn to read fairly easily under almost any approach. But many others, including students with and without dyslexia, need the explicit, systematic instruction the Science of Reading points to. And even and excellent general classroom program built for an entire class at once does not always provide enough of that good instruction for a child with dyslexia.
Many schools and states are shifting their curriculum and teacher training toward Science of Reading aligned instruction. That shift takes time, and it does not always reach a student who needs support right now. That gap is often where outside support, like Kids Up's reading and dyslexia tutoring, makes the most difference.
What Makes Science of Reading Tutoring at Kids Up Different?
Reading the research is one thing. Turning it into an efficient, individualized plan for one specific child or teen is another. That research shapes every part of how Kids Up works with a student:
Evaluation before instruction. Every student starts with a literacy evaluation, so tutoring targets the exact skills that child still needs to learn.
Structured but customized. Instruction combines phonological skills training, phonics, morphology, spelling and more, rather than treating any of them alone. The plan is built around a student's skill profile, not a fixed level in a program.
High-dosage tutoring. Kids Up generally recommends 3 or more sessions per week to help students catch up to their peers as quickly as possible. The exact schedule depends on the student, their needs and their availability.
A dedicated tutor backed by a team. Every Kids Up tutor has completed the Kids Up Literacy Educator Training Program, is trained in Orton-Gillingham and Kilpatrick methodologies and receives ongoing mentoring and support from Kids Up's supervisory team.
Visible progress. Students cross off skills they've learned on their progress chart and families get weekly updates, so kids see the progress they're making and parents always know what is being taught and how it is going.
A finish line. Kids Up's goal is not endless tutoring - it's to teach the missing skills directly and efficiently and help the student "graduate" from the program. Most Kids Up students catch up to their peers in 4 to 9 months, with 3 or more tutoring sessions per week. Of course, timelines vary based on the student's starting point, goals, consistency, attendance, and skill profile.
None of this requires a dyslexia diagnosis. Most families start with a free 30 minute parent call to talk through what they are seeing at home and hearing from school, and to decide whether a literacy evaluation and tutoring are the right next step for their child.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Science of Reading a specific program or curriculum? No. The Science of Reading is a body of research, not a branded product. Different programs and tutoring approaches can each be grounded in this research while looking different on the surface.
Is Science of Reading instruction only for students with dyslexia? No. The Science of Reading benefits students with dyslexia and other reading challenges, as well as students who are keeping up in school yet have hidden gaps in their foundational skills and students who want a stronger foundation and accelerated learning.
What is the difference between the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy? The Science of Reading is the research itself. Structured Literacy describes the instructional methods, like explicit and systematic teaching, that are informed by that research. The two terms are related but not interchangeable.
Does my child need a dyslexia diagnosis to start Science of Reading tutoring? No; only about half of the students Kids Up works with have been diagnosed with dyslexia. Kids Up starts by doing a literacy evaluation with your student. That evaluation is for instructional purposes and not a medical diagnosis.
How is Orton-Gillingham related to the Science of Reading? Orton-Gillingham is one well established, structured approach to teaching reading and spelling that reflects Science of Reading principles like explicit, systematic instruction. There are many branded programs that are based on the Orton-Gillingham approach. Kids Up follows the research and combines Orton-Gillingham with other evidence-based methods and materials.
About the Author
Daniela Feldhausen is the founder of Kids Up Reading Tutors. A former attorney with a master’s degree in special education, she has extensive training in Structured Literacy, the Science of Reading, and Orton-Gillingham-based instruction. Her team evaluates each student’s reading and spelling skills, creates an individualized Structured Literacy Plan and provides the one-on-one tutoring needed to carry it out.
What sets Kids Up Reading Tutors apart?
Evaluation and Structured Literacy Plan
Evidence-based instruction with Orton-Gillingham+
Data-driven systematic, explicit instruction
For all learners, with or without dyslexia/dysgraphia
Kids & teens in grades 1-12 get caught up ASAP
Customized, 1-on-1 sessions with a dedicated tutor
High-dosage tutoring (2-5x/week) via Zoom
Focused, with an end in sight (not endless tutoring & investment)
Flexible scheduling
45/60 minute sessions
Daytime/evenings/weekends/summer
Team of tutors; switch tutors if needed for schedule changes
Our Zoom Guarantee: Try it for a week. Love it, or it's on us!
