Due to the growing difficulties in learning to read experienced by countless children in our country, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked the National Academy of Sciences to establish a committee to examine how to prevent reading difficulties. A committee of 17 individuals with significant expertise in reading instruction was assembled. Catherine Snow of the Harvard Graduate School of Education served as Chairperson of the committee. The report written by this committee is sometimes referred to as the Snow report or the NRC (National Reading Council Committee) report.
The NRC was charged with examining the diverse reading research base across many disciplines, translating the findings for parents and educators alike, and conveying this advice through various informational outlets. The NRC report is a consensus document based on the best judgments of a diverse group of reading experts. The NRC did not specifically address how critical reading skills are most effectively taught or what instructional methods, materials, or approaches are most beneficial for students with varying skill levels.
The NRC did recommend that first- through third-grade curricula include the following (as noted in their executive summary):
Beginning readers should have explicit instruction and practice in:
- learning that spoken words include sounds.
- learning that there are spelling-sound correspondences used to identify words.
- learning sight recognition of frequent words.
- independent reading activities (including reading aloud).
- establishing reading fluency.
Students should be reading independently with encouragement to sound out and confirm words read, paying particular attention to letter-sound relationships. Children should not be taught to use pictures or the context of the reading to substitute for information provided by the letters in the word.
Word recognition accuracy and fluency should be regularly assessed.
Beginning in the earliest grades, instruction should promote comprehension. Direct instruction of such strategies as summarizing the main idea, predicting events and outcomes, and drawing inferences should be taught.
Once children learn some letters they should be encouraged to use them in writing activities. Inventive spelling is not in conflict with correct spelling during these activities. Conventionally correct spelling should be conducted with focused instruction and practice.
Time, materials, and resources should be provided with two goals:
- to support daily independent reading of texts selected to be of particular interest to the student.
- to support daily assisted reading of texts that are slightly more difficult in order to promote advances in the student's capabilities
Schools should promote independent reading outside of school.
Further, the NRC promoted literacy development in preschool and kindergarten. Education and professional development also received attention. The NRC noted that teachers should be knowledgeable about the research foundations of reading. Additionally, direction was provided on how best to teach reading to speakers of other languages. This direction included a focus on teaching children to read in their native language if they are not proficient in English but can speak a language for which there are learning materials and proficient teachers. Additionally, if children are not proficient in English but speak a language where there are no learning materials or proficient teachers or insufficient numbers of children to justify the development of such conditions, they should be taught to proficiency in spoken English. Formal reading instruction may need to be postponed until an adequate level of proficiency of spoken English has been demonstrated.
Recommendations by the NRC for ensuring adequate resources to meet children's needs were provided. Finally, a discussion of how to address the needs of children with persistent reading difficulties was provided. One point was that children who are having difficulty learning to read do not (as a rule) need qualitatively different instruction from those who do not experience reading difficulties. Reading specialists were recommended to help ensure reading excellence in schools.
The committee noted that these recommendations would provide direction for the first important steps in preventing reading difficulties in young children. The committee also noted that "most reading difficulties can be prevented" (p. 13). We encourage you to read this important Report. Since its release in 1998, the Report has drawn a great deal of attention. It served as a foundational work for the most extensive analysis of reading ever conducted -- the National Reading Panel Report (NICHD, 2000).