How to teach a child to read: Expert guidance for home and classroom success

Learning to read is one of the most foundational skills children develop, setting the stage for academic success and lifelong learning. Yet, teaching reading effectively requires more than simple activities or isolated strategies. Teaching kids to read demands a thoughtful, coordinated approach that, first and foremost, consistently builds neural pathways to understand the alphabetic code and facilitate automaticity and fluency. This lessens cognitive load and ultimately paves the way for the type of deep comprehension that creates confident readers.

This guide explores evidence-aligned principles and practical strategies—all grounded in the science of reading—that educators and parents can use to support children’s reading development both in classrooms and at home.

The foundations of reading

Teaching children to read isn’t about simply surrounding children with rich literature, or offering a collection of fun classroom activities—it’s about providing consistent, explicit instruction that’s systematic, sequential, and grounded in science. Each of the components that make up Scarborough’s Reading Rope work together, starting with the fundamental connection of phonemes (the smallest units of sound) with their corresponding graphemes (written representations of sound) to help children effectively work towards building meaning.

Understanding these foundations helps create more effective instruction:

Phonemic awareness: The ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. This skill forms the basis for connecting sounds to written letters (graphemes).

Phonics: Systematic phonics instruction teaches the relationship between sounds (phonemes) and the letter or letters (graphemes) that represent them. This helps children decode (or sound out) and encode (write out) words by applying their knowledge of sound-letter relationships.

Fluency: The ability to read text accurately, with appropriate rate, and with proper expression. Fluent reading is important to allow readers to focus their cognitive energy  on comprehension rather than decoding.

Vocabulary: Knowledge of word meanings. A robust vocabulary strengthens comprehension and provides context for learning unfamiliar words.

Comprehension: The ultimate goal of reading—understanding and interpreting what is read. These components don’t develop and aren’t taught in isolation, but rather build on one another and work together as interconnected systems. Effective reading instruction addresses all of these areas over the course of multiple years through a sequential and explicit structured literacy approach.

Classroom strategies for teaching children to read

Successful classroom reading instruction builds on the foundations above through explicit instruction that’s aligned with the science of reading. Below are strategies that help to build strong, capable, and confident readers.

Systematic phonics instruction: Teach letter-sound relationships explicitly and in a logical sequence, moving from simple to complex patterns. Use multisensory approaches that engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning pathways as well as allow for maximum student engagement.

Daily opportunities for oral reading: In the early stages of reading provide regular practice with decodable texts that reinforce recently taught phonics patterns. Balance this with exposure to rich literature through read-alouds.

Explicit vocabulary + morphology instruction: Teach new words directly before, during, and after reading, using student-friendly definitions and plenty of examples. Revisit vocabulary in multiple contexts and offer students opportunities to practice applying new vocabulary in different ways. In addition, students benefit greatly from morphology instruction: understanding how to break down unfamiliar words into their smallest units of meaning.

Structured comprehension activities: By “thinking out loud,” teachers can model comprehension strategies like predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing— gradually releasing responsibility as students become more independent.

Data-driven instruction and progress monitoring: Use regular assessments to identify students’ strengths and needs, then tailor instruction accordingly. Monitor progress frequently to ensure strategies are effective.

Core instruction + intervention = acceleration

While Tier I instruction also includes differentiation,some students will need more instruction in addition to their Tier 1 core literacy instruction. Whether it’s because these students have skill gaps they need to close or they have an obstacle to their learning, intervention provides targeted and diagnostic instruction for those readers that really need it.

When students who struggle are able to receive their grade level core literacy instruction and additional intervention instruction, we see them begin to accelerate towards proficiency.

Effective interventions are:

• Based on diagnostic assessment data
• More intensive and targeted than core instruction
• Focused on specific skill deficits
• Delivered in small groups or individually
• Monitored regularly for effectiveness

For comprehensive guidance on implementing reading intervention, explore 95 Percent Group’s reading intervention strategies.

Supporting reading at home

Parents can play an important role in supporting children’s reading development. These evidence-based strategies can make a significant difference:

Engage in rich conversations: Meaningful discussions build knowledge of language structures, vocabulary, and background knowledge. Ask open-ended questions, explain unfamiliar words, and connect topics to your child’s experiences.

Limit screen time: Excessive screen use can reduce the time spent on meaningful language-building activities. Set reasonable limits and ensure screentime is enriching for the child.

Read together daily: Make reading aloud a consistent routine. This builds positive associations with books while modeling fluent reading and exposing children to rich language and ideas. Building a child’s interest in stories and ideas that are above their actual reading level keeps them excited about learning to read.

Create a literature and print-rich environment: Surround your child with books, labels, and writing materials. Point out environmental print during daily activities.

Support school instruction: Ask your child’s teacher about current phonics patterns or heart words being taught. Practice these specifically at home using the same language and techniques if possible, or point specific patterns out when you see them in shared reading.

Make reading enjoyable: Follow your child’s interests when selecting books. Create positive reading experiences that foster a love of reading together rather than treating it as a chore. One way to help encourage varied interests is to visit your local library. Talking with a librarian about what your child is interested in can result in finding shelves full of books for them to discover.

Addressing common reading challenges at home

Even with strong instruction, some children face challenges in learning to read. Here are some suggestions to help understand when a child may need additional support at school or at home:

Recognize frustration signs: When children find something too difficult to do, they will often just try to avoid doing it. Watch for avoidance behaviors, anxiety about reading aloud, or complaints that reading is “boring” or “too hard.” These often signal underlying difficulties.

Build confidence: Provide plenty of practice with texts at the appropriate level. At home, this is where knowing where children are in the skill development can be helpful., Asking the teacher for a list of suggested practice books may be helpful. Success builds confidence—and texts that are too difficult can quickly lead to frustration.

Address lack of motivation: Connect reading to children’s interests and real-world applications. Let children choose books when possible and celebrate their progress. At home, deciding on a time of day you will all read together for 15 minutes can help make it more routine and less of a heavy lift. For example, reading at bedtime can be a very special routine.

Support persistence: Normalize struggle as part of learning. Teach specific strategies for tackling difficult words rather than immediately providing the answer. Model making mistakes and working through them. When adults show that they are always learning and correcting, it helps kids to see that just because something is challenging, it’s not impossible.

Tools & resources for schools and districts

These evidence-based tools can enhance reading instruction in the classroom:

95 Percent Group Products:

• 95 Phonemic Awareness Suite™ : Resources and tools for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruction
• 95 Phonics Lesson Library 2.0™: Offers comprehensive, structured phonics instruction—with new print and digital upgrades!
• Comprehension and vocabulary programs: Builds meaning-making skills through explicit instruction
• 95 RAP™ (Reading Achievement Program): Tier 3 intensive intervention tool, digital and teacher-led
• 95 Literacy Intervention System™: an end-to-end solution with intervention and instruction all in one place

Tools & resources for parents and caregivers

Explore these resources to learn more about how you can support your child’s reading development at home.

• The Reading League’s Science of Reading Defining Guide
• How Your Brain Learns to Read, by Denise Eide
• Uncovering the Logic of English: A Commonsense Solution to America’s Literacy Crisis by Deise Eide
• Straight Talk about Reading: How Parents Can Make Difference During the Early Years by Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats, EdD

Building strong readers for life

Reading is a critical, foundational skill that offers children a greater chance of a successful trajectory in school and beyond. Teaching kids to read requires effective instruction with a consistent and structured approach that addresses all components of reading development—and often extra support both at school and at home.  By implementing these principles and strategies in both classroom and home environments, we can help all children develop the reading skills they need and deserve for success.

Expert Biography

Laura Stewart
Chief Academic Officer

Laura Stewart is a nationally recognized science of reading and structured literacy advocate, author, and expert who is building 95 Percent Group’s thought leadership position in the literacy market. Laura has dedicated her career to improving literacy achievement at leading education companies including The Reading League, Highlights Education Group, and Rowland Reading Foundation.