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NICHD Reading Research: From Research to Practice The Reading Research Program at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) started shortly after the Institute was founded in 1963. How Reading Works The National Reading Panel The Partnership for Reading NICHD Reading Resources In the early reading research supported by the NICHD, scientists confirmed scientifically that spoken words are actually made up of individual pieces of sound a person puts together so seamlessly and quickly that technology could not measure them. These pieces of sound are called phonemes. For example, the word bag has three phonemes that can be represented as /b/, /a/, and /g/. An oscilloscope (pronounced ah-SILL-oh-skope)—a device for measuring sound—detects only a single sound when bag is spoken. The English language contains approximately 40 phonemes. The brain puts them together automatically and unconsciously, at a rate of about eight to 10 per second. In essence, phonemes are the building blocks of spoken words, and words only have meaning when the phonemes are combined. With NICHD funding, researchers soon discovered that the ability to read hinged on the knowledge that words can be separated into these phonemes, a process called phonemic awareness. With phonemic awareness, a person can begin to recognize that the written letters of the alphabet, either singly or in combination, stand for the phonemes of spoken words. The knowledge that letters of the alphabet represent the sounds of language reflects what is called the alphabetic principle. When this understanding is coupled with the application of sounds to letters, reading is called phonics. For example, when one tries to read unfamiliar nonsense words like blit or fratchet, the letters must be linked to the sounds (or phonemes of language) to pronounce them. This fact reflects the application of both phonemic awareness and phonics to word reading. For most beginning readers, words are just as unfamiliar as trying to read nonsense words. But, phonemic awareness and phonics skills allow new readers to unlock new words and to read them. Phonemic awareness and phonics, while necessary to learn to read, are not sufficient alone. Children must also be able to apply the skills quickly, to understand the words they read, and to relate what they read to their own lives and experiences. Using this research as a foundation, NICHD-supported researchers have made great progress in understanding reading. Advances include (but are not limited to) these findings: Children are more likely to have trouble reading in the later grades if they lack phonemic awareness in kindergarten; Simple tests of children's skill at working with phonemes could predict later reading problems and failure; and Children's reading can be improved using simple techniques to show them how to identify the phonemes in words. Reading comprehension requires not only phonemic awareness and phonics, but reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies. NICHD-supported researchers have also discovered the brain regions that control reading and how activity in these regions differs for poor readers and strong readers. NICHD researchers also defined methods for re-training the brain to use its reading regions and have proven the success of these methods by measuring brain activity. The National Reading Panel In 1997, congress asked the NICHD to work with the in establishing a that would evaluate existing research and evidence to find the best ways of teaching children to read. The 14-member panel considered roughly 100,000 reading studies published since 1966, and another 15,000 published before that time; from this pool, the panel selected several hundred studies for its review and analysis. The panel found that a combination of techniques is effective for teaching children to read: Phonemic awareness—the knowledge that spoken words can be broken apart into smaller segments of sound known as phonemes. Children who are read to at home—especially material that rhymes—often develop the basis of phonemic awareness. Children who are not read to will probably need to be taught that words can be broken apart into smaller sounds. Phonics—the knowledge that letters of the alphabet represent phonemes, and that these sounds are blended together to form written words. Readers who are skilled in phonics can sound out words they haven't seen before, without first having to memorize them. Fluency—the ability to recognize words easily, read with greater speed, accuracy, and expression, and to better understand what is read. Children gain fluency by practicing reading until the process becomes automatic; guided oral repeated reading is one approach to helping children become fluent readers. Guided oral reading—reading out loud while getting guidance and feedback from skilled readers. The combination of practice and feedback promotes reading fluency. Teaching vocabulary words—teaching new words, either as they appear in text, or by introducing new words separately. This type of instruction also aids reading ability. Reading comprehension strategies—techniques for helping individuals to understand what they read. Such techniques involve having students summarize what they've read, to gain a better understanding of the material. The panel's findings, released in April 2000, and other reading research, provided the basis for the , which was signed by the President in December 2001. The Act calls upon states to set basic reading standards for local school systems, and to test students to assure they have met those standards. The Partnership for Reading In 2001, the NICHD, the National Institute for Literacy, and the U.S. Department of Education formed the , a collaborative effort to distribute evidence-based reading research information, including the findings of the National Reading Panel, to those who can benefit the most from it. The Partnership provides the needed information to ensure that the methods of reading instruction used in the classroom rely on evidence, like that put forth by NICHD-supported researchers. NICHD Reading Resources To learn more about the National Reading Panel findings, visit the panel's Web site at You can also view, download, and print, or to order single copies of NICHD publications on reading. To learn more about NICHD-supported reading research, go to the Child Development and Behavior Branch (CDBB) Reading Resources page. To order multiple copies of reading publications, go to . To read about other NICHD-supported findings about reading, read the Institute's news releases about reading findings.