literacy & dyslexia

Science of Reading (The Reading Brain and Neuroscience)

With only about one-third of students in our country reading proficiently, there is an urgent need to use reading instructional practices that are supported by current evidence about all that the reading brain and whole child need to succeed.

Evidence from psycholinguistics and cognitive neuroscience research conducted by us and our colleagues reveals a critical insight for the Science of Reading: Unlike many other academic skills, reading is an inherently unnatural task without a ready-made brain system to support it.

Many areas in the brain are involved in reading. This helps explain why children must be supported in developing a full range of reading sub-skills — including skills related to phonology, prosody, pragmatics, orthography, syntax, semantics, morphology, and motivation.

An understanding of all these processes is at the heart of an evolving Science of Reading. This evolving view is in contrast with a view of the Science of Reading in which the emphasis, however important, is only on phonics.

Research and Resources

Gotlieb, R. J. M., Rhinehart, L., & Wolf, M. (2022). The “reading brain” is taught, not born: Evidence from the evolving neuroscience of reading for teachers and society. The Reading League Journal, 3(3), 11-17.

Orkin, M., Vanacore, K., Rhinehart, L., Gotlieb, R., & Wolf, M. (2022). The importance of being fluent: A comprehensive approach. The Reading League Journal, 3(2), 4-13

Wolf, M. (2007). Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. New York: HarperCollins.

Wolf, M. & Gottwald, S. (2016). Tales of Literacy in the 21st Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press. In Literary Agenda Series, Editor: Phillip Davis.