Scarborough's Reading Rope
Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97-110). Guilford Press.
Scarborough's Reading Rope is...
A visual metaphor for the reading and language elements needed to become a good reader. It captures the development of literacy components (represented by each thread) that lead to skilled reading comprehension. The main strands, as seen on the left, are word recognition and language comprehension, which are woven together.
Scarborough's Reading Rope
What Does It Illustrate?
Decoding occurs when the reader knows the sound units in spoken language and can connect them to written letters that represent those sounds. The reader also needs vocabulary and background knowledge to access the meaning of the words. With instruction and practice, most words become sight words, meaning they can be recognized automatically and effortlessly.
Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97-110). Guilford Press.
Scarborough's Reading Rope
What Does It Illustrate?
Automatic word recognition allows the reader to read connected text fluently while being able to strategically use other resources, such as grammar, background knowledge, language structure, and literacy knowledge, to arrive at maximal comprehension. The more developed these skills, the more tightly wound the rope, and the better a student comprehends the text.
Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97-110). Guilford Press.
