Understanding Scarborough’s Rope: How It Can Inform Early Literacy Instruction

What is Scarborough’s Rope?

Scarbough’s Reading Rope is a visual representation of the cognitive skills required for effective, fluent reading.

Scarborough’s Rope is a useful tool for improving our understanding of reading and research-based early literacy instruction.

But first, what is reading?

Reading is a complex process of transforming written symbols into language. It requires an elaborate, sophisticated interaction of many different skills, all happening at once. It can be difficult to describe reading in a way that is both sufficiently thorough and easy to understand.

It is little wonder that the topic of how best to teach children to read has led to vigorous debates over the years. The good news is that we now have plenty of evidence about what happens during fluent, effective reading and what works (and what doesn’t) when it comes to providing instruction that will produce successful readers. This good news comes to us from decades of research known as the “science of reading.”

One of the most notable findings of the science of reading research is the essential nature of phonics skills.

For several decades prior to this research becoming widely available, many reading programs expressly avoided phonics instruction, and many teachers were never adequately trained in how to deliver high-quality phonics instruction. This deficit in teacher training has been felt especially keenly by early childhood educators, who are now working to learn how they can implement research-based early literacy instruction.

What these educators already have great knowledge of is the importance of play-based, developmentally appropriate classroom practices that honor the whole child and promote development and learning across all domains.

The question for early childhood teachers, then, is this: “Is there an instructional ‘sweet spot’ that both builds young children’s early literacy skills and honors what we know to be best for young children?”

Visualizing a complex process

To better understand how to reach this instructional sweet spot, we will return to the popular visual known as Scarborough’s Reading Rope. It offers a simplified explanation of how a wide variety of knowledge, skills, and abilities overlap and intertwine to yield effective, efficient reading skills.

The rope’s two main strands relate to language comprehension and word recognition. Each of these two main strands is a product of many other interwoven strands. And, much like a rope, the sturdier and more robust the individual strands are, and the more closely they are woven together, the stronger a person’s reading skills are.

Concepts related to phonics are part of the “word recognition” strand, as are phonological awareness and the ability to recognize familiar words by sight without having to decode them. The language comprehension strand includes background knowledge, vocabulary, the structure of language, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge.

The main takeaway here is that phonics instruction is essential but not enough on its own to prepare children for reading. Children still need and deserve access to interesting learning experiences that build background knowledge and vocabulary, interactions with and discussion of high-quality children’s literature, daily opportunities for socialization and conversation with both peers and adults, and a learning environment that respects children and their families.

Is it all too much to ask? We don’t think so. In fact, we think it’s exactly what you should be asking for.

Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.

The science of reading research—elegantly represented in Scarborough’s Rope—makes clear that, just as children need to develop a wide range of skills, so do teachers.
Here at Teaching Strategies, we’ve assembled a suite of resources designed especially to help preschool and pre-K teachers build the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to confidently lead effective early literacy instruction.

• Kickstart Literacy, a research-based early literacy curriculum, is designed to build a strong foundation in phonological and phonemic awareness and phonics skills. It is intended for use with children in preschool and pre-K programs during the year before their entry into kindergarten.
• Early Literacy Certification is a 2-year professional learning experience designed to prepare early childhood educators to incorporate the science of reading research into their everyday practices. It includes both individual, asynchronous, online coursework and large-group live events, as well as personalized coaching and other implementation support.
• Studies from The Creative Curriculum offer children robust, authentic opportunities to build oral language skills and research skills; ask and answer questions; grow their vocabulary; and engage with books, stories, and meaningful environmental print.
• Ready Rosie provides teachers with learning ideas to share with families, including easy ways that families can intentionally promote and extend children’s early literacy skills at home.