By Karen King

A report by The Centre for Independent Studies (Read About It: Scientific Evidence for the Effective Teaching of Reading) suggests that Australian children are finding learning to read more and more challenging. In fact, the study reported that as many as one million Australian children currently experience difficulties with reading, and that one in four children starts school without the vocabulary and phonetic skills required to learn to read.

So how can we help children in learning this important skill?

As a result of this report The Centre for Independent Studies is launching the Five from Five program, which aims to promote improved reading instruction using five key components. These components are:

• Phonemic awareness – the ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds in words
• Phonics – using knowledge of letter-sound relationships to decode words
• Fluency – reading with accuracy and appropriate speed
• Vocabulary – understanding the structure of written language and knowing the meaning of a wide variety of words
• Comprehension – understanding the meaning and intent of a text

Through the promotion of explicit, evidence-based instruction in each of these areas, the Five from Five program hopes to improve literacy rates in Australian children and provide the next generation with greater knowledge and opportunities.

To learn more about Five from Five, you can visit their website.