Teaching reading: Development and differentiation

Children’s development as readers is a complex and multifaceted process. Rather than emphasizing individual components of reading instruction, Melanie R. Kuhn and Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl argue that it is more effective to view the reading process as a reciprocal or interactive one in which readers’ development in one component of reading can support their growth in other components. Further, while some components need to be consistently emphasized (i.e., vocabulary, comprehension) across readers’ developmental path, others should be focused on at specific developmental moments (e.g., alphabet knowledge, phonemic awareness). The authors present a general overview of how readers develop and discuss how to flexibly design instruction to meet students’ needs, enhance student learning, and better ensure all students become skilled readers.