Scarborough's Reading Rope

The Two Main Strands of the Reading Rope

The Reading Rope consists of two primary components: Word Recognition and Language Comprehension. These are the foundational skills that readers need to become proficient, and each is made up of various subskills.

1. Word Recognition

This strand involves the ability to recognize words accurately and effortlessly. It consists of:

• Phonological Awareness – Understanding and manipulating sounds in spoken language.
• Decoding – Applying letter-sound relationships to read unfamiliar words.
• Sight Recognition – Instantly recognizing familiar words without decoding.

Readable English supports decoding in a way that takes the guesswork out of sounding out words. With its built-in pronunciation guide, students can accurately decode words without struggling to piece together unfamiliar sounds. This feature builds fluency and confidence, enabling students to move through texts more smoothly. By reinforcing these foundational skills, Readable English helps students develop automatic word recognition, which is essential for fluent reading.

2. Language Comprehension

This strand enables readers to make meaning from text. It includes:

• Background Knowledge – Understanding the world and concepts related to what is being read.
• Vocabulary – Knowing the meanings of words and how they relate to each other.
• Language Structures – Understanding grammar, sentence structure, and syntax.
• Verbal Reasoning – Making inferences and understanding figurative language.
• Literacy Knowledge – Recognizing text structures and conventions.

Readable English not only supports word recognition but also has a positive impact on language comprehension. By freeing up cognitive resources that might otherwise be spent on decoding, students can focus more on expanding their vocabulary and building deeper comprehension skills. As decoding becomes automatic, the brain can focus on processing and understanding the meaning behind the text, enhancing overall reading comprehension.

The Simple View of Reading: Expanding on the Model

To further illustrate how these components work together, consider the Simple View of Reading, introduced by Gough and Turner in 1986. This widely accepted model suggests that reading comprehension (RC) depends on two key factors: decoding (D) and language comprehension (LC). The formula is:

Decoding (D) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC)

The Simple View of Reading underscores the idea that decoding and comprehension are both necessary for successful reading. Readable English plays a crucial role in strengthening the decoding strand by ensuring that students can decode words accurately and automatically. As decoding becomes less cognitively demanding, students can dedicate more resources to improving language comprehension and, ultimately, reading comprehension.

Scarborough’s Reading Rope builds on the Simple View by breaking these components down into smaller, more detailed subskills. Readable English supports the development of these subskills by helping students master the foundational aspect of word recognition, which in turn allows them to focus on comprehension and meaning-making.

Why Is the Reading Rope Important?

The Reading Rope is a valuable tool because it demonstrates the interconnected nature of reading skills. Weakness in one strand—whether it's word recognition or language comprehension—can affect overall reading proficiency. However, with targeted instruction and support, each strand can be strengthened. Readable English helps reinforce the word recognition strand, providing the necessary support for students to build fluency and confidence in their reading.

By improving students’ decoding abilities, Readable English creates a smoother reading experience, enabling them to focus on the higher-order skills required for effective comprehension. The end result is a well-rounded reader with the tools needed for success.