Need to know or nice to know… What is at the heart of the science of reading for teachers?

The depth, breadth and volume of articles, books and presentations on scientific reading research is enormous and growing every day. It can be overwhelming even for researchers, educators and practitioners who have been immersed in the literature for decades. Interpreting the research and translating it into classroom practice requires specialised knowledge and a lot of time, and the prospect can be daunting and demotivating for busy teachers who are newly aware of the Science of Reading. But there is a clear pathway through it to great teaching by thinking about simplicity and opportunity cost. One way to think of this is to keep the main thing the main thing – and the main thing is getting students reading fluently and with comprehension, and giving them lots of supported opportunities to do so.