Why Knowledge Building Matters in the Science of Reading

As a first-year teacher, I thought I knew exactly what to expect—and exactly what to do. I had spent hours in my classroom painstakingly creating a welcoming space for my students. I bought loads of children’s books and displayed them invitingly. I read the teacher guides and organized every required material. I was ready. 

Of all the subject areas, I was most excited to teach my littles how to read. I had been a voracious reader as a child, and I couldn’t wait to help my students build that same love of reading.

But I realized quickly that my undergraduate coursework in this area hadn’t quite prepared me for the reality of teaching children to read. I followed the resources I was given, which focused almost entirely on guided reading with leveled readers and predictable text. I taught students to use pictures, context, or initial letters to help read words. And many of my students struggled.

I thought I was doing the right thing. I followed the manuals. I read professional learning books to deepen my knowledge. I asked questions in professional development sessions. But it wasn’t until I saw Dr. Hollis Scarborough’s Reading Rope visual in 2001 that the light bulb finally went on.

Knowledge building within the science of reading

I spent the next few years learning what the science of reading shows us about how the reading brain is built. I learned that reading is taught, not caught, and that instruction should be explicit, systematic, and cumulative. I went through intensive science of reading training and finally learned how the 26 letters of the English alphabet represent approximately 44 sounds and how to teach those relationships effectively.

And while I now had a framework for understanding the word recognition side of Scarborough’s Reading Rope, I still struggled with the language comprehension side. The explicit, systematic phonics instruction I was providing was mission-critical. But even as my students learned to decode and encode words and explain the rules and patterns, reading comprehension remained a challenge.

Again, I thought I was doing the right thing. I was teaching phonics. I was also teaching comprehension skills and strategies: making inferences, identifying theme and point of view, creating mental images, asking questions, determining importance. We talked about finding “just-right” books so students could practice these skills in their own reading. And still, many students weren’t able to apply to their own reading what we had spent weeks practicing.

My instruction still felt siloed: phonics time over here, comprehension skills time over there. But through more professional learning, training, and study, I finally had another light bulb moment. I saw the common thread that could connect the pieces and break down those silos: knowledge building. 

What is knowledge building?

Knowledge building is the intentional work of developing the background knowledge and vocabulary students need to make meaning from what they read. In Scarborough’s Reading Rope, background knowledge is part of the language comprehension strand, along with vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge. And those strands are deeply connected.

In their 1988 research commonly referred to as the “Baseball Study,” Donna R. Recht and Lauren Leslie demonstrated just how powerful prior knowledge can be. When students read a passage about a baseball game, students with lower reading ability but greater knowledge of baseball outperformed students with higher reading ability but less knowledge of the topic.

Explicit and systematic phonics instruction is vitally important. But it’s not the only important thing. Skilled reading develops through both word recognition and language comprehension. Background knowledge, or schema, helps readers connect new information to what they already know and make meaning from text. That was the piece I had been missing: it is incredibly difficult to comprehend a topic when you have little or no background knowledge about it.

Why knowledge matters for reading comprehension

So what does this mean for reading instruction? It means comprehension doesn’t depend solely on practicing comprehension skills and strategies. It also depends on what readers already know about a topic. Teaching reading comprehension is a both/and proposition, not an either/or.

We need to model the skills and strategies readers use to construct meaning while also immersing students in content-rich learning that builds background knowledge. When students build knowledge around a topic, they are better able to organize, interpret, and retain new information. They can draw connections within and across texts, make inferences, and engage more deeply with what they read.

What knowledge-building instruction looks like in the classroom

So how do we do this? What does knowledge building look like in a practical sense in the classroom?

One of the best things we can do as teachers is break down as many instructional silos as possible. Early in my career, I taught isolated skills using disconnected texts and students struggled. But when I began integrating literacy instruction with science, social studies, the arts, and the humanities, I watched my students flourish.

When I started using content-rich, multi-genre text sets tied to one central topic, everything fell into place. I could teach important content while also helping students comprehend a variety of texts. I could connect and broaden their vocabulary and academic language. And as students built knowledge around a topic, the level of discourse in my classroom grew. Our conversations became richer and more focused on inquiry than recall. This knowledge-focused instruction, alongside explicit and systematic phonics instruction, was the game-changer I had been looking for.

How knowledge building supports all learners

Knowledge building supports language comprehension by helping students develop the background knowledge and vocabulary they need to make sense of what they read.

When we build knowledge systematically over time, we give students a stronger foundation for reading comprehension. Because students come to school with different experiences and background knowledge, intentionally building shared knowledge can give more students access to the content, vocabulary, and context they need to understand complex texts.

4 knowledge-building strategies for the classroom

So what’s the takeaway? How can you begin putting knowledge building into practice in your classroom?

• Build units around coherent topics. Look at your science and social studies curriculum for opportunities to connect literacy instruction to topics students study over time.
• Use content-rich read-alouds and text sets. Bring together literature and informational texts across genres that deepen students’ vocabulary and content knowledge around a shared topic.
• Make time for discussion. Consider how you are building in time to talk. Give students opportunities to talk through new learning, make claims supported by text evidence, and explain their reasoning. Students can’t write what they can’t say!
• Use writing as a tool for learning. Give students opportunities to write about their new knowledge as well as talk about it. They can capture new information in graphic organizers or thinking maps, and we can teach the writing process and grammar skills to help students connect and communicate what they’ve learned.

Knowledge building is a critical component of instruction aligned to the science of reading. Word recognition skills such as phonics, phonological awareness, and fluency are mission-critical. But they aren’t all that matters. Reading comprehension depends on both the ability to read words and knowledge of a topic.

Consider how your classroom literacy instruction can help students become both skilled readers and knowledgeable learners.

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See how HMH Into Reading® (Grades K–6) and HMH Into Literature® (Grades 6–12) deepen knowledge building with rich text sets and collaborative routines.

Learn about our science of reading professional development opportunities.