I still remember learning to read in my early primary school years.
Once we became more confident, we would have some time each day to read the book we were choosing from the school library, or alternatively, one we had brought from home. Around the age of eight or nine, I did really find reading, and would become fully engrossed in the stories I was reading. However, before that, I still recall very clearly, a period in which I was going through the process of reading the words and sentences. I did actually have the ability to do so. However, I was taking in very little of what I was reading, and in some ways, was making very little effort to.
Reflecting on this, along with my own study and research in my teaching, I have developed an appreciation of the importance of comprehension even from the very beginning.
As such, over the last year, as I have begun to explore the use of systematic phonics to blend and read words with class, now five and six years old from the very beginning. As we read our first short phrases, for example, “run up a hill”, “the hot sun”, and “pup in the mud”, I have combined it with short comprehension questions, for example, “where does the boy run?”, and even deeper thinking questions, for example, “why does the pup want to jump in the mug?”. Along with reading comprehension, these have provided the opportunity for English speaking practice – my students are ELLs, as well as discussion and everything that comes from this.
Now we have begun to work through readers. We began looking at these as a whole class, but now, I have been doing one to one sessions with all students each week, in order to support individual progress.
We are using the Fitzroy Readers, which are progressive. The ultimate goal at this stage is simply to provide initial confidence, ready for primary school, which the students will start next year. My goal is not to provide too much pressure – as I have already communicated to parents, anything this year is fantastic. (Exactly when children should begin to learn to read is an interesting topic to explore, perhaps for another time, but age aside, I want to support students on their own personalized learning pathway and ensure a focus on intrinsic motivation, self-drive and curiosity.)
I have been left with deciding how progress can be guided. I didn’t want anything too in depth so as to feel overwhelming, but still something of a guidance.
Going back to our starting thoughts, I was sure to include ‘Comprehension’ here, and did so alongside ‘Accuracy’ and ‘Fluency’. I defined accuracy as being able to blend and read the words correctly, fluency as being able to read the full sentences naturally and without hesitation, and comprehension as a general understanding of the words and sentences – I will ask comprehension questions about the pictures and sentences as we read. These categories, I have been able to communicate to both parents and students, without it sounding like too much. Once we feel we are confident in all three areas, we tick off a reader.
I could have made it more specific, with specific comprehension questions to answer for comprehension and boxes to tick for individual words – accuracy – and each sentence – fluency. In fact, in the monthly supportive evaluations we are having at my school for the concurrent phonics program, we do have specific words and sentences to read, and comprehension questions to answer. I may well later also adapt it slightly. However, this keeps the form simpler and allows me to exercise broader professional judegment, and actually think about the overall picture and notice patterns and the possible reasons for them, for example, challenges, with the different sound in the word “a” from the short a sound in words such as “cat”, and challenges regarding “on” and the “an” in “and”. I have space on the form to make brief notes, which I have been using.
What can we take away then? Well, always remember the importance of comprehension in reading instruction, even from the very beginning. Always reflect on the level of specificity and detail which you could use in supporting early reading development, and perhaps also, other skills. As always, support students on their own learning pathways as far as the context allows.
Fitzroy Programs Pty Ltd. (n.d.). Fitzroy Readers. Retrieved [October 30, 2025], from https://www.fitzroyreaders.com/