Reading Eggs and the Science of Learning: An Evidence-Based Program for Educators

In education, no skill is more fundamental than reading.

The Science of Learning reveals how children most effectively acquire and master this essential skill through evidence-based principles.

Drawing from decades of research in cognitive science, psychology and education, this research illuminates the optimal conditions for learning. When applied to reading instruction, it provides a clear roadmap for helping students succeed.

Here, we'll explore how Reading Eggs, our online reading program for schools, applies these research-backed insights to deliver impactful reading instruction.

How does the Science of Learning inform reading instruction?

The Science of Learning has transformed our understanding of how students acquire new skills, including reading.

Three key principles from this research are particularly relevant to reading instruction:

1. Explicit, systematic instruction: Professor John Hattie, a pioneering New Zealand researcher, has conducted the world's largest evidence-based study into factors that improve student learning. His research identifies explicit teaching as one of the most effective High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS), with a significant effect size of 0.63. This evidence-based approach is being implemented across New Zealand through structured literacy instruction. Discover how New Zealand schools are embracing structured literacy.

2. Cognitive load management: Research shows that learning to read places considerable demands on a child's cognitive resources. When tasks are complex, like learning to decode, managing cognitive load becomes crucial. Breaking down instruction into manageable chunks and providing scaffolded practice helps learners focus on mastering one skill at a time.

3. Systematic skill building: Dr. Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope model illustrates how reading proficiency requires multiple skills working together. This model shows us that reading mastery comes from systematically developing and integrating various components:

Dr. Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope (2001) shows how multiple literacy skills weave together to create skilled reading ability.

These learning principles, combined with extensive research into reading acquisition, support five essential pillars for reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.

Understanding the Reading Eggs suite: Explicit, systematic reading instruction

Reading Eggs, our multi award-winning online reading program, puts these research-based principles into practice. Built upon the five pillars of reading and incorporating explicit teaching strategies, it achieves our core goal of finding better ways to learn.

Grounded in evidence-based research, our program provides explicit and systematic instruction that progresses logically, with each lesson reinforcing and building upon previous concepts.

The Reading Eggs suite includes:

• Reading Eggs: Comprehensive early literacy program.

• Fast Phonics: Systematic, synthetic phonics for foundational skills.

• Reading Eggspress: Develops comprehension, spelling, fluency and vocabulary skills.

• The Library: 4,000+ fiction and nonfiction levelled e-books, including 350+ decodable readers.

Each component is designed to support learners at different stages of their reading journey, providing a complete literacy solution from early reading skills through to advanced comprehension and fluency.

By introducing content in small, manageable chunks with scaffolded practice, Reading Eggs helps children build skills and confidence, enabling them to independently apply what they've learned.

Let’s explore how our program develops each of the five key pillars of reading in a way that's both effective and engaging.

Phonemic awareness: The foundation of reading proficiency

Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognise and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in words, breaking them down into their smallest building blocks.

While exposure to language is important, research shows children need targeted activities to decode unfamiliar words and achieve fluency.

Reading Eggs addresses this through:

• Interactive games that focus on identifying rhymes, isolating sounds and segmenting words into syllables.

• Engaging lessons that teach sound differentiation, phoneme segmentation, substitution and sound manipulation.

• A virtual playroom with over 120 activities that enhance key listening skills crucial for phonemic awareness.

• Animated rhymes and songs that promote phonemic awareness through rhythm clapping and playful sound exploration.

Phonics: Decoding the code

Systematic, synthetic phonics instruction is essential for teaching reading effectively. Reading Eggs fully aligns with this evidence-based approach through our comprehensive phonics program, Fast Phonics.

Phonics equips children to decode unfamiliar words and become independent readers. Research consistently shows that systematic, synthetic phonics instruction accelerates both reading acquisition and comprehension.

Reading Eggs uses a carefully sequenced approach that prevents confusion and builds upon prior knowledge.

Here's how:

• Systematic, synthetic instruction: Fast Phonics, our core phonics program, delivers over 120 sequential lessons with explicit instruction in letter-sound relationships.

• Foundational sound-letter associations: Each phoneme is introduced alongside its most common letter representation and correct pronunciation, establishing strong connections between sounds and written symbols.

• Decodable readers: Over 350 decodable readers provide students with structured practice opportunities to apply their phonics knowledge in context.

• Assessment and progress monitoring: Regular quizzes assess phonics skills, track student progress and identify areas needing additional support.

• Printable resources supplement classroom instruction, providing teachers with additional tools to reinforce systematic phonics teaching.

Fluency: Reading with confidence

Fluency, the ability to read smoothly, accurately and with expression, is essential for comprehension.

It allows readers to focus on meaning rather than decoding individual words, fostering deeper understanding.

Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress equip students with the tools to become fluent readers:

• Expert modelling in digital books: The program's extensive library of e-books, including beginner-level texts, features fluent narration. This audio support provides a strong model for students to emulate, helping them improve their reading skills from the earliest stages. Students can listen to expert readers bring stories to life, enhancing their understanding of fluency, pacing and expression.

• Read Aloud Fluency: This innovative feature allows students to record themselves reading in a stress-free environment, followed by personalised feedback from their teacher.

• Repeated reading: Students are encouraged to reread texts, building fluency and familiarity with the content as they revisit familiar material.

• Levelled library: Over 4,000 levelled e-books in the Reading Eggs Library cater to all reading abilities, ensuring students can practise confidently.

• Building blocks: In-lesson word activities, including segmenting and blending exercises, target high-frequency words, phonemic decoding and word attack skills, equipping students to tackle new texts with ease.

• The Stadium in Reading Eggspress: This virtual arena enhances fluency through timed games, particularly in the Freestyle Usage event, where students practise reading fluently and accurately.

Vocabulary: A strategic approach to building rich word knowledge

A strong vocabulary is a cornerstone of comprehension. Students with rich word knowledge can grasp text nuances, think critically and retain information more effectively

Research emphasises the importance of explicit vocabulary instruction that goes beyond simply encountering new words. Students need direct teaching and repeated exposure in meaningful contexts to truly understand and retain new vocabulary.

Engaging and playful approaches further enhance learning and foster a love for words.

Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress integrate these principles through:

• Meaningful connections: New vocabulary is introduced within clear contexts, definitions and visual aids like pictures, promoting deeper understanding and long-term retention.

• Wide exposure: ‘My Program’ books promote extensive reading, exposing students to a diverse range of vocabulary in a fun and engaging way.

• Building automaticity: Games and activities help students develop automaticity with high-frequency words, the essential building blocks of language.

• Explicit vocabulary instruction in Reading Eggspress: Each lesson incorporates vocabulary building, with a focus on explicitly teaching critical words. The Vocabulary Pursuit event in The Stadium further reinforces skills through engaging, timed games.

Comprehension: Unlocking meaning

Comprehension, the ultimate goal of reading, allows students to grasp the deeper meaning of texts.

Research underscores the necessity of combining explicit instruction with opportunities to practise reading high-quality texts.

Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress nurture comprehension skills through:

• Scaffolded comprehension lessons: 220 lessons in Reading Eggspress explicitly teach strategies such as cause and effect, fact vs. opinion, visualisation, making inferences and identifying the main idea.

• Interactive comprehension quizzes that assess literal understanding, inferential thinking, vocabulary knowledge and critical analysis, providing valuable insights for teachers.

• English Skills in Reading Eggspress: 216 spelling lessons not only teach students to spell but also improve their comprehension and writing skills through interactive activities and rewards-based games.

• The Reading Journal in Reading Eggspress: This interactive feature allows students to reflect on their reading, encouraging deeper engagement with texts.

• A library of 4,000+ e-books in diverse genres catering to all reading levels, ensuring students can engage with comprehensible content.

Ready to learn more?

Built on Science of Learning principles and filled with engaging, motivating lessons delivered through systematic and explicit instruction, Reading Eggs not only accelerates early reading skills, it lays the foundation for academic success.

By integrating Reading Eggs into your reading curriculum, you can provide your students with a comprehensive, research-based approach to literacy instruction that addresses all five key pillars of reading development.

References

1. Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory, and practice. In S. Neuman & D. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook for research in early literacy (pp. 97–110). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

2. Sweller, J. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory, Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Academic Press, Vol. 55, pp 37-76.

3. Goswami, U. (2000). Phonological and lexical processes. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, Vol. 3, pp. 251–267.

4. Rasinski, T. V. (2003). The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies for building word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. New York: Scholastic.

5. Beck, I., & McKeown, M. (1991). Conditions of vocabulary acquisition. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research, Vol. 2, pp. 789–814). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

6. Nagy, W. E., & Herman, P. A. (1984). Limitations of vocabulary instruction. Center for the Study of Reading Technical Report; no. 326.

7. Pearson, P. D., & Duke, N. K. (2002). Comprehension instruction in the primary grades. Comprehension instruction: Research-based best practices, 247-258.