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REFLECTION AND PRACTICE

Building Readers? Get To Know the Five Pillars 

Good reading instruction starts with knowing how students actually learn to read. See how the Five Pillars, the science of reading, and what we learn from student data can help guide what we teach- and how we teach it. 

Co-created with our partners, for our partners, this series of printable one-page resources is designed to build educators’ understanding of the five essential literacy skills. Each resource explains what the skill is and why it matters, while sharing partner-tested practices and activities to support learning in each area. 

As educators, we make decisions every day about what to teach, what to review, and where to invest our limited instructional time. But what guides those decisions when it comes to teaching our students how to read? 

We know that data is an important part of the conversation-a vital part, even.  But data doesn’t tell us what to do next. Making good instructional decisions starts with knowing what research tells us works.  And when it comes to learning to read, science of reading researcher and neuroscientist, Dr. Reid Lyon makes it clear: “When you’re working on something that’s so critical to a life- to a child’s life- belief systems don’t cut it. Evidence cuts it.”  

One research-backed way to understand how reading skills develop is through Dr. Hollis Scarborough’s Reading Rope.  This visual shows how many different reading skills build and become ever more connected over time. The strands of word recognition and language comprehension are woven together as students become more skilled readers.  

Enter the Five Pillars: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  Together, these skills provide an evidence-based foundation for understanding how readers develop and for making purposeful instructional decisions.  

To boil it down further: Scarborough’s Reading Rope helps educators understand how the skills needed for reading come together, while the Five Pillars encourage us to consider how we can teach and strengthen those same skills.  

Co-created with our MFI partners, this resource makes that knowledge practical and ready-for-the-classroom. For each of the Five Pillars, you’ll learn about what it is and why it matters, and find some of our partners’ favourite activities to support student learning in each area.  

So, keep it close. Revisit this resource when student data shows you an area of need and use it to help root your everyday classroom practice.

TAKE YOUR LEARNING FURTHER

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2026 © The Martin Family Initiative. All rights reserved.

The Training & Resources for Early Education & Schools (TREES) Network is a space for delivering and accessing culturally appropriate training, professional development, resources, communities of practice and mentorship opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous early learning professionals working with Indigenous children and families.

By coming together across communities, organizations and cultures, we can impact the bigger picture of Indigenous early education, child assessment and policy in Canada, so that Indigenous children will grow up proud of their culture and knowing that they belong.

The vision of the TREES Network is for early learning professionals to feel supported through training, resources and connections with others. The TREES Network strives to support early learning professionals to ground Indigenous children in their culture, nurturing stronger communities.

ACCESS TRAINING

The TREES Network supports access to culturally appropriate training and professional development for early learning professionals through the Understanding the Early Years course and Early Years Toolbox workshops. View upcoming trainings and workshops for your community through the Events Calendar.

EXPLORE RESOURCES

The TREES Network supports access to the Early Years Toolbox website, as well as access to accompanying resources through the Early Learning Library. Your access to resources is determined by your organization or community affiliation. Explore the Featured Partners page to view resources created by and in collaboration with Early Years partners.

CONNECT WITH OTHERS

To promote relationship-building and relational learning, the TREES Network provides opportunities for early learning professionals to build connections across the country. You can check out the Events Calendar to find events related to the early years, view the Interactive Map of early years services in different regions, or learn more about Supportive Circles as spaces to come together with others locally or across communities to share thoughts, ideas and support.

CREATE IMPACT

The TREES Network strives to create spaces through which we can collectively impact the bigger picture of Indigenous early learning in Canada. Learn about how Early Years sites are doing this through Early Years approach innovations, and about the important work many other organizations are doing to influence policy, curriculum, access to funding supports and program evaluation.

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