I might be in the minority BUT I feel like my teacher education program didn’t prepare me to teach reading. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was taught that Tier 1 instruction at the secondary level should only ever prioritize whole text tasks like literary analysis, thematic discussion, and essay writing. I know I’m not the only one who was under the assumption that by middle or high school, students already have the foundational reading skills they need. But for many students, that assumption simply doesn’t hold true.

If we want all students to access complex texts, we have to rethink our Tier 1 instructional practices and begin aligning them with what the Science of Reading tells us about how comprehension actually develops.

Why Tier 1 Needs a Makeover

Tier 1 is the core instruction that every student receives. If it’s not strong, we end up over-relying on interventions, pulling students out, or worse, blaming student motivation instead of addressing instructional gaps. The Science of Reading gives us a clear picture of how reading comprehension develops, and it’s not a mystery, at all. It’s actually totally measurable and teachable.

And yet, too often, secondary instruction skips straight to comprehension tasks without ensuring students have the underlying skills in place.

Let’s head to the research:

Scarborough’s Reading Rope offers a powerful visual framework for understanding how skilled reading develops. It’s not just about exposure to rich texts, it’s about weaving together the two strands of reading ability:

• Word Recognition (phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition)
  
• Language Comprehension (background knowledge, vocabulary, sentence structure, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge)
  

If our Tier 1 instruction only addresses one half of the rope (language comprehension), or worse, one piece of that half of the rope (verbal reasoning) we are missing so much of the picture and our students are missing even more. And unfortunately, this is exactly what happens in most secondary classrooms.

Foundational Skills Are Not Just for Elementary

Secondary students still benefit from explicit instruction in word and sentence-level skills. Many of them never mastered foundational concepts like morphology, syntax, or even decoding multi-syllabic words. When we skip these skills, students may nod along during class discussions, but struggle silently when it comes time to read independently or write analytically.

Reimagining Tier 1 means we stop assuming students already have the tools… because they don’t all have them, and start integrating foundational work into our regular instruction.

This doesn’t mean turning ELA class into phonics all over again. It means being intentional about scaffolding:

• Teaching morphology to help students unlock academic vocabulary
  
• Practicing syntax work to build fluency and sentence comprehension
  
• Engaging with connected texts to build background knowledge while also strategically addressing decoding needs
  
• Modeling how word and sentence meaning build up to full-text understanding
  

A Scaffolded Approach: Word ➝ Sentence ➝ Paragraph ➝ Whole Text

By building comprehension from the ground up, we empower all students, not just the ones already at grade level. This scaffolded model supports struggling readers without holding back proficient ones. Everyone benefits from more clarity, more precision, and more access.

Here’s what this might look like in a unit:

• Before reading: Preview key vocabulary using morphology (prefixes, roots, suffixes), work with sentence-level structures that mimic the complexity of the upcoming text
  
• During reading: Practice fluency and decoding of academic words; pause to analyze sentence structure and how meaning builds
  
• After reading: Shift to paragraph- and whole-text level questions and writing tasks that now feel more accessible because the groundwork was laid
  

Rethinking Is Not Remediation… It’s Equity

When we design Tier 1 instruction that includes word and sentence-level support, we aren’t “dumbing down” the curriculum. We’re making it accessible. We’re recognizing that reading comprehension isn’t magic, it’s the result of many threads tightly woven together.

If we want secondary students to succeed, not just in ELA, but across all content areas, then our daily instruction must reflect how reading comprehension actually works. Scarborough’s Rope isn’t just for elementary. It’s a framework we can all use to teach comprehension more effectively.

Ready to Rethink?

It’s time to rethink what Tier 1 looks like in your classroom. Whole text work still matters but only after students have the scaffolds they need to climb their way there. When we start with the rope, we give students something solid to hold onto. If you’re ready to do just that, check out my course on Planning with the Science of Reading in Mind, designed just for Secondary teachers.