Learning to Read VS Read to Learn

Learning to Read + Reading to Learn = TRUE

There’s a big difference between learning to read and reading to learn.

When children learn to read, they are practicing the basic skills — like connecting letters and sounds, sounding out words, and building confidence step by step. This can take time, and it’s important to be patient and keep reading fun and positive.

When children start reading to learn, the goal changes. Reading is now a way to understand new things — in schoolwork, stories, or the world around them. For children who find reading hard, tools like audiobooks, text-to-speech, or reading together with an adult can make a big difference.

When a child struggles with learning to read for a long time, it’s important not to stop practicing reading, but at the same time it’s essential to give them access to support and assistive tools so they don’t fall behind in learning new academic knowledge because of their reading difficulties.

Being aware of these two stages helps parents give the right kind of support at the right time.

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Learning to Read vs Reading to Learn

When we talk about reading instruction and literacy, educators often distinguish between two key phases:

1. Learning to Read

2. Reading to Learn

These phases differ in purpose, focus, and instructional needs — and understanding the distinction is essential for supporting children who struggle with reading.

1. Learning to Read

What it means:
This is the phase in which a child acquires the foundational skills needed to decode written language. It involves phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, sight-word recognition, and building automaticity. In other words, this is where the work is on reading.

Why it’s crucial:

• Without a solid foundation, children will have difficulty reading fluently or with comprehension.

• The “science of reading” emphasizes that reading development is cumulative and multi-component: decoding + language comprehension + vocabulary + fluency + background knowledge. PMC+2Reading Rockets+2

• According to From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn (Willms, 2022), children gradually move through phases: first decoding and becoming proficient readers, then shifting toward using reading as a tool. The Learning Bar

• Some instruction philosophies treat “learning to read” and “reading to learn” as separate stages. IMSE - Journal+1 However, others advocate a more integrated model: even early readers benefit from exposure to meaningful content and comprehension strategies alongside phonics/decoding instruction. Orton Gillingham Mama+1

What it looks like in practice:

• In early grades, reading materials tend to be decodable texts with controlled vocabulary.

• Instruction is explicit and systematic: teaching letter-sound correspondences, blending, segmenting.

• Frequent practice (guided and independent) is critical to build fluency and automaticity.

For children who struggle:

• Differentiated instruction, multi-sensory approaches, and repeated practice help.

• It’s important to test/differentiate methods because children learn differently — some respond better to visual, auditory, kinesthetic cues etc.

• Even if reading is slow or effortful, improvement is possible with targeted, evidence-based interventions.

 

2. Reading to Learn

What it means:
After basic reading skills are established, reading becomes a tool to acquire new knowledge — across subjects like science, history, literature. The focus shifts from how to read to using reading to learn — extracting meaning, analyzing text, integrating new information.

Why this shift matters:

• Once children enter upper elementary grades (e.g. around grade 4), expectations change: students need to read to gain subject-area knowledge. Many reading programs call this the “transition to reading to learn.” Lexia+2IMSE - Journal+2

• For students with reading difficulties (such as dyslexia), reading to learn is especially challenging because they now need to keep decoding and comprehension working at the same time.

• These students often benefit from accommodations and assistive strategies so they can access content even when reading is laborious. For example: text-to-speech, audiobooks, simplified text, scaffolded supports. International Dyslexia Association+2Reading Rockets+2

• The goal is to reduce the cognitive “load” of decoding so the child can focus more on meaning and learning.

What it looks like in practice:

• Students read more complex, content-rich texts.

• They may use margin notes, guided reading questions, graphic organizers, summarization strategies.

• They might alternate between reading by eye and listening to audio versions.

• Tools like audiobooks, read-aloud, or text-to-speech are often part of the accommodation toolbox.

 

Why the Distinction Matters — Especially for Struggling Readers

• Different instructional needs: A child who has not yet mastered decoding cannot simply jump to reading to learn — they will struggle.

• Prevention of the Matthew Effect: Students who lag in early reading may read less, which slows their exposure, vocabulary growth, and content knowledge, thus widening gaps over time. Wikipedia

• Balanced approach is ideal: Some educators argue there is no strict boundary — we can integrate instruction so children are both learning to read and learning content early on. Orton Gillingham Mama+1

• Tailoring supports: For children with dyslexia or reading challenges, recognizing which phase they are in helps determine whether the focus should be remediation of decoding, or accommodation so they can keep learning content.

 

Conclusion & Take-Home Points

• Learning to read ≠ reading to learn — they are related but distinct phases.

• Early reading instruction must focus heavily on decoding, phonics, fluency, vocabulary.

• Later, reading shifts toward comprehension, knowledge-building, and meaning.

• For children with reading difficulties, we should lean on evidence-based interventions early and supportive accommodations later so they can still access content.

• The ultimate aim is for children to progress from struggling decoders to confident learners.

 

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References

• Willms, D. J. (2022). From Learning to Read to Reading to Learn: Building Confident Learners. The Learning Bar.

• Journal of IMSE (2022). The Shift from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn.

• Orton Gillingham Mama (2023). Learning to Read or Reading to Learn?

• Lexia Learning (2022). Helping Students Make the Shift from Learning to Read to Reading to Learn.

• The International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Accommodations for Students with Dyslexia.

• Petscher, Y. et al. (2020). How the Science of Reading Informs 21st-Century Education. Reading Research Quarterly, 55(S1), S267–S282.

• Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew Effects in Reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 21(4), 360–407.