In recent years, educators and parents have become increasingly aware of the importance of teaching children to read using research-backed methods. The SoR is not a program, but a large body of interdisciplinary research that explains how the brain learns to read. Decades of studies in neuroscience, linguistics, cognitive psychology, and education all point to the same conclusion: reading is not a natural process. Unlike spoken language, which develops naturally in most children, reading must be explicitly taught. Following the SoR ensures that instruction aligns with how the brain actually develops literacy skills, which is critical for helping every child—especially those who struggle—become successful readers.

One of the key findings of SoR is the importance of systematic and explicit phonics instruction. Children need to understand the alphabetic principle—how letters and letter combinations represent sounds—and, then, learn how to blend those sounds to decode words. Without this foundation, many children rely on guessing strategies or memorization, which may allow them to get by in the early grades but quickly break down as texts become more complex. By aligning with the SoR, educators can prevent reading difficulties rather than waiting to remediate them later.

Two highly regarded instructional programs that embody the SoR are University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) Foundations and Heggerty’s Bridge to Reading. Both are designed to give teachers clear, structured routines that build phonemic awareness, phonics, and decoding skills in a logical sequence. After a rigorous review process, two programs rose to the top because of their strong alignment with the research behind SoR.

UFLI Foundations is a comprehensive phonics program grounded in research and practice. It provides teachers with explicit lessons that follow a carefully sequenced progression of skills, ensuring that children build on what they have already mastered. The program emphasizes blending, segmenting, decoding, and encoding—all essential components for fluent reading and accurate spelling. What makes UFLI Foundations especially powerful is its focus on mastery and application, with ample opportunities for practice and review. This consistency supports all learners, including those who may need extra time and scaffolding.

Heggerty’s Bridge to Reading, on the other hand, is designed to complement phonics instruction by focusing on phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds in spoken words. Research shows that phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Without it, children often struggle to make sense of phonics instruction. The Heggerty approach provides short, daily lessons that are highly engaging and developmentally appropriate. The “bridge” connects oral language skills to print, giving students the foundation they need to become confident decoders.

Both programs share the strengths of being teacher-friendly, evidence-based, and flexible enough to meet the needs of diverse classrooms. By adopting UFLI or Heggerty’s Bridge to Reading, schools are choosing to align their practices with what we know about how children learn to read, rather than relying on outdated methods that emphasize guessing, memorization, or picture cues. UFLI is also highly affordable and renders its use well to the multigrade classroom setting. Although more costly, Heggerty’s Bridge to Reading program also provides a host of ready-to-use materials which may be especially helpful for larger classroom settings.

Across the NAD, professional development has introduced teachers to SoR practices such as UFLI Foundations and Heggerty’s Bridge to Reading. The Mid-America Union Conference gathered all K–4 teachers in Lincoln, NE, for UFLI training, where Amy Finch described Carisa Carr’s session as “the best one I’ve been to in a long time.” Pacific Union Conference has hosted six Zoom trainings, while Lake Union Conference welcomed the UFLI Foundations team to Andrews University in April, training more than 120 teachers. Educators across these events have highlighted UFLI’s research-based approach as practical, confidence-building, and effective in supporting early literacy.

Ultimately, following the SoR is about equity and opportunity. When educators choose research-backed programs like UFLI or Heggerty’s Bridge to Reading, they ensure that all students—regardless of background—receive the explicit, systematic instruction they deserve. Literacy opens doors to academic achievement, career success, and lifelong learning. By grounding instruction in the SoR, we give children not just the ability to read, but the confidence and independence that come with it. That is something better! And, when we know something is better…we should do better.

Carisa Carr

Mid-America Union Conference

Associate Director for Education

Lynal Ingham

Pacific Union Conference

Associate Director for Education

Nicole Mattson

Lake Union Conference

Associate Director for Education