Literacy Trends and Issues: A Look at the Five Pillars and the Cement That Supports Them

The parallel paths of the impact of the report of the National Reading Panel and the 14 years of the Whats Hot survey, which is published annually in Reading Today are traced in this article. The authors look at the "five pillars" (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) of literacy instruction and how they have fared on the Whats Hot list. They also describe the policies and research that may have influenced the degree of attention being paid to a given topic. The pillars would not be standing without scientific evidence-based researchthe cement on which they are basedtherefore, scientific evidence-based data is included in the analysis. The authors conclude that three of the pillarsphonemic awareness, phonics, and fluencyare receiving less attention than previously. They also note that vocabulary and comprehension, the keystones of reading, are receiving increased attention. © 2010 International Reading Association, Inc.