Teaching Thinking for Reading: Merging Executive Function, Structured Literacy, and Asset-Based Practices

Abstract

Reading comprehension requires more than decoding; it requires strategic thinking. Yet many students, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, are often labeled as struggling readers without attention to their cognitive assets or instructional gaps. This practitioner-based article explores how educators can intentionally teach thinking for successful reading by modeling executive function skills and comprehension strategies, fostering metacognition, and affirming students’ cultural knowledge and assets. Grounded in the science of reading and learning, this work draws on research on executive function, purposeful think-alouds, and asset-based frameworks. This article offers practical, classroom-ready strategies for implementing structured literacy in ways that support comprehension, center student voice, and affirm diverse ways of knowing. Through teacher think-alouds, culturally responsive approaches, and student strategy reflection routines, this piece will show how educators can bridge the gap between decoding and comprehending while honoring the assets and brilliance students bring to the classroom.