Unpacking One of the Most Misunderstood Strands of Scarborough’s Reading Rope
If you've ever stared at Scarborough’s Reading Rope and found yourself squinting at the phrase “verbal reasoning,” wondering What exactly does that mean?, you’re not alone.
We hear it all the time from educators: “I know how to teach vocabulary. I understand language structures. But verbal reasoning? That one always throws me.”
And for good reason. Verbal reasoning is one of the more abstract, complex, and frankly, under-discussed strands of the rope. It’s easy to understand why teachers struggle to translate it into concrete classroom instruction. But here’s the thing: if we’re not addressing verbal reasoning with intentionality, we may be overlooking a powerful lever for unlocking reading comprehension.
Let’s dig into what verbal reasoning really is, why it matters, and how you can support it in your classroom in ways that are both explicit and effective.
What Is Verbal Reasoning, Really?
Verbal reasoning is the ability to understand, analyze, and think logically about language-based information. In other words, it’s not just about what the words say; it's about what they mean below the surface.
Think about skills like:
- Making inferences
- Drawing conclusions
- Understanding implied meaning
- Interpreting figurative language
- Making predictions based on evidence
- Evaluating arguments and perspectives
It’s the mental glue that connects a student’s language skills to comprehension. And it’s a huge part of how students become truly independent readers.
Dr. Judith Birsh (2005) puts it plainly: “Academic learning requires students to have considerable capacity for verbal reasoning and to be able to verbalize their verbal reasoning.” In other words, students need to:
- Understand complex language-based ideas, and
- Talk about that understanding clearly and thoughtfully.
The Role of Verbal Reasoning in Scarborough’s Reading Rope
Scarborough’s Reading Rope illustrates that skilled reading is a combination of word recognition (like decoding) and language comprehension. Verbal reasoning lives in the language comprehension half of the rope, intertwined with strands like:
- Background knowledge
- Vocabulary
- Language structures
These strands don’t work in isolation, but rather hey build on and bolster one another. You can’t make an inference if you don’t understand the words. You can’t draw a logical conclusion without some background knowledge to connect the dots. Verbal reasoning is where these strands converge and begin to stretch toward deeper comprehension.
What This Means for Instruction
This is where things get a little tricky, but also a little freeing.
Verbal reasoning is not a one-and-done lesson.
You won’t find it labeled as a standalone unit in most curriculum guides. Instead, it’s a way of thinking that needs to be embedded across your instruction.
Think about how often your standards include phrases like:
- “Infer the author’s purpose…”
- “Draw conclusions based on text evidence…”
- “Interpret figurative language…”
Sound familiar? All of these fall under the umbrella of verbal reasoning. And that means it has to show up everywhere in your literacy instruction, from your read-alouds to your shared reading, from independent reading conferences to writing tasks.
So let’s make it practical.
Start with Inference: The Heart of Verbal Reasoning
If you’re wondering where to begin, inference is a great entry point. It’s one of the clearest and most teachable subskills of verbal reasoning, and it lays the groundwork for everything else.
But let’s be real: students don’t naturally infer just because we tell them to “read between the lines.” They need to be explicitly taught how inference works.
That means modeling the thinking process:
- “What do I know from the text?”
- “What do I already know about this topic?”
- “How do those two things connect to help me figure out what’s not being said?”
Give prompts like: “Use your background knowledge and clues from the text to answer this question.”
This kind of scaffold not only reminds students what to do, but it also helps students start to internalize the process. Eventually, they begin to use that same language themselves.
Here’s an easy classroom tip:
When designing comprehension questions, include inference prompts that cue students to combine text evidence and background knowledge. Over time, this repetition builds cognitive habits that support deeper reasoning.
Simple Shifts That Strengthen Verbal Reasoning
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry. You don’t need to redesign your entire curriculum. Small instructional moves can make a big impact.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Ask “Why do you think that?” regularly.
Push students to explain their thinking, not just give the right answer.
- Model think-alouds during read-alouds.
Say things like, “I noticed the character is sweating and checking his watch. I’m thinking he might be nervous because…”
- Use open-ended prompts during discussions.
Instead of asking yes/no or fact-based questions, try:
- “What might happen next?”
- “Why do you think the author included that detail?”
- “What clues helped you figure that out?”
- Highlight implied meaning in decodable texts.
Yes, even early readers can practice inference! Use simple stories with clear illustrations and text-based clues to start teaching these skills early.
Final Thoughts
Verbal reasoning might not be the flashiest part of your literacy block. It’s not a worksheet or a center activity. It’s something that develops over time, through repeated, supported practice and meaningful conversations about text.
But don’t underestimate its power.
Helping students reason through what they read is what makes reading come alive. And it’s what will ultimately equip them to navigate more complex texts and ideas in the years ahead.
So if you’ve ever looked at that strand of Scarborough’s Rope and thought, “I’m not quite sure how to teach that…”, now you do.
And it starts with one powerful question:
“What makes you think that?”
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