Teaching Reading as a Complex and Multidimensional Process

ABSTRACT This article examines the teaching of reading as a complex and multidimensional process amidst current approaches to teaching reading forwarded by new legislation and curricula that have been adopted across the United States. We underscore the importance of a comprehensive understanding of the teaching of early reading by bringing together five lenses that draw upon a variety of disciplinary perspectives: cognitive, social, culturally sustaining, bi/multilingual, and digital/multimodal. We then examine a small group reading lesson in a second‐grade classroom that is a part of a content area study on global climate justice literacies to show how each of the lenses was employed through students' and teachers' actions in reading instruction. We conclude with a discussion and implications of using these five lenses simultaneously to understand the practice of teaching reading effectively and equitably in today's classrooms.