Which cognitive function should teachers understand to support reading development?

• A. Executive functioning and working memory
• B. Visual acuity only
• C. Gross motor skills
• D. Color perception

Answer: (A)

Understanding how memory and self-control support reading helps teachers scaffold students toward stronger literacy. Reading isn’t only about recognizing letters; it also relies on executive functioning to stay focused, plan strategies, monitor comprehension, and switch approaches when meaning breaks down. Working memory plays a key role by holding multiple elements at once—sounds, letter–sound relationships, and incoming ideas—as students decode words and build understanding of sentences and passages. This cognitive support is what lets a learner blend sounds into words, keep track of a paragraph’s main idea, and connect new information with what they already know.

Because of this, teachers can boost reading development by modeling and teaching strategies that strengthen these functions: explicit instruction in self-regulation and goal-setting, providing predictable routines, chunking text into manageable parts, and using graphic organizers or guided questions to guide memory and comprehension. Visual acuity matters for seeing print, but it doesn’t address the cognitive processes that drive reading growth, and gross motor skills or color perception don’t directly influence how students think and remember while reading. The focus on executive functioning and working memory best supports developing readers.