Many kids only want to read graphic novels. Is that a problem? This podcast explores the pluses and minuses of graphic novels when it comes to learning to read. It includes practical suggestions for parents and teachers.
There is a long history in reading education of promoting small group instruction. This podcast explores what the research has to say about the benefits -- or lack thereof -- of small group teaching and whether it is such a good idea afterall.
This podcast explains why summer reading practice is so important and provides 13 recommendations for ways to encourage children to read when the schools are closed.
Children on the autism spectrum (ASD) present some interesting challenges when it comes to reading instruction. Part 1 of this series considered the difficulties that these children may have with decoding -- despite the fact that there are a surprising number who have hyperlexia, especially good decoding ability. However, most of these students struggle more with comprehension than decoding and this podcast explores what their comprehension problems tend to be and how they might be addressed....
More and more kids are diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and this challenge has important consequences for learning to read. This podcast explores the implications this has for teaching reading -- both to kids on the spectrum and to everyone else.
These days there is much interest in reading fluency as educators have become aware of the important contribution it makes to reading proficiency. However, writing fluency is not accorded the same attention -- undermining writing development and what it can contribute to learning to read. This podcast explores writing fluency -- what it is, why it matters, and most importantly how to teach it successfully.
This podcast explores a series of question about sight vocabulary, its role in reading development, and how it is best dealt with in the classroom.
This podcast explores the relationship between phonics teaching and morphology instruction. Some authorities suggest that morphology should replace phonics, while others see it as a supplement to phonics that should be delayed until decoding is well in hand.
In the last episode, we examined the research on comprehension instruction and how it has changed. In this episode we are exploring the kinds of instruction that should count when it comes to teaching students to comprehend what they read. It gets into issues of knowledge, strategies, questioning routines, and language.
There is new research into how much reading comprehension student are receiving. To carry out such studies requires the researchers to define what they mean by comprehension instruction... and that's where it gets interesting. This first of a two-part podcast explores what it means to teach reading comprehension in the Science of Reading era.
Many children suffer from difficulties learning to read and sometimes these challenges take the form of disabilities. The question is should accommodations be provided to these students by replacing listening comprehension with reading comprehension, if we know they will have trouble decoding. This podcast considers the value of such accommodations when it comes to reading.
Should we be teaching syllabication? Some schemes for this are pretty time consuming. Is that kind of investment worthwhile? And, if we do teach students to break words into syllables what is the best way to do that and what should we teach them? This podcast will explore these issues.
This podcast explores the role that print awareness plays in learning to read. It sorts out the skills that matter from those that do not and explains how the essential ones can be best taught.
There is strong research that supports the idea of teaching students to recognize and use text structure to understand and remember the information from text. Accordingly, reading comprehension lessons often focus on teaching story structure and multiple expository text structures, too. But are those really always the best organizational plans to focus on. This podcast argues for some more content focused approaches.
For years, teachers were told to teach reading at children's "instructional levels." However, research has not been especially kind to this idea, showing either that this adjustment provides no benefit or that it actually is harmful. So teachers are increasingly trying to teach students to read with grade level text. This podcast provides some useful advice on how to do that successfully.
Recently, the press has exercised great influence over reading education reform. Radio documentaries have revealed the neglect of key aspects of reading instruction. Although journalists have often been criticized by educators for not knowing enough to determine how reading should be taught, this is not a reasonable demand -- journalists are responsible for identifying problems, not for solving them. However, one wonders if standard journalistic approaches may mislead. This podcast explores some...
School districts want higher test scores. Each year they promote programs of test preparation. Teachers are required to reduce the amount of reading instruction that they provide in the hopes that these efforts will make everybody look good whether the kids can read well or not. This podcast explores what it would take to end up with higher scores which reflect improved reading ability.
Each year, I identify regional, national, and international charities that support children's literacy. Only the highest rated charities are noted. This podcast identifies those charities, explains their good work, and points out how these organizations might help your schools and your children.
This podcast explains the three-cueing approach and why it is not a good idea for instruction. But several states have passed laws or formulated regulations prohibiting the practice. Is that a good idea? Tune in to find out the answer to that question.
Research continues to accumulate indicating that digital text is not comprehended as well as paper text, and some studies suggest that the use of digital texts with kids may stunt their comprehension ability. This podcast explores those studies and draws a surprising conclusion.
This podcast responds to a teacher's question concerning the need to teach older students to read fluently. It explains why fluency matters at those levels and why fewer and fewer students require fluency instruction each year.
These days teachers are being encouraged to teach with complex or challenging text. This often means teaching students to read (or to learn science or social studies) from grade level texts far above students' reading levels. In the past teachers were taught to change books so students could work at their reading level. This podcast explains how that can be made to work.
The ability to identify the letters is one of the best predictors of later reading ability. That makes it a valuable tool for helping to identify which children are likely to struggle with reading. But why is that? This podcast explores what is known about the role of letter names in the learning to read. ( This podcast includes a misinterpretation of a study by Byrne and Fielding-Barnsley. I assumed that when they introduced letters into their PA intervention that they named the letters. I was ...
It makes sense that giving students lots of time at school to read independently, right? This podcast explores that idea and reveals why it isn't the way to go.
This podcast explores a parent's homework complaint. Her first grader is to do a 1-minute read each evening, and parents are to time it and calculate words correct per minute. Is this a good idea or something more nefarious? Tune in and find out.
Usually reading seatwork is work aimed at keeping kids busy rather than teaching them. This podcast suggests some ways to make seatwork a plus rather than a minus when it comes to reading achievement.
With all of the emphasis these days on a "science of reading," is there any place for the idea of an "art of teaching?" This presentation explains the role that these two sources of success play and how they may work together.
There are arguments in reading circles about the best way to teach phonics -- should the focus be on decoding from print to speech (like someone sounding out a word) or from speech to print (like someone trying to spell). This podcast will explore the evidence on both sides.
This podcast explores the value of teaching students to read the graphics in content area texts. Although pictures can distract from the word reading of young children, as they confront more complex texts they will need to learn how to interpret the graphics and this podcast suggests how that might be accomplished.
This podcast provides answers to frequently asked questions about fluency instruction. It considers why we teach fluency, how we can teach it effectively, the kinds of books to use, how to match kids for paired reading, how fluent kids need to be, how much fluency instruction to provide. If you want some quick advice on how to teach fluency this is the podcast for you.
