The Truth About Reading The truth about reading is that we have been failing to teach kids how to read for years. According to The Truth About Reading website, “Illiteracy and sub-literacy in America (and around the world) is a growing issue. Awareness is important, but so is action.” Action is happening in the state … [Read more…]
The Learning Journey As I’ve written before, I’ve dedicated much of the last four years of my life to learning about the Science of Reading. Four years in, I fully recognize that there is much, much more to learn – from the body of research that currently exists, and from the body of research that … [Read more…]
In the spirit of this Thanksgiving week, this post is dedicated to those things for which I am presently most grateful for. Each picture included in the post is worth a thousand words… to me, anyway, as they represent my immense gratitude! I am stealing George Couros’s weekly email format: I will be writing about … [Read more…]
Literacy Advocates Take Action Emily Hanford has done it again. She and colleague, Christopher Peak, have poured blood, sweat, and tears into the podcast, Sold a Story, that reveals, once again, the cause of the literacy crisis in America. Hanford is the reason that I, and so many others, have shifted our way of thinking … [Read more…]
At the beginning of my Thursday morning run, I was greeted by a fellow early-bird-exerciser. Jackie paused her walk briefly to say, “Hey, I read that article in the paper about you being the ‘Reading Queen.’ What a great article. You know, when I was in 3rd grade, I remember very distinctly a nun, Sister … [Read more…]
We (I use this pronoun loosely) have made significant gains as an educational society in shedding light on the power of the Science of Reading/a structured literacy approach. Phenomenal resources like The Reading League, Amplify Science of Reading the Podcast, the International Dyslexia Association, and reporting from journalist Emily Hanford and author Natalie Wexler have … [Read more…]
One Word Last week, I wrote about identifying my One Word for 2022. I love the way the word clarity has become a part of how I reflect on my actions: before, during, and after. The word is not consuming me; instead, it is offering another layer of thought around what I think, do, and … [Read more…]
When Sky and her mom walked into my classroom four years ago for Open House night to launch the 2017-2018 school year, I was taken aback when Sky (a brand new 6th grade student whom I was meeting for the first time) looked right at me, stomped her foot, and said, “I hate reading.” The … [Read more…]
The first phrase in this quote, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant’s faithful one-hundred percent!” from Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg has been on my mind a lot, lately. For me, the quote rings true… and then is quickly reversed… in many situations. Rather than talking about … [Read more…]
I spend a good deal of time reading about, watching, and listening to resources that address effective literacy instruction. Almost every one of these resources has a strong connection to the Science of Reading, “…a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based* research about reading and issues related to reading and writing,” as defined by The Reading … [Read more…]