Science of Reading: The Podcast Everything is literacy, with Susan Lambert, Ed.D.
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Aug 27, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Susan Lambert, an experienced educator and advocate for literacy, teams up with hosts Ana Torres and Eric Cross. They emphasize that every educator plays a crucial role in literacy development, regardless of subject matter. Susan shares practical tips for enhancing academic language, highlighting strategies like connecting new vocabulary to existing knowledge. The trio also explores the importance of coherence in instruction and how building knowledge should be a school-wide initiative. Eric illustrates these concepts through Scarborough's Rope, expanding literacy beyond traditional boundaries.
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Why She Became An Educator
- Susan Lambert entered education because her son Michael struggled with reading and was later diagnosed dyslexic.
- That personal experience propelled her into teaching to change outcomes for other children.
Academic Language Is Disciplinary
- Academic language is discipline-specific and no one is a native speaker of it.
- Every teacher must explicitly teach the words and concepts of their subject so students can understand and communicate.
Build Concepts Slowly With Vocabulary
- Anchor new concepts to prior knowledge and teach them in small increments over time.
- Pair concept instruction with vocabulary and revisit it repeatedly to move knowledge into long-term memory.
