Science of Reading: The Podcast

S6 E9: Lessons from a talking dog: TV's "Reading Buddies" on making learning fun

Dec 28, 2022

48:25

In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of the smash hit foundational reading series The Reading League’s “Reading Buddies,” aimed at students in pre-K through third grade. Susan is joined by Andrea Dotto and Brendan Malafronte—artists, performers, and co-founders of children's story hour and media company Dusty & Dott—as well as "Reading Buddies" executive producer Toni Ann Walsh. Together, the four of them discuss how the show started and how Andrea and Brendan got up to speed on the Science of Reading, and share tips for educators and caregivers on how to make reading instruction fun for kids.

Additional resources:

Quotes:
“Our mission is to educate educators on the Science of Reading because we believe that if educators have that knowledge, they can transform kids' lives.” —Toni Ann Walsh

“Little by little you can learn to read, you can do something hard and we can do it together.” —Andrea Dotto

“As a storyteller, I can go on a stage and tell a story and know, ‘Oh, that song made somebody connect to a memory,’ or ‘These two hours, they got to escape whatever is bothering them at home.’ That escapism is special and magical. But with reading buddies you get escapism and then you also get impact.” —Andrea Dotto

“God bless teachers. They're incredible. And we are here to help you continue to be incredible. We're here to give you tools to excite your students and just complement everything that you are doing.” —Brendan Malafronte