Literacy expert and author Tim Shanahan discusses his views on teaching reading in middle school as an extension of evidence-based early literacy practices. What are some of the challenges and what should reading instruction include? Tim and host Susan Lambert dive into boosting comprehension, how the English language is always changing, and how to structure reading instruction across content areas such as history, science, and math so students are equipped to comprehend those texts as well.Quotes:“It is absolutely essential in any comprehension lesson that the kids come away with knowledge.”“Not dealing with vocabulary early on is like leaving ticking time bomb for later.”Resources:Shanahan on Literacy website and blog postsPodcast: A conversation with Tim Rasinski Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

What is the missing link in reading comprehension? Anne Lucas, former curriculum director and current product manager of Amplify Reading, discusses the multifaceted nature of comprehension, why it’s so difficult to teach, a teacher's powerful "eureka! moment," and the specific sentence-level skills which, if practiced, improve overall comprehension. Quotes:“The more tools we give to kids to grapple with texts and concepts, the better they’ll be able to do it.”“Background knowledge is incredibly important and is something that we need to integrate into instruction and curriculum.”Resources:Comprehension Microskills Classroom ActivityThe Missing Link in Comprehension White PaperUnderstanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension by Jane OakhillWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Emily Lutrick, a PreK-5 Curriculum and Dyslexia Coordinator with almost 20 years of experience in education, examines the facts and fictional myths of dyslexia, how early is too early to screen for dyslexia, and how to identify the signs and risk factors. Susan and Emily discuss how dyslexia relates to the science of reading and what educators and parents can do to help students after school.Quotes: “You’ve got to arm yourself with good, strong, core curriculum. Make sure you’re informed in what it means to teach in a structured literacy environment. [These] go hand in hand with the science of reading.”“Be intentional about identifying what that risk factor is. What is it that’s causing that breakdown?”Resources:Twitter @drlutrick Want to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Lois Letchford, author of Reversed: A Memoir, shares personal accounts of her son’s struggles with learning how to read as well as her own in school with dyslexia. After being told by a teacher that her son was “the worst child [she’s] ever seen in [her] 25 years of teaching,” she persisted with endless patience to help her son and began writing poems to pique his interest in reading. What is he doing now? Was she successful?Quote: “Believe in your child, believe they are capable of anything--and tell them that.”Resources:Reversed: A Memoir by Lois LetchfordPoetry for kids by Lois LetchfordWebsite with articles and blog: https://www.loisletchford.com/Twitter: @LetchfordLoisWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Susan and Tim Rasinski, author of The Megabook of Fluency: Strategies and Texts to Engage All Readers, discuss his work at the reading clinic at Kent State University, the aspects of good fluency instruction, what constitutes fluency, and how reading speed is correlated to word recognition and automaticity. He stresses the importance of fluency and finding ways to be artful while teaching reading.Quotes:“Fluency is the bridge and we can’t ignore it.”“Speed is the consequence of automaticity–automaticity is not the consequence of speed.”Resources:The Megabook of Fluency: Strategies and Texts to Engage All Readers by Tim RasinskiWhy Reading Should be Hot! by Tim RasinskiEmail: trasinsk@kent.eduWebsite with articles and blog: timrasinski.comTwitter: @trasinski1Kent State Reading ClinicAdditional resources:Fluency: The Neglected Reading Goal by Richard AllingtonAfter Decoding: What? by Carol ChomskyThe Method of Repeated Readings by Dr. S. Jay SamuelsJean Chall's Stages of Reading DevelopmentTim Shanahan interview on The Science of ReadingWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Susan sits down with education reporter and host of the Education Post podcast, Emily Hanford, examines the big takeaways from her experience on reporting on dyslexia, patterns that emerged from her investigating, the science of reading and why schools don’t align with it more, the theory of how reading works, and the evolution of balanced literacy, phonics instruction and whole language.Quotes:“We have to be teaching kids how the written language works to help them become good readers.”“Family income and poverty affect educational opportunities and outcomes.”Resources: 'Hard Words' Education Post PodcastAt a Loss for Words: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers article by Emily HanfordWhat to do if your child's school isn't teaching reading right? article by Emily HanfordAdditional resources: NAEP Reading ScoresWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

Robert shares what inspired him to embark upon his esteemed career path and how we must acknowledge and address that children come to school from different places and backgrounds along their language trajectory in our schools. Susan and Robert discuss the latest in education reform, the knowledge gap, how it is only going to get larger as kids move through grades, the limited time we have to correct it, and how to start doing so.Quotes:“Language is heavily dependent upon readers making correct inferences about context, and that’s background knowledge.”“Language is a series of inference-making, that’s all knowledge-dependent. And if we’re not operating from the same base of knowledge, it all breaks down.”Resources: Robert Pondiscio's book:How the Other Half Learns: Equality, Excellence, and the Battle Over School ChoiceRobert Pondiscio's articles:How to improve literacy after elementary schoolThe lost children of Hirsch: Will a fresh argument for content-rich curricula make a difference?Additional resources: "How knowledge helps", an article by Daniel WillinghamTeaching Content is Teaching Reading video by Daniel WillinghamWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.

What's broken in our education system? Natalie joins Susan for a provocative talk about her latest book, The Knowledge Gap, and how a knowledge-based curriculum can bring equity into the classroom, and students' futures.Quotes“Kids actually love to learn stuff. They love to feel like they’re experts. It does wonders for their self-esteem.” - Wexler“Once teachers try it and can see what can happen…they’re going to say ‘I’m never going back to what I was doing before.” - WexlerResourcesNatalie Wexler’s books:The Knowledge Gap: The hidden cause of America's broken education system--and how to fix itThe Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and GradeNatalie Wexler’s articles:“Elementary Education Has Gone Terribly Wrong: The Case for Teaching Kids Stuff” (The Atlantic, August 2019)“Why American Students Haven't Gotten Better at Reading in 20 Years” (The Atlantic, April 2018)Additional resources:Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham’s education blogWant to discuss the episode? Join our Facebook group Science of Reading: The Community.Episode Content Timestamps*2:00: Introduction: Why is Natalie Wexler?4:00: The meaning of "content"6:00: How did the problem of not teaching content evolve? Why do we need to teach content?10:00: Observations from a knowledge-based classroom13:00: Education reform and the current attention on knowledge building17:00: Classroom teachers: Addressing misconceptions and confusion, and insight26:00: The knowledge gap issue beyond just the individual teacher34:00: The connection between content and writing36:00: Top things for listeners to take away from this episode*Timestamps are approximate, rounded to nearest minute

Welcome to Science of Reading: The Podcast! We bring educators the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading. We believe equity in education begins with reading science.