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Phonics alone won’t solve the literacy crisis.

Natalie Wexler's new book: Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning advocates, which connects the science of reading to the broader science of learning.

Key Points:

• The current reading crisis is fundamentally a learning crisis.
• Cognitive science principles, such as retrieval practice, should apply to all learning.
• Advocating for a knowledge-building curriculum supports all students, particularly those who struggle. 
• Writing instruction should start with explicit techniques.
• All teachers should integrate literacy within their content.

Beyond the Science of Reading advocates for an integrated approach to literacy that combines cognitive science principles with literacy instruction, emphasizing content knowledge, explicit writing instruction, and cross-disciplinary teaching to boost student success.

Resources

• Natalie's new book Beyond the Science of Reading: Connecting Literacy Instruction to the Science of Learning
• Do We Need to Teach Comprehension Strategies Explicitly?
• The Writing Effect

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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From June 22, 2021

In this episode, reading and fluency expert Tim Rasinski tells us all about effective fluency instruction! How does repeated reading build fluency instruction? Why does text difficulty level impact fluency practice? What do effective accuracy, automaticity, and expression sound like?

Check out research, articles, and helpful materials located on Tim's website and follow Tim on Twitter @TimRasinski1. We also discuss this piece by Nell Duke.

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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Fluency is a crucial aspect of reading. It involves automaticity and the ability to connect different aspects of word knowledge.

In this episode, Maryanne Wolf and Melissa Orkin discuss:

• the importance of fluency in reading
• the factors that contribute to fluent reading
• the need for an integrative approach to fluency instruction 
• the POSSUM approach to building word knowledge

Big Takeaway: Fluency is essential for comprehension and has social-emotional implications for struggling readers. The POSSUM approach can help students make the needed connections to be able to read fluently. 

Want to Learn More? 

• The More You Know: How Teaching Multiple Aspects of Word Knowledge
  Builds Fluency Skills by Melissa Orkin, Kirk Vanacore, Laura Rhinehart,
  Rebecca Gotlieb, and Maryanne Wolf
• Building Fluency with POSSUM
• Downloadable lessons featuring the POSSUM approach:
  • Grades K-2
  • Grades 3-5
• Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect: Repeated Reading Is No More Effective Than Continuous Reading for Improving Fluency and Comprehension in School-Age Struggling Readers by Elizabeth S. Norton
• RAN and the reading brain with Elizabeth Norton (youtube video)
• Word Finder wordfinder.yourdictionary.com - find words with similar patterns!
• Crafting Minds Group 
• NIDO Learning

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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Secondary educators have students in their classrooms who weren’t taught to read. Because of these reading deficits, students  likely have a difficult time accessing secondary texts and tasks. Our guests today, Supt. Sherry Sousa and Educator Julie Brown, discuss a secondary intervention they developed that WORKS and is totally doable. The best part? Students partake in the intervention in addition to - not instead of - their regular high school English classes. 

Resources

• No Time to Waste: Structured Literacy for Young Adults
• Ameer Baraka video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyFiOYCqvyk 

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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Fluency is complex, especially for older students.

In this episode, Janee' Butler shares:

• how fluency instruction looks from early grades to secondary
• about challenges students and teachers face, 
• practical strategies for improving fluency,
• a reminder not to forget about student motivation, especially for older students struggling with reading fluently. 

The Big Takeway: Reading fluency is essential for older students to be able to comprehend what they read. Teachers need the knowledge of how to help each student!

Want to Learn More? 

• Janee's presentation at PaTTAN Symposium 2024: Achieving Adolescent Literacy Proficiency: The Importance of Fluency 
• Teaching Oral Reading Fluency to Older Students by Tim Shanahan
• Phonics and Spelling through Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping by Catherine Grace  
• Really Great Reading assessments (free)
• DIBELS assessments- 8th Edition (free)
• Plain Talk About Literacy & Learning Conference 2025
• email Janee': [email protected] 

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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From June 3, 2022

Today middle school educators from Baltimore City Public Schools join us to discuss their focus on fluency through Continuous Improvement work with fluency using HQC. What is Continuous Improvement? Why is this a useful framework? “Possibly wrong, definitely incomplete”  is a mantra that resonates. The educators share their approach, impact, and outcomes for students. Secondary teachers… this one’s for you. 

Related Episodes

• Ep. 98: Improving Student Reading Growth in Months with Fluency Instruction and Practice 
• Ep. 62: Effective Fluency Instruction with Tim Rasinski 

Resources

• Carnegie Foundation Continuous Improvement in Education Resources such as videos, tools, and publications

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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Chase Young discusses the implementation of Reader's Theater in the classroom, providing a detailed framework for the process. He emphasizes the importance of structured practice, fluency, and expression, as well as the benefits of engaging students in dramatic reading. Reader's Theater can be implemented in ELA and other subject areas with grade-level texts. Reader's Theatre improves reading skills and transfers skills to other texts. 

Takeaways

• Structured practice is essential for achieving fluency and expression in Reader's Theater.
• Reader's Theater can be integrated with other subjects, providing opportunities for vocabulary and morphology instruction.
• Choosing challenging, grade-level texts is important for meeting grade-level expectations and supporting students' fluency and comprehension.
• Repetition plays a significant role in scaffolding and supporting students' fluency and expression in Reader's Theater. Reader's Theatre is an effective tool for improving reading skills and fluency.

Resources

• Meta analysis - super duper effect size 1.23 
• Readers Theatre Plus Comprehension and Word Study 2017 
• Free Readers’ Theater Scripts at The Best Class - Chase Young’s website 
• Rumpelstiltskin Readers’ Theater Script 
• The Methods of Repeated Readings - J. Samuels The Reading Teacher 
• More Readers' Theater Scripts at JustTwoTeachers 

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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The science of learning is what research says about how our brains learn. 
In this episode, Nathaniel Swain discusses the science of learning, emphasizing its connection with the science of reading. 

 He shares: 

• key mindset shifts for teachers
• the significance of coherent curriculum planning
• practical strategies like using mini whiteboards and advanced organizers to enhance student engagement and understanding

He also highlights the need for responsive whole-class instruction and the importance of closing learning gaps early in students' educational journeys.

Resources

• Nathaniel Swain's website
• Harnessing the Science of Learning: Success Stories to Help Kickstart Your School Improvement by Nathaniel Swain 
• Asubel’s Meaningful Learning in Action by Sarah Cottingham
• Ep. 63: Kindergarten Teacher Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices
• Ep. 115: Kindergarten TEAM Reaches 100% Success Using Evidence-Based Practices 
• Ep. 154: Fluency Instructional Routines with Nathaniel Swain

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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From July 14, 2023

What if you could unlock the secrets to fluency instruction in literacy, and transform your students into confident and skilled readers? Join us as we delve into this crucial topic with Nathaniel Swain, Senior Lecturer at La Trobe University in Australia, who shares his expertise on the three components of fluency: speed, accuracy, and prosody. Let's explore together how balancing speed with comprehension can make all the difference in today's digital age, where skimming and scrolling are the new norm.

We discuss a variety of practical strategies to help students practice fluency in the classroom, such as choral reading and paired reading. Nathaniel also sheds light on the role of technology in simplifying the process of creating engaging materials. Discover how to create an environment that fosters student engagement and understanding, and learn the differences between fluency instruction in primary and intermediate classes.

Finally, we examine the value of fluency in reading instruction and how it can be integrated into the literacy block. Nathaniel explains the self-teaching hypothesis and emphasizes the importance of exposing students to unfamiliar words and challenging texts. Don't miss this insightful episode packed with tips and strategies to help your students become fluent and confident readers!

Resources

• Think Forward Educators
• Five Ways to Focus on Fluency, Think Forward Educators Blog 
• Fluency Rubric, Tim Rasinski
• Readers Theater Scripts, Chase Young
• Fluency Resources, Tim Rasinski 
• Nathaniel Swain on Writing to Learn, ERRR Podcast

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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The authors of No More “Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book discuss the importance of teaching comprehension strategies in a text-centered approach. They emphasize the need to move away from isolated strategy instruction and instead focus on using texts as the center of instruction. They highlight the importance of background knowledge, vocabulary, and text structure in preparing students for reading. During reading, they suggest using explicit think-alouds to model comprehension strategies and provide scaffolds for students. They also emphasize the need for students to do the heavy lifting during reading and for teachers to support and guide their thinking. The conversation explores the different stages of comprehension instruction: before reading, during reading, and after reading. 

Takeaways

• Teaching comprehension strategies should be done in a text-centered approach, where the focus is on using texts as the center of instruction.
• Before reading, it is important to activate or build background knowledge, pre-teach vocabulary, and attend to text structure.
• During reading, teachers should provide explicit think-alouds to model comprehension strategies and provide scaffolds for students.
• Students should be doing the heavy lifting during reading, with teachers supporting and guiding their thinking.
• Engaging students in meaningful reading experiences and connecting comprehension strategies to authentic texts is crucial for effective comprehension instruction. Explicit strategy instruction is crucial for teaching comprehension skills.
• Modeling how to use comprehension strategies helps students understand how to apply them.
• Providing opportunities for students to practice and apply comprehension strategies is essential.
• Engaging students in discussions and writing activities after reading helps consolidate learning and deepen understanding.

No More “Strategy of the Week”: Considerations for Connecting Comprehension Instruction Back to the Book

We answer your questions about teaching reading in The Literacy 50-A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night.

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