Teaching Literacy Podcast

In this episode, host Jake Downs sits down with literacy researchers Dr. Ye Shen (Johns Hopkins University) and Dr. Elizabeth Hadley (University of South Florida) to unpack a massive longitudinal study tracking over 6,000 students from kindergarten entry through the spring of first grade. Moving beyond raw averages, Dr. Shen and Dr. Hadley reveal four distinct developmental trajectories and explain why “business as usual” MTSS practices often maintain the status quo instead of closing achievement gaps. Tune in to discover why early screeners must be treated as the starting point for an instructional conversation rather than a permanent label, and how educators can shift from tracking student profiles to accelerating growth.

Reference:
Shen, Y., Hadley, E. B., Liu, S., & Kim, E. (2026). Heterogeneity in developmental trajectories of early literacy: The role of child demographics and emergent literacy skills. Learning and Individual Differences, 129, 102924.

[2:21] — What the study set out to understand: moving beyond the “average student” to find distinct patterns of literacy development hidden within average growth

[5:28] — What reading skill typically looks like entering kindergarten, how it develops, and what it looks like by end of first grade

[8:14] — The specific assessments used: STAR Early Literacy (kindergarten entry screener) and MAP Reading (growth measure across five time points)

[11:06] — School context and instructional environment: 77 elementary schools, pre-COVID (2018–2019), commercial curriculum (HMH Journeys), and an MTSS framework in place

[12:52] — The four distinct literacy developmental profiles:

[16:32] — Making the profiles concrete: translating RIT scores into practical reading skills — where the low group vs. middle group actually are in terms of decoding and comprehension

[19:41] — The Matthew effect: why lower trajectory groups never catch up; the lines run parallel and never intersect across all five data points

[23:17] — Demographic variables and trajectory membership: emergent bilingual status, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability status as markers of patterns of experience — not explanations of outcomes

[26:53] — How specific STAR Early Literacy subtests (alphabetic principle, sentence comprehension, structural analysis) predicted profile membership — and the surprising finding on structural analysis

[30:02] — Making sense of the findings: “business as usual” MTSS maintains the status quo rather than narrowing gaps; schools are not acting as the great equalizer

[34:51] — The role of reading screeners: a starting point for a conversation, not a diagnosis or a permanent label; the value of early identification followed by deeper understanding

[38:00] — Composite scores vs. subtests: using the composite as a flag, then moving to informal diagnostics (e.g., CORE Phonics) for instructional planning

[40:29] — Differentiating instruction across the four profiles: why a one-size-fits-all approach may not be enough for each group’s needs

[43:42] — What the guests are optimistic about: growing recognition that literacy development isn’t one-size-fits-all, better use of assessment to inform instruction, and increasing engagement between research and practice

[47:48] — Jake’s Take: MTSS is the floor, not the ceiling; early literacy skills matter but aren’t fate; the goal is to steepen the slope for lower-achieving students to narrow gaps

In Episode 77 of the Teaching Literacy Podcast, guest host Dr. Laura Tortorelli sits down with Dr. Jake Downs to unpack a recent grade 3 intervention study published in Reading Research Quarterly with co-authors Freddy Hiebert, Kristin Conradi Smith, and Katie Martz. Together, they explore the demands of reading long, complex words and a straightforward blending routine for supporting multisyllabic word reading. They also discuss the need for supporting accuracy and automaticity in complex text and how to use the multisyllabic blending strategy with the repeated reading Read Like Us protocol. Plenty of takeaways for any upper elementary teacher, reading coach, or literacy support professional.

Read the article here! No paywall!
Downs, J., Hiebert, E., Conradi Smith, K., & Martz, K. (2026). Promoting reading accuracy and fluency outcomes with complex texts: A Grade 3 intervention comparison. Reading Research Quarterly. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.70117

Episode Outline:
0:00 Intro — Guest host Laura Tortorelli introduces the episode
1:44 Study overview — Jake Downs et al. study comparing simplified vs. complex texts in Reading Research Quarterly
4:24 Welcome, Jake — Jake joins the conversation
4:48 Complex text effects — Accuracy, fluency, and comprehension decrease with harder text
3:54 Why accuracy matters — Accuracy as the “floor of good reading”
4:58 Why harder texts? — Vocabulary density, idea sophistication, word automaticity
7:24 Teachers’ quandary — Grade-level texts cause accuracy and fluency to plummet
8:00 What can we do? — Scaffold rather than water down text
9:32 RLU 1.0 vs. new study — Adding long word blending to improve accuracy
10:09 Multisyllabic approaches — Syllable types vs. morphology; limitations of each
12:48 Hybrid peel-off approach — Combining morphology with syllabication
15:58 Curricular design — 80/20 split: text reading vs. word blending
17:36 Text design vs. scope & sequence — Pull words from strong texts, not vice versa
21:56 Texts in upper grades — Building vocabulary, knowledge, and comprehension
22:38 Word repetition — ~25 encounters per target word through repeated readings
24:57 A day in Read Like Us — Step-by-step blending routine and repeated reading protocol
28:48 Study parameters — 60 sessions, 12 topics, 5 texts each from ReadWorks.org
29:38 Comparison condition — A validated decoding intervention, not a weak control
31:36 Key differences — Text complexity, word complexity, and word-text alignment
34:04 Findings: Accuracy — RLU students 2.79x more likely to reach benchmark
35:49 Findings: Fluency — Comparable growth; no cost from harder texts
37:33 Vocabulary hypothesis — Likely benefits from text volume and topic diversity
37:57 Who benefits? — Students at ~95%+ accuracy; not below 90%
40:14 Advice for teachers — Scaffolding is essential; payoff is compound interest
43:00 Selecting words — Pick hard, text-meaningful words; 3 words, 5–7 minutes
45:41 Challenging deficit views — Build on what students can do; scaffold the edge
48:08 What’s Jake optimistic about — Public-facing research and free resources
49:38 Laura’s take: Rethinking ZPD — Scaffolding should match text challenge, not avoid it

It’s a special roundtable on the Teaching Literacy Podcast! Host Dr. Jake Downs, Lori Southington, and Blythe Anderson record live from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR) conference in Rotterdam to bridge the gap between emerging research and classroom practice. The trio unpacks key studies on interactive read-alouds and morphology instruction, highlighting how teachers can move past superficial vocabulary “mentioning” to foster deep, active meaning-making. Additionally, Jake shares findings from his own study on multisyllabic word profiles in upper-elementary curricula, demonstrating that students need targeted support with longer, abstract academic words rather than simple concrete ones.

Resources Mentioned

Clarence Greene’s British and American Word Families (BAWF) Database: https://cgg-projects.github.io/BAWF_V2/
Words as Tools (coming soon)
Reading Ready + Reading Go: https://www.katiepacemilesphd.com/projects
How To Plan for Differentiated Instruction (ACCESS Reading): https://www.guilford.com/books/How-to-Plan-Differentiated-Reading-Instruction/Walpole-McKenna/9781462531516?srsltid=AfmBOoqZEpCze9AHw3knqG102KduC3N0kbviJDqEE-02RRNT48EtkFh7
Anderson & Strong (2026): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10573569.2025.2587640
(also back on E62 of TLP! https://teachingliteracypodcast.com/e62stopping-the-summer-slide-with-dr-blythe-anderson-and-dr-john-strong/
Also check out the Melissa and Lori Love Literacy Podcast — it’s excellent!! literacypodcast.com

In this episode of the Teaching Literacy Podcast, host Jake Downs sits down with Dr. Laura Tortorelli and Dr. John Strong to unpack how vocabulary and advanced decoding interact to help upper elementary students navigate complex academic texts. Discussing their recent study on multisyllabic decoding achievement, the researchers explain why treating vocabulary and word recognition as isolated instructional buckets is a critical mistake. They dive into the mechanics of the fourth-grade slump and Linnea Ehri’s consolidated alphabetic phase, sharing striking findings like why nearly 100% of struggling readers can easily decode compound words like mushroom while only 5% can read bugle—revealing how a word’s “age of acquisition” and presence in a child’s oral vocabulary directly dictates their reading accuracy. Listeners will walk away with a practical understanding of the “decoding threshold” and concrete, flexible classroom strategies from the Read Stop Write intervention to help students move past rigid syllabication rules and seamlessly integrate word meaning with multisyllabic decoding.

Link to ReadStopWrite: https://www.readstopwrite.com/ (book coming in 2027!!)

00:00 Multisyllabic Reading Challenge
01:33 Meet the Researchers
03:40 Why Readers Hit a Wall
08:46 Decoding Threshold Explained
10:50 Stop Over-Syllabicating
13:38 Morphology in Action
17:02 Vocabulary and Decoding Unite
23:27 Inside the Study Design
26:41 Multisyllabic Inventory Breakdown
30:20 Surprising Student Performance
33:27 Compound Words Mastery
33:59 Tricky Syllable Patterns
35:11 Nonsense Words Accuracy
36:51 Vocabulary vs Morphology
39:14 Why Bugle Is Hard
43:09 Age of Acquisition Effect
45:20 Read Stop Write Strategies
50:44 Choosing High Impact Words
55:51 Interpreting Nonsense Tests
59:01 Literacy Optimisms
01:02:16 Jake’s Take

Reference:
Tortorelli, L. S., Strong, J. Z., & Anderson, B. E. (2024). Multisyllabic decoding achievement and relation to vocabulary at the end of elementary school. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 246, 106018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2024.106018

In this episode, Jake sits down with Dr. Amanda Shimizu to discuss her research paper, A Multimodal Content Analysis of Popular Early Childhood Stories and Read-Alouds on YouTube, co-authored with Dr. Margaret Quinn. Together they analyzed the 50 most popular preschool read-aloud videos on YouTube over a one-year period, examining both video design and instructional quality.

Reference:

Shimizu, A. Y., & Quinn, M. F. (2026). A multimodal content analysis of popular early childhood stories and read-alouds on YouTube. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 14687984261442422. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687984261442422

List of 50 analyzed YouTube videos:

Discussion Overview
3:37 — YouTube stats & young children’s screen time
5:28 — Promises & perils of YouTube as an educational platform
7:01 — The 50 most popular channels & creator types
11:04 — What makes a high-quality read-aloud?
13:22 — Video design features (music, animations, props)
17:35 — The “disembodied reader” problem
23:02 — Instructional features: before, during & after reading
28:40 — The 2×2 matrix: production vs. instructional quality
38:10 — Recommendations for YouTube creators
40:58 — Follow-up research coming
43:51 — Jake’s Take

In this episode I sit down with the SRI Education research team—Dr. Dan Reynolds, Dr. Anna Jennerjohn, and Dr. Sara Rutherford-Quach—to unpack their learning brief, Beyond the Surface.

This episode explores the gap between using high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) and achieving deep, robust reading comprehension.

Read the Brief Here: https://www.sri.com/publication/education-learning-pubs/beyond-the-surface-leveraging-high-quality-instructional-materials-for-robust-reading-comprehension/

Quick Summary:

Actionable advice for coaches and school leaders to build systems that support genuine meaning-making in the classroom.

The Study: Analyzed 111 comprehension lessons across districts with mature HQIM implementation and surveyed 500+ teachers.

The Central Finding: While HQIM was consistently used, 64% of lessons focused only on surface-level objectives (completing tasks) rather than robust comprehension (building a mental model).

Episode Highlights:

Defining the crucial distinction between Surface and Robust comprehension.

Introducing the 6 high-leverage instructional practices that move the needle toward deep understanding.

Timestamps
[0:00] – Teaser: Surface vs. Robust Comprehension

[0:16] – Introduction & episode overview; Jake introduces the HQIM landscape

[1:29] – Introducing the guests and their learning brief: Beyond the Surface

[2:43] – What is HQIM and why has the term taken off so quickly?

[4:46] – Background on the study: Schusterman Family Philanthropies partnership and why SRI undertook this observational research

[7:14] – Why studying mature implementation matters — districts where HQIM had been in place for several years

[9:34] – Defining surface-level comprehension vs. robust comprehension

[20:58] – How the data was collected: 111 classroom observations, 500+ teacher surveys, 100+ interviews, 62 PLCs observed

[25:10] – Finding #1: Teachers were using their HQIM consistently (72–89% daily or almost daily)

[21:26] – Finding #2: High floor established — 98% of lessons had a comprehension purpose; but 64% of lessons set only surface-level goals

[26:06] – The “voltage drop”: how robust lessons erode

[29:57] – The six high-leverage practices for robust comprehension:

[30:11] Practice 1: Engaging students in text-specific analysis
[33:29] Practice 2: Activating and leveraging prior knowledge
[36:10] Practice 3: Explaining and modeling meaning-making
[38:48] Practice 4: Providing instructional feedback
[40:36] Practice 5: Providing opportunities for text-based reasoning
[41:59] Practice 6: Setting up peer learning opportunities
[44:25] – What surface-level instruction looks like in practice

[47:37] – It’s not a checklist: how the six practices can serve surface OR robust ends

[48:56] – Three action steps for coaches and school leaders:
[56:07] – Walkthrough tools and their limitations: why you can’t see robust comprehension in a 5-minute walkthrough

[1:00:28] – Jake’s curveball: How do standards interact with comprehension instruction? (The PLC/Norse mythology example)

[1:06:05] – Student engagement in robust vs. surface lessons — the House on Mango Street discussion example

[1:04:12] – What’s next: upcoming SRI briefs on foundational skills, multilingual learners, and knowledge-building

[1:10:17] – Optimism for the future of literacy: teachers hungry for the “how,” and a push toward more honest comprehension assessment

[1:14:25] – Jake’s Take: Reflections on HQIM as an “instructional floor,” why all three gears must turn (content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, curriculum knowledge), and a simple habit for keeping comprehension instruction tethered to meaning-making

[1:30:30] – Closing

Show Notes
2:30 – What is Read Like Us?

4:10 – The Five Reads Explained

6:00 – Implementation in Classrooms

10:00 – Maximizing Reading Time

12:53 – How Read Like Us Differs from Traditional Approaches

15:00 – Gradual Release of Responsibility

18:00 – Prosody and Comprehension

20:00 – Study Results

22:30 – Potential Comprehension Enhancement

25:30 – The Stacking Protocol Approach

27:30 – Cost and Accessibility

28:48 – Text Selection Philosophy

30:30 – The “Challenging Text” Debate

33:17 – Texts Students Actually Want to Read

36:00 – Lexile Levels and Text Complexity

39:00 – Rethinking Leveled Texts

42:00 – Student Motivation and Text Choice

43:00 – Repeated Reading vs. Wide Reading

46:30 – Wide Reading and Teacher Control

48:00 – Benefits of Wide Reading

49:00 – Getting Started with Read Like Us

50:21 – Closing

In this episode we welcome Dr. Sharon Walpole, a professor at the University of Delaware. We explore the challenges teachers face in addressing varying student needs, Dr. Walpole’s pragmatic approach to differentiation, and the developmental roadmap for reading proficiency. Dr. Walpole shares insights on the importance of grade-level instruction, the flaws of certain assessment systems, and practical classroom applications.

Make sure to check out Dr. Walpole’s books with Guilford Press! https://www.guilford.com/author/Sharon-Walpole

00:00 Introduction to Differentiation
01:03 Meet Dr. Sharon Walpole
02:15 Defining Differentiation
03:23 Acceleration vs. Remediation
04:45 Pragmatic Approaches to Differentiation
08:03 Challenges with Guided Reading
16:46 The Science of Reading and Differentiation
23:51 The Stairway to Proficiency Model
35:47 Maximizing Instructional Impact
36:03 The Importance of Dosage in Education
36:38 Resources for Differentiated Reading Instruction
37:35 Grouping Students for Effective Learning
40:20 Aligning Small Group and Whole Group Instruction
48:57 Tiered Instruction: Strategies and Misconceptions
56:40 Effective Use of Paraprofessionals
01:01:32 Curriculum and Instructional Materials
01:03:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In this episode we welcome Dr. Sharon Walpole, a professor at the University of Delaware. We explore the challenges teachers face in addressing varying student needs, Dr. Walpole’s pragmatic approach to differentiation, and the developmental roadmap for reading proficiency. Dr. Walpole shares insights on the importance of grade-level instruction, the flaws of certain assessment systems, and practical classroom applications.

Make sure to check out Dr. Walpole’s books with Guilford Press! https://www.guilford.com/author/Sharon-Walpole

00:00 Introduction to Differentiation
01:03 Meet Dr. Sharon Walpole
02:15 Defining Differentiation
03:23 Acceleration vs. Remediation
04:45 Pragmatic Approaches to Differentiation
08:03 Challenges with Guided Reading
16:46 The Science of Reading and Differentiation
23:51 The Stairway to Proficiency Model
35:47 Maximizing Instructional Impact
36:03 The Importance of Dosage in Education
36:38 Resources for Differentiated Reading Instruction
37:35 Grouping Students for Effective Learning
40:20 Aligning Small Group and Whole Group Instruction
48:57 Tiered Instruction: Strategies and Misconceptions
56:40 Effective Use of Paraprofessionals
01:01:32 Curriculum and Instructional Materials
01:03:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts