Reading is a thinking process, not a responding-to-stimuli process or a sounding-out-words process. And since cognitive psychology studies human thinking; it makes good sense to examine the reading process from a cognitive or thinking perspective using the information processing model.

• Purpose statement: The reader will develop a basic understanding of reading from a cognitive perspective.

• Behavioral objective: After reading this chapter, the reader will be able to explain why penguins continue to insist the Dr. Johnson doesn’t believe in direct and explicit phonics instruction.

https://thereadinginstructionshow.substack.com/p/reading-and-the-information-processing

Important Terms

• Round-robin reading – going around the table or around the room and having each student in turn read a section of text out loud. This is a teaching strategy that should very rarely (if ever) be used.

• Popcorn reading – a form of round-robin reading except that the teacher randomly selects students to read a section of text out loud. This is designed to keep all students paying attention and on their toes. This is a teaching strategy that should very rarely (if ever) be used.

• Metacognition – thinking about thinking. In the context of reading, it means to pause and check for understanding. Does it make sense? Does it fit in the paragraph?

• Word recognition – you see a word in print an instantly know what it is.

• Word identification – you see and word in print that you don’t recognize. You must consciously employ some strategy to recognize it.

• Clown – a humorous circus performer. In the context of reading, it’s the term used to denote one who thinks they know a great deal about something when in fact, they know very little.

• Penguin or phonics penguin - one who thinks that heavy phonics and decoding should be the primary focus of early reading instruction. Every reading problem becomes a phonics problem and every solution becomes a phonics solution because that’s all they know.

• Lexicon – the dictionary in your head. These are all the words in your vocabulary. These words are known at various levels.

If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe to my free Substack, The Reading Instruction Show.

Substack: The Reading Instruction Show

https://thereadinginstructionshow.substack.com/

The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently put out another technical report. This technical report graded 700 teacher preparation programs across the country (Ellis, et al., 2026). However, a critical evaluation shows why this report can’t be taken seriously. It contains an abundance of misinformation, disinformation, and convenient inaccuracies. It’s not known if these were intentional on the part of the writers or a result of a lack of knowledge.

If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe to my free Substack, The Reading Instruction Show.

Substack: The Reading Instruction Show

https://thereadinginstructionshow.substack.com/

Matthew 7: 1-2.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.”

My MAGA Christian friends tell me I’m not supposed to judge them. They quote Matthew 7: 1-2 as if it’s a get-out-of-jail card, then they do whatever the hell they want to do.

https://dr731.substack.com/p/my-maga-friends-tell-me-not-to-judge

If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe to my free Substack, The Reading Instruction Show.

Substack: The Reading Instruction Show

https://thereadinginstructionshow.substack.com/

ntroduction to Reading Fluency

This session focuses on fluency, one of the five core areas of reading defined by the National Reading Panel (following previous sessions on phonemic awareness and phonics/word work).

• Definition: Reading fluency is the ability to process text quickly.
• Target Audience: Fluency activities should strictly be used for students who actually need them—those who actively struggle with fluency.
• The Music Analogy: Fluency practice is very much like practicing musical scales. You practice scales so you don't have to read a piece of music note-by-note. While it is essential, practicing scales is only one small part of your overall practice time. Similarly, fluency instruction should only take up three to eight minutes a day of a student's total reading time.

Clarifying Key Terms

• Prosody: This is when oral reading naturally sounds like speaking, featuring correct pauses and inflections. You do not explicitly teach prosody; prosody is an effect of achieving fluency.
• Expression: Reading with expression is really only necessary for theater or dramatic readings. Like prosody, natural expression is an effect of fluency rather than something we teach directly.

In 2026, the Minnesota Department of Education requires teachers to be toadies who follow approved teachers’ manuals with fidelity. All the love of reading has been stomped out of students. Reading, writing, listening, thinking, and critically evaluating information has been replaced by remembering, responding, regurgitating, and filling in bubbles on standardized tests.

This story ends where it began, in 1981. The Read Act Minnesota is the flux capacitor that has brought us screaming forward to the past (see Figure 4.4). We’ve been transported back to 1981 but it’s much worse this time around.

If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe to my free Substack, The Reading Instruction Show.

Substack: The Reading Instruction Show

https://thereadinginstructionshow.substack.com/

Just because a book, article, or presentation includes pictures of a brain or uses a whole bunch of big brain words, does not mean the information presented is always accurate or scientific. We must be responsible consumers of all information, and this includes brain imaging research for reading instruction.