science of reading

Shannon and Mary chat with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg from Reading Simplified about what happens in the brain during reading.   We talk about the reader's journey to whole word recognition and how reading teachers can help their readers bolt on the orthography to what students already know in spoken language and language comprehension. Listeners will learn how to build a strong foundation for reading and how to help their students build flexible decoding strategies.     Teachers will also hear examples of feedback to provide to readers in order to promote orthographic mapping.  Check out this episode to learn all about how the brain learns to read.

Episode Links for Resources mentioned:

1. Twitter image of the Reading Brain image by @empoweredliteracy
2. Our Brains Were not Born to Read...right?
3. Brain Builders Amplify-video series
4. The Brain Dictionary
5. Dr. Molly McCabe on the Science of Reading video
6. Lecture by Dr. Stanislas Dehaene on "Reading the Brain"
7. Cortex in the Classroom video
8. Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read by Sanislas Dehaene *Amazon affiliate link, where we earn a small commission from your purchase*
9. Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf *Amazon affiliate link*
10. Keys to Literacy: How the Brain Learns to Read  
11. Lexia Learning:  How the Human Brain Learns to Read  
12. Hill Learning Center:  The Reading Brain video
13. Cognitive Load
14. Reading Brain patterns
15. Eternal Triangle Model 
16. The Role of Set for Variability (Reading Rockets)
17. Reading Simplified Switch It Activity
18. Reading Simplified's YouTube Channel
19. Reading Simplified on IG

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Shannon and Mary ask Linda Rhyne to join them for a live Reading Teachers discussion about how to find balance in our reading instruction.   Teachers are asked to follow various curriculum programs, teach the grade level standards, differentiate for their students' needs, and utilize their own expertise & experience.  How can teachers blend all this together into cohesive literacy instruction that makes sense to students and themselves and balance what they're asked to do with what they know their students need to be successful in reading?    All these points are brought up in the chat, and Linda shares some tips for how teachers can be critical consumers and advocates for their students in their individual school buildings.   We hope this chat inspires you to think critically about your own teaching practice and instructional decisions. 

Episode Links for Resources mentioned:

1. It's Our Science blog post
2. Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4-9
3. Curriculum is Misunderstood
4. Acadience Learning
5. DIBELS Data System
6. Upper Grade Fluency Activities
7. Sold A Story by Emily Hanford
8. Literacy View response to Sold a story
9. Opinion response to Sold a Story
10. NEPC:   Ed in the Apple:  The Reading Wars: Balanced Literacy versus Phonics, Revisited  by Peter Goodman
11. A balanced view of reading 
12. The Science of Reading Movement: The Never-Ending Debate and the Need for a Different Approach to Reading Instruction
13. Both And
14. Reading shifts 
15. https://twitter.com/lindaschultzie
16. https://www.instagram.com/lindarhyneconsulting/
17. https://www.lindarhyneconsulting.com/
18. https://www.facebook.com/lindarhyneconsulting
19. https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-schultz-rhyne-91704b93/
    
    

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This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Lexia Learning.
The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

The journey toward educational equity in the United States is inspiring, and often challenging, in our ever-evolving landscape. To better measure our progress, we need a systematic framework that will help us clearly define and move towards educational equity in a purposeful and sustainable way. 

Listen to Kerri Larkin, Senior Education Advisor for Lexia Learning, as she dives into educational equity through a lens of (1) instructional, (2) cultural, and (3) digital equity. When combined with the instructional core model, this novel approach offers a comprehensive and measurable solution with the potential to profoundly impact academic success for all students. 

This edWeb podcast is interactive and engaging for educators and leaders, with opportunities to reflect on their personal and professional experiences. Listeners learn how the instructional core of students, teachers, and content can be supported across the essential elements of equity to sustain meaningful progress. Through a fresh perspective on the Science of Reading, culturally responsive pedagogy, and digital accessibility, educational leaders can ensure “literacy for all” in their schools, districts, and states. 

This edWeb podcast is of interest to PreK-5 school and district leaders, education technology leaders, and educators.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Shannon and Mary chat with Mindful Teacher Rachel about the Schwa vowel sound and how to teach it to students.  She shares great stories from her classroom about teaching reading and all about her newly published book that can be used to introduce the Schwa to readers.   You'll want to listen in on this chat between reading teachers to get strategies and resources for working on the Schwa with your own reading students.


Episode Resources:

1. Rachel's book Schwa in 1st Grade on Amazon
2. Uncovering the Logic of English by Denise Eide *Amazon affiliate link*
3. Tools4Teachers Schwa information
4. Phonics Hero The Schwa Explained and How to teach it
5. Literacy Nest: How to Teach Schwa Part 1
6. Literacy Nest: How to Teach Schwa Part 2
7. Keys to Literacy: Teaching Schwa in Unaccented Syllables
8. Five from Five: The Schwa
9. Lists of Multi-Syllable Words with Schwa from Reading Rockets
10. Schwa Words and Activities
11. Rachel on Instagram @mindfulteacherrachel
12. Rachel on Tiktok @teacherrachelsorsel

*We earn a small commission from the sales when you purchase the texts through our Amazon affiliate links. Thank you for taking the action to support the work of our show.*


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Do you agree that our students deserve not just a good education but an exceptional one? In this episode, Malia Hallowell, CEO of Playdough to Plato, shares her story of founding the website and transitioning back into the classroom after maternity leave. She breaks down great tools and strategies related to the science of reading and its positive impact on students' growth. Malia stresses out how using the science of reading can help students achieve reading proficiency. Let's dive in!

Malia is a National Board Certified Teacher, founder of the Reading Roadmap professional development training, and soon-to-be published author. Her obsession is giving you the tools, strategies, and support you need to give EVERY student that big, exciting reading growth you crave. It’s time to become a wildly successful, confident reading teacher.

Key Highlights: 

[00:01 - 06:53] Opening Segment

• Malia Hallowell's background and story

• How she ended up creating Playdough to Plato

• An overview of the science of reading strategies for educators

[06:54 - 13:30] Science of Reading: Tips for Teachers

• The most important thing is making sure that you're current on research

• What the science of reading is

• Why it's key to be aware of the basics of phonological awareness

• Only 10% of students naturally learn how to read 

[13:31 - 20:00] How to Teach Your Kids to Read with Sound Mapping

• Make sure to explicitly teach phonic skills so that students can decode words correctly

• Swap out flashcards and word walls for sound mapping to help students learn words faster

• Challenges teachers can face when implementing the science of reading strategies

• The teacher's guilt and having a hard time getting support from their administrators

[20:01 - 27:27] Closing Segment

• Tap it, map it, graph it, write it, and read it

• Why the science of reading can impact student growth

Let’s Connect!
Want to connect with Malia? Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Head to Playdough to Plato, for more tools, training, and support to get bigger results with less planning time! 

You can connect with our host Erica Terry on Instagram and LinkedIn. Be sure to check out her website https://www.ericanterry.com

You can connect with the TeacherGoals community on Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Instagram, and Twitter. 

If you'd like to engage in Q&A with our guests during the live interview or interact with a rockstar community of educators, then you definitely want to join the TeacherGoals Facebook group.

Shannon and Mary meet up after the summer hiatus to chat about going back to school.  They catch up on their personal activities from the summer and then share their instructional plans for the new school year in 2022-2023.


Episode Resources:

1. Shannon's Phonics Units
2. Decodable readers from Heggerty
3. Decodable readers from High Noon
4. Decodable readers from Geodes
5. Decodable readers from Flyleaf
6. Morpheme Magic from Deb Glaser
7. Mary's updated website
8. Van Cleave vocabulary resources
9. our Patreon site and details

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The Science of Reading is undergirded by theories of how students learn to read and comprehend text. The theory most often cited is Scarborough's Reading Rope as conceived by Dr. Hollis S. Scarborough. Dr. Scarborough believed that the elements of Word Recognition and the elements of Language Comprehension all weave together into the rope of Reading Comprehension. Just like a true rope, the more strands present and the stronger each strand is, the stronger the rope is. It is surmised that if a student is weaker in one strand, the strength of the other strands can still help the student comprehend what she is reading.

In this new podcast series on the Science of Reading - What Every EdLeader Should Know, Dr. Rob Jackson, host of the EdLeader podcast, has one goal, to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

So metaphorically, we grab Scarborough’s reading rope and separate the strands of Word Recognition and Language Comprehension. Within the Language Comprehension strands, we find the strand of literacy knowledge.

Literacy Knowledge encapsulates the understanding and mastery of print concepts, such as a book’s layout. This includes everything from pre-reading skills like turning pages from right to left, reading words on a page from left to right, and top-to-bottom. It also includes more advanced skills like understanding the text features of a nonfiction book like an index, table of contents, and list of exhibits in order to efficiently find information. It also includes concepts like genre and the author’s purpose.

Join Dr. Jackson as he attempts to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

Show notes are available at: www.drrobjackson.com
@Dr_Rob_Jackson
@EdLeaderPod

The Science of Reading is undergirded by theories of how students learn to read and comprehend text. The theory most often cited is Scarborough's Reading Rope as conceived by Dr. Hollis S. Scarborough. Dr. Scarborough believed that the elements of Word Recognition and the elements of Language Comprehension all weave together into the rope of Reading Comprehension. Just like a true rope, the more strands present and the stronger each strand is, the stronger the rope is. It is surmised that if a student is weaker in one strand, the strength of the other strands can still help the student comprehend what she is reading.

In this new podcast series on the Science of Reading - What Every EdLeader Should Know, Dr. Rob Jackson, host of the EdLeader podcast has one goal, to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

So metaphorically, we grab Scarborough’s reading rope and separate the strands of Word Recognition and Language Comprehension. Within the Language Comprehension strands, we find the strand of verbal reasoning.

Verbal reasoning involves thinking about text, solving word problems, following written instructions to come up with a solution, spotting letter sequences, and cracking letter- and number-based codes. Verbal reasoning assessments measure a child’s ability to problem-solve and reason using words. These assessments are more a test of skill than of testing acquired knowledge.

Join Dr. Jackson as he attempts to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

Show notes are available at: www.drrobjackson.com
@Dr_Rob_Jackson
@EdLeaderPod

The Science of Reading is undergirded by theories of how students learn to read and comprehend text. The theory most often cited is Scarborough's Reading Rope as conceived by Dr. Hollis S. Scarborough. Dr. Scarborough believed that the elements of Word Recognition and the elements of Language Comprehension all weave together into the rope of Reading Comprehension. Just like a true rope, the more strands present and the stronger each strand is, the stronger the rope is. It is surmised that if a student is weaker in one strand, the strength of the other strands can still help the student comprehend what she is reading.

In this new podcast series on the Science of Reading - What Every EdLeader Should Know, Dr. Rob Jackson, host of the EdLeader podcast has one goal, to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

Striving readers clearly show visible relief when they encounter a sight word in the middle of a difficult string of words that have to be decoded. Sight Word Recognition, despite the simplistic name of the strand, is a powerful tool in a reader’s toolkit and must be purposefully taught by teachers.

What, then, are sight words? Dr. Cheryl Lyon, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut, defined sight words this way, “Sight words are words that students are expected to recognize instantly. With the right support, students can become so familiar with these words that they no longer need to pause and try to decode them.

Join Dr. Jackson as he attempts to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

Show notes are available at: www.drrobjackson.com
@Dr_Rob_Jackson
@EdLeaderPod

This latest episode in The Science of Reading series focuses on background knowledge, a crucial strand of Language Comprehension.  Once a reader has decoded the print into words, reading comprehension requires inferences that are built on background knowledge and not necessarily explicitly stated in the text. As the writers at BrainTrust define it, “Background knowledge is everything a child already knows about a topic prior to engaging in the lesson or activity. So for reading, background knowledge refers to all of the information and understanding that students already have that will help them gain deep meaning from whatever text they are reading.”

Join Dr. Jackson as he attempts to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

Show notes are available at: www.drrobjackson.com
@Dr_Rob_Jackson
@EdLeaderPod

Recently as Dr. Rob Jackson dove headfirst into attempting to understand The Science of Reading, he found himself immersed in The Reading Wars with Whole Language or Balanced Literacy on one side and The Science of Reading on the other.  As he researched the divide between the two, he encountered a side skirmish and made himself a note to come back to it. Lost in the vitriol over phonics instruction was the respect given to or denied to fluency as a metric to pay attention to.

At a basic level, fluency is a reader's ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. If comprehending what they read is the goal, children must be able to read fluently. This is true in reading aloud and in reading silently. In many ways, fluency is the bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension.

Join Dr. Jackson as he attempts to peel apart the individual strands of reading comprehension and build our shared understanding of what EdLeaders need to know about learning to read.

www.drrobjackson.com
@Dr_Rob_Jackson
@EdLeaderPod

Shannon and Mary share some new understandings they've discovered about the differences between long and short vowels.  They chat about how they'll modify some phonics activities for students after discovering these new understandings.

Episode Resources:

1. The ABC's and All  Their Tricks by Margaret M. Bishop (*Amazon affiliate link)
2. our Season 1 episode about Short Vowels
3. our Season 1 episode about Long Vowels
4. our Season 4 episode about Sound Walls
5. Shannon's Long and Short Vowel Soccer game
6. Shannon's phonics units
7. FCRR Long and Short Vowel picture sort
8. FCRR Long and Short Vowel word sort

Hot Logic Mini Oven https://amzn.to/3jO2C4l (*Amazon affiliate link)
Daily Harvest (Get $35 off your first box when you use this link)

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As an elementary teacher, elementary principal, and as a Superintendent, EdLeader podcast host Dr. Rob Jackson has watched the battle lines drawn and the theories, best practices, and curriculum shaming hurled back and forth in the "Reading Wars." Equating a war with the debate over the best way to teach children to read seems a bit excessive, but a quick glance over the blogs spewing nastiness about the thought-leaders on each side of the debate seems to give rise and credence to the name, "Reading Wars."

On one side is whole-language or balanced literacy, an offshoot of whole language. On the other side is the Science of Reading.

So...

There is a Reading War that has been going on for a really long time and the Science of Reading has taken the upper hand. 

But, what is the Science of Reading and what do EdLeaders need to know? Join Dr. Rob Jackson as he crosses the battlefield of the reading wars to share just what you need to know, whether you have a background in teaching children to read or not.

www.drrobjackson.com
@Dr_Rob_Jackson

Shannon and Mary chat with Nancy Young, the creator of the Ladder of Reading & Writing,  about differentiated instruction for readers at different levels.      [Note: Our podcast has explicit permission from Nancy Young to use her Ladder infographic image and information with our audience.]  In this episode we discuss the equitable need for differentiation, in order to "offer children what they need based on where they are."   Strategies, examples, and activities are shared for teachers to modify their literacy instruction based on the unique needs of their readers.

Episode Resources:

1. Nancy Young's website
2. Nancy's blog post about her updates to the Ladder
3. The Updated Ladder of Reading and Writing (in pdf form)
4. Nancy Young's Structured Literacy Primer
5. Ladder of Reading and Writing: Terms Defined
6. Permission request to use the Ladder of Reading and Writing
7. Resources from Nancy Young about the Ladder of Reading and Writing
8. Our episode from Season 4 about the Ladder's updates
9. Recording of Nancy Young's presentation about Differentiation 
10. Carol Connors' Differentiation research
11. Schoolwide Enrichment Model of Reading
12.  Curriculum Compacting
13. Secret Code Actions resource
14. Secret Code Actions free downloads
15. Vickie Gibson's Classroom Management resource

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Rupen Fofaria is a storyteller at EDNC.org, where he examines how education policy shows up in classrooms and impacts teachers, students, and families. Rupen has invested much of his time since 2019 reporting stories about literacy instruction in North Carolina.  His stories about the body of research on how kids learn to read take readers inside classrooms, advance student and family narratives, explore challenges for early reading teachers, and study best practices in colleges of education. Prior to joining EdNC, Rupen was an attorney in Raleigh and Chicago, practicing start-up and intellectual property law.  In his (much) younger days, he was a sports writer for ESPN.com, the Raleigh News and Observer, and the Orlando Sentinel. Rupen’s passion is shining light on untold and underreported issues.

Further Resources and Rupen’s Picks:

• Rupen Fofaria and his reporting
• Ending the Reading Wars: Reading Acquisition From Novice to Expert by Anne Castles, Kathleen Rastle, and Kate Nation
• Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can’t, and What Can Be Done About It by Mark Seidenberg
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Tristan Strong Series by Kwame Mbalia
• Theories of Adolescent Development by Barbara M. Newman and Philip R. Newman
• Y Guides
• “Out of anger comes controversy, out of controversy comes conversation, out of conversation, comes action.“  Tupac Shakur

Deborah is an education attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area currently representing families and students against school districts throughout Northern California. She is extremely passionate about her work and the rights of children with disabilities and children who are disproportionally affected by the failures of public schools. Deborah is an active member of the educational community and works with parents, teachers, administrators, service providers and local organizations to support the needs of vulnerable youth.

Deborah has spent her entire legal career working on behalf of children. As a law student she worked as a legal intern and special education advocate for Disability Rights California and Bay Area Legal Aide, then quickly became the managing associate at a special education law firm in the District of Columbia where she represented low-income families in court appointed special education cases. Prior to relocating back to the Bay Area, Deborah co-founded The School Justice Project (“SJP”), a legal services and advocacy organization serving older students with special education needs who are involved in Washington DC’s justice system. In 2013 Deborah started her own practice in Berkeley, California, Jacobson Education Law (“JEL”). In addition to her private practice, Deborah has worked as both co-counsel and of counsel for Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (“DREDF”), and she currently serves as Of Counsel for The East Bay Community Law Center in their Education Justice Clinic. 

Deborah has effectively and compassionately represented hundreds of clients in special education matters. She is a frequent presenter at state and national conferences and provides trainings to local advocacy and parent groups.

Further Resources and Deborah’s Picks:

• More on the class action lawsuit against Berkeley Unified School District
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
• The School Justice Project
• East Bay Community Law Center
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Rising Strong by Brene Brown

Audie Alumbaugh received her master’s degree in special education but has been an unpaid advocate for Arkansas children for over 10 years. Her passion began when teaching mathematics and recognizing that middle school and high school students were unable to perform at the potential when “word problems” were presented to them. it did not take long after that for her to realize the reading crisis in Arkansas. When her faculty position at the University of Central Arkansas and her advocacy for children resulted in what public school superintendents referred to as a “conflict of interest,” Audie left her faculty position knowing children’s education is more important and much more urgently needed. Audie has advocated for thousands of children and attended thousands of 504 and IEP meetings around the state as well as several outside of her home state. In 2015 Audie founded the Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group and funded its activities herself. Audie works tirelessly with the Arkansas legislature. Through her work several laws have been enacted strengthening public schools’ responsibility in identifying children with dyslexia and providing proper science-based intervention. Audie has assisted advocates in other states and worked to strengthen their laws as well. 

This is a labor of love for Audie. 

Further Resources and Audie’s Picks:

• More on Audie’s Work 
• Arkansas Dyslexia Support Group (75 Taylor Circle, Conway, AR 72032)
• Arkansas Reading Initiative for Student Excellence (R.I.S.E.) resources
• PBS NewsHour segment highlighting Arkansas and Audie’s work
• Blueprint for a Literate Nation; How You Can Help by Cinthia Coletti 
• An Uphill Climb by Dave Sargent
• "To whom much is given, much will be required" (Luke 12:48)

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Learning Ally.
The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.

This edWeb podcast is a chance to hear from school leaders and agents of change about their experiences in transforming school literacy systems and curricula. As thought leaders from the field pose questions relating to the journey, school leaders each discuss aspects of the shifts in instructional practices within their schools and districts and the positive results they have seen. 

In their willingness to share both the joys and challenges in switching to an approach based on the science of how children learn to read, this discussion is intended to reflect both the unity and the openness to ongoing learning needed at all levels as the current literacy crisis is addressed. 

This edWeb podcast is of interest to K-12 school and district leaders.

Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

Shannon and Mary chat with Christina Edmondson (@literacywithmrs.e) about implementing Sound Walls into your literacy classrooms.  Christina shares how Sound Walls compare to traditional word walls and provides ideas for using them with students in reading and writing.  She describes exactly how to set up your own Sound Wall and start using with your readers.

Episode Resources:

1. Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls (Reading Rockets)
2. Understanding the How and Why of Sound Walls (Tools4Reading)
3. Implementing a Sound Wall
4. Sound Wall Instruction and Template (Louisiana Literacy)
5. Timothy Shanahan: Should We Build a Word Wall or Not?
6. Sound Walls video (Pattan)
7. Putting Sound Walls to Practice
8. Word Walls, Sound Walls, What's the Difference?
9. Setting up a sound wall (Edutopia)
10. Uncovering the Logic of English (*Amazon affiliate link)
11. Christina's Instagram @literacywithmrs.e
12. Christina's TpT store

Hot Logic Mini Oven https://amzn.to/3jO2C4l (*Amazon affiliate link)
Daily Harvest (Get $35 off your first box when you use this link)

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