Science of Reading

  • Science of Reading

    How to Increase Reading Fluency: Moving Beyond “Just Read Faster”

    How to increase reading fluency

    When teachers ask me how to increase reading fluency for these students, I completely understand their frustration.
    Let me share something that transformed how I approach helping these readers. Jan Hasbrouck says, “We don’t want to help them read fast… we want them to help them read well.” That stopped me in my tracks. Because yes – while we want to increase reading fluency, pushing for speed alone misses the point entirely.

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  • Science of Reading

    Teaching Phonemic Awareness: Let’s Break It Down

    teaching phonemic awareness

    Can we talk about teaching phonemic awareness for a minute? You know those moments when a struggling reader suddenly gets it – when they hear those individual sounds clicking into place? Those moments are pure magic. But honestly, getting there can feel like quite the journey, can’t it? Let’s chat about what actually works.

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  • Science of Reading

    Spelling and Phonics: 2 Sides of the Same Literacy Coin

    Spelling and phonics

    You know those moments when a student comes across a new word, and you can almost see the gears turning in their head as they work to decode it? Or when they’re writing and pause, pencil hovering over the paper, trying to figure out how to spell a tricky word? These two scenarios might seem different, but they’re actually deeply connected through the relationship between spelling and phonics.

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  • Science of Reading

    Building Background Knowledge: Why It’s the Most Important Thing You’re Probably Not Teaching

    A teacher reads aloud a nonfiction book called Migration Stories to a captivated group of elementary students sitting on a classroom rug, with several children leaning in with wide-eyed expressions.

    Building background knowledge is the deliberate teaching of content (science, history, the arts) so students develop the web of associations they need to comprehend increasingly complex texts. It matters because comprehension isn’t a free-floating skill. A student understands a passage largely to the degree they already know something about its topic, which means the knowledge you build is the comprehension you get.

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  • Science of Reading

    Understanding Vocabulary Tiers: A Guide for Elementary Teachers

    Vocabulary tiers

    You know how we teach phonics patterns in a specific sequence? We start with those simple CVC words before tackling vowel teams and eventually multisyllabic words. Well, back in 1985, literacy researchers Isabel Beck and Margaret McKeown realized vocabulary needs a similar thoughtful approach. They noticed that not all words serve the same purpose in language development and created what we now call vocabulary tiers.

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  • Science of Reading

    What Is Orthographic Mapping? The Science of How Words Stick

    A teacher and student sit together at a desk, both looking at a word card the boy is holding up.

    Orthographic mapping is the mental process the brain uses to permanently store a word, by bonding its sounds to its spelling and meaning so it can be recognized instantly on sight. It matters for teachers because this bonding, not repetition, is what turns a word a student has to decode into a word she simply knows. A reader who maps words well builds a sight vocabulary in the tens of thousands; a reader who can’t is stuck sounding out the same words over and over.

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  • Science of Reading

    Beyond the Book: Essential Read Aloud Activities for Elementary Teachers

    read aloud activities

    As teachers in the trenches, we know that read aloud activities should be cornerstone moments in our literacy instruction. But let’s be honest—it’s tough to elevate these sessions beyond just sharing a good story when we’re juggling a million other things! We sense there’s so much more potential in those 15-20 minutes, but transforming that feeling into purposeful read aloud activities can be challenging.

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  • Science of Reading

    The Power of Classroom Read Alouds: Transforming Reluctant Readers

    classroom read aloud

    You’re wrapping up a hectic morning of literacy centers when you announce it’s read aloud time. Suddenly, the energy shifts. Even your most reluctant readers perk up – and that moment taught me just how powerful a classroom read aloud can be for developing literacy skills. If you’re like me, sneaking in professional reading during prep periods, this might be exactly what you need to hear.

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  • Science of Reading

    Why Read Aloud is Important: The Hidden Power Behind Story Time

    Why Read Aloud Is Important

    You know that magical moment when you pull out a read aloud book and suddenly your most reluctant reader scoots closer, completely captivated by the story? When even your wiggliest students settle in, hanging on every word? If you’re like me, sipping something caffeinated while planning tomorrow’s lessons, let’s explore why read aloud is important for every child in your classroom.

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  • Science of Reading

    Sold a Story Podcast Review: Why You Need to Listen From a Teacher Who Wishes She Had Heard it Sooner

    sold a story

    Grab your favorite beverage and settle in, because we need to talk about something that’s been weighing heavily on my heart lately – the “Sold a Story” podcast. Like many of you, I’ve spent years in the classroom trying my best to help every child learn to read. And like many of you, I thought I was doing everything right. Then I listened to “Sold a Story.”

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