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Phonics is the first step: What else do students need to become good readers?
Reading comprehension is based on decoding, vocabulary and knowledge, say "science of reading" advocates.
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 272 min read
16 comments


Spelling isn't obsolete: Linking sounds to letters is key to learning to read
Spelling -- linking sounds to letters -- is a key to reading fluency.
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 262 min read
2 comments


Atticus learns to read: Teaching phonics works
K-1 students made significant gains when teachers used UFLI Foundations, a systematic phonics and phonemic awareness program.
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 151 min read
2 comments


Suing Lucy: Parents claim deceptive marketing of reading curricula
Massachusetts parents are suing a "balanced literacy" publisher and authors for fraudulently claiming their programs are "researched-based."
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 10, 20242 min read
0 comments


Who's to blame for the reading crisis?
"Balanced literacy" guru Lucy Calkins has become the " scapegoat for America's reading crisis ," suggests Helen Lewis in The Atlantic. ...
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 20, 20243 min read
5 comments


Teach the children well: From rural Oregon to Houston, students are learning more
Third-graders at Adrian Elementary School, in the poorest county in Oregon, have the highest reading proficiency scores in the state,...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 28, 20242 min read
2 comments


Young students are better in phonics, worse in math
"Covid toddlers" -- kids who were two years old in March 2020 -- were more likely to be unprepared for kindergarten in fall 2023 reports...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 1, 20241 min read
4 comments


'Literacy liberators' are as effective as teachers in tutoring early readers
An Oakland parent group hired and trained tutors from the community to work with early readers, reports Linda Jacobson on The 74....
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 8, 20231 min read
1 comment


Training teachers in 'science of reading' improves reading
Low-performing California schools improved third-graders' reading by training teachers in how children learn to read, according to a new...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 8, 20231 min read
2 comments


Why so many parents mistrust schools: They didn't teach our kids to read
"When schools fail to teach reading, it harms the public's trust in schools," writes Kendra Hurley in Slate. Her children's Brooklyn...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 17, 20232 min read
7 comments


Please, please, please don't politicize reading instruction
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters declared the first week of October "Teach Kids to Read Week." This is controversial, reports Sarah...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 13, 20232 min read
7 comments


Why Johnny can't read in Oregon
Oregon schools, which once outdid national averages, produced "jaw-dropping declines in student outcomes" during the pandemic, and now...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 27, 20232 min read
1 comment


'It's heartbreaking to realize I never taught my students to read'
Hoping to share her love of reading, Bridget Scanlan became an "intervention" teacher working with struggling readers and special-ed...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 20, 20232 min read
3 comments


It's 'our fault' Johnny and Juanita can't read, says NYC chancellor
New York City's public schools have been teaching reading badly for decades, ignoring research on how children learn to read, said...
Joanne Jacobs
May 10, 20232 min read
2 comments


Why kids need to know 3 x 9 = 27
The ninth-grader needed to multiple 3 x 9 to answer an algebra problem. She didn't have a calculator, and I wouldn't let her go look for...
Joanne Jacobs
May 9, 20232 min read
9 comments


Beyond fat cats on mats: Knowledge closes the learning gap
Teaching phonics is a critical first step in teaching reading, but students need to build knowledge and vocabulary to get from fat cats...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 12, 20232 min read
2 comments

Some teachers resist 'science of reading' laws
Teachers' unions are pushing back against state laws requiring early literacy instruction to be based on the "science of reading," write...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 5, 20232 min read
3 comments


NAACP pushes for literacy reform: Teach our kids to read
Black leaders have transformed reading instruction in northern Virginia, reports Sarah Carr in the Washington Post. The Fairfax County...
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 3, 20233 min read
4 comments


Once they can decode ...
Once students can sound out words, the next step is teaching comprehension, writes Matt Bardin on The 74. Once a middle and high school...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 1, 20222 min read
4 comments


Leave the straw man alone: Teach those kids to read
Students don't need to sound out words, letter by letter, teachers were told. They don't need to be taught phonics systematically. If...
Joanne Jacobs
Dec 1, 20222 min read
2 comments
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