The “science of reading” refers to a vast body of multidisciplinary research providing a rationale for what must be taught to ensure almost all students can learn to read. Our podcast guests have championed this movement and supported organizations such as the International Dyslexia Association®, The Reading League, Decoding Dyslexia, The National Council on Teacher Quality, and The American Federation of Teachers who are advancing awareness of reading science.

But is this movement enough to develop more effective literacy instruction? Join us as our guests discuss why it may not be, unless teaching practices themselves receive more attention.

The “what” or content of reading instruction is often characterized with reference to the “five pillars” or “five components” that were each addressed by The National Reading Panel Report of 2000. Most state standards and policy guidelines name these essential components of instruction: phoneme awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Often added to the list are oral language, spelling, and writing. The content-related issue now being debated concerns the interrelationships of these components, their relative emphasis—for whom and at what point in reading development—and what level of content mastery to expect. We know the impact of curriculum content is diluted without systematic, explicit, cumulative teaching of the lessons.

Our experts will discuss:

• How policy and practice guidelines about the science of reading often mention the importance of “systematic, explicit” instruction. Yet, the “how” of teaching seems to be getting short shrift in comparison to the emphasis on the “what.”
• Why the right reading content must be married to best teaching practices of the “direct instruction” variety
• The importance of structured language teaching, especially for students who are struggling, with an emphasis on language
• Why developing expertise in lesson delivery and evaluation is a long-term but very rewarding undertaking which will transform the “science of reading” into “success for all”

What happens after a formative literacy assessment? How can educators translate the results into targeted interventions and improved reading outcomes? This applicable and informative presentation from Dr. Susan Smartt, a respected literacy expert, helps educators make sense of what to do after the assessment and how to best use the valuable data gleaned from those assessments to inform intervention—and move all students toward literacy success.

To help educators address the challenging literacy needs of their diverse learners, our discussion will cover appropriate approaches to intervention and how to determine what approach is best based on assessment results.

Dr. Smartt will explore:

• Dyslexia and other reading challenges, and best practices for the right intervention at the right time
• Explicit instruction and Structured Literacy, and the reasoning behind these instructional approaches
• Designing Tier II and Tier III small-group instruction and monitoring student progress
• The importance of integrating five essential components of reading during instruction
• Ways to effectively target the specific "trouble spots" literacy assessments have identified
• How to take the guesswork out of intervention and transform struggling students into skillful readers

Today’s educators are teaching the most linguistically diverse student population in United States history. To ensure educational equity for English learners, teachers must be skillfully equipped with instructional practices rooted in the science of reading.

The “science of reading” refers to a vast body of multi-disciplinary research that provides a rationale for what must be taught to ensure that almost all students can learn to read. However, do all reading science practices apply equally when teaching English learners?
Our podcast guests have championed using the science of reading with the English learner as a top priority in everything they do.

Drs. Cardenas-Hagan and Fierro will discuss the opportunities and the challenges educators encounter when teaching reading to English learners. They’ll explore:

• The importance of structured language teaching, for all kids, but especially English learners
• The need for teachers of English to understand how language works, which allows instructors to better scaffold the instruction for English learners
• The specifics of that scaffolding of instruction, and tips on what educators can and should do to help English learners achieve reading success
• Specifics of teaching reading, including assessment and MTSS, through the lens of the English learner
• Why it’s critical that classroom instruction includes pedagogy and approaches that take into consideration the anthology of bilingualism—a pedagogy that reflects the understanding of how two languages interact.
• The need to preserve heritage languages and cultures, while providing encouraging biliteracy or multiliteracy skills for all students
• Resources and guidance available from The U.S. Department of Education's Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), which provides national leadership to help ensure that English Learners and immigrant students attain English proficiency and achieve academic success.

For people who have seen the documentary The Right to Read, you’ve heard of Kareem Weaver because his work is featured in the film produced by LaVar Burton. Weaver is an Oakland-based activist with the NAACP, and as an experienced educator his mission is to create a world where all children can read.

Join us for this inspiring conversation as we talk with Weaver about dyslexia, the science of reading, and what American schools need to do to help all students read at grade level. Our discussion will cover why literacy gaps are especially pronounced among certain students, the need for early diagnosis of dyslexia, and what educational changes Weaver continually fights for in his quest to help all students learn to read. Weaver brings unique insight to this discussion from a parent’s perspective because his daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia as an older student, and as an educator who knows literacy is a right every person is entitled to.

Join this fascinating conversation that surrounds storytelling—an age-old oral tradition—and how it can be used to improve reading and writing in the classroom.

Our guest, Antonio Sacre, a professional storyteller, children’s book author, and educator, will discuss the simple technique of storytelling and how teachers and specialists can use it to help unlock the writer in every student and get them excited about reading. 

Listeners will find this podcast inspiring, captivating, and immediately applicable to classroom instruction. Sacre will discuss the science behind why and how storytelling works to support reading, how to share a good story, and the types of stories that motivate students to want to read and write more.

We hope you’ll join us as our internationally renowned expert leaves you with stories to tell, the capability to share stories more effectively, and keys to teaching them to students across the curriculum.

You’ll learn:

• Tips about making read-a-louds come to life and the research that supports storytelling, with a focus on ELLs
• Five secrets to effective storytelling—and how those secrets help build literacy skills in students
• How personal storytelling builds empathy and student connection
• Ways to augment multicultural literacy

Reading is the most important skill children need to master to be successful in school and life. However, students increasingly are struggling with this most basic of academic abilities. When children have difficulty reading, they can quickly fall behind their peers. Luckily, there are ways to improve almost any child's reading proficiency with good instruction that’s based on science.

This fascinating discussion with renowned author Denise Eide will explore how the English language works, and the importance of spelling in developing better readers. Eide, who was mentored and inspired by literacy giant Robert Sweet (one of the nation's most-powerful champions of phonic-centered reading reform) will share why students need to be taught the building blocks of words: phonograms and spelling rules, and how understanding the reasons for the spellings of words can transform teaching and learning. Eide will share the “rules” she outlines in her book, ways to teach students to analyze the reasons for English spellings, and much more. 

We hope you’ll join us for this fascinating podcast!

It’s critically important to provide all students (MLLs, students with IEPs, high achievers, those with dyslexia and other reading difficulties, etc.) with targeted, effective reading instruction and interventions—this is a well-known fact. However, these students can be tougher to engage, and special teachers, with unique approaches designed to motivate and help every student feel heard, have strategies that bring literacy learning to the forefront while engaging students in ways not always imagined. 

This lively discussion with three award-winning teachers will open your eyes and inspire every educator to strive for what is possible for every student. Each of our panelists were named Teacher of the Year in their respective states. Our host, John Arthur of Utah, was also honored at the White House as a finalist for National Teacher of the Year.

Join us as these three energetic educators share specific strategies and practices they use to help all children overcome challenges, feel seen and heard, and gain new literacy skills that will serve them for a lifetime. Our guests will share tips and ideas useful in any classroom and with any student, with special emphasis on those who struggle as readers and often don’t know how to advocate for themselves. This episode will connect the dots for listeners between engaging literacy instruction/intervention and empowered student voices.

Writing is a task as complex and multifaceted as reading—but it’s often taught as a single skill. Our podcast guest is Joan Sedita, the successful author of the popular book, The Writing Rope. Her book and the innovative framework she created weaves multiple skills and strategies into five fundamentals of a comprehensive writing curriculum: critical thinking, syntax (sentences), text structure, writing craft, and transcription (spelling and handwriting).

We hope you’ll join this informative discussion as Sedita shares the guidelines that demystify the process of helping students learn to write and write to learn. Our conversation will explore ways educators can plan and deliver comprehensive, explicit, and evidence-based writing instruction, aligned with IDA’s Structured Literacy approach, and based on the latest research. The focus of the book is on grades 4–8, but much of what Sedita will address can be used in earlier grades and high school.

She will share:

• The essential skills all students must learn to become proficient writers
• How to help students use writing to enhance their learning across different content areas
• Ways educators can plan effective writing assignments in different content areas

When you examine your teaching approaches and how to best help students with dyslexia, it can be easy to assume special data will be needed to help these students improve their foundational reading skills and move toward grade-level literacy. 

However, the data you already have from regular assessment practices, like that collected from Acadience® Learning measures, can provide invaluable insight to help you tailor instruction and ensure all students—especially those with dyslexia and other reading challenges—receive the appropriate and timely intervention they need to succeed.

Our guest for this EDVIEW360 podcast is Matthew K. Burns, a literacy, assessment, and special education expert who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of the most-vulnerable children, including those with disabilities, from high-poverty backgrounds, and for whom English is not their native language. Dr. Burns will share how schools can help shape K–12 practice and improve literacy using existing data.

He will also discuss how educators can:

• Use data to target reading interventions for students with dyslexia
• Identify breakdowns in the learning process to better increase reading skills
• Match reading interventions to student need
• Improve students’ reading skills through schoolwide Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, such as Response to Intervention, and school-based teams, like problem-solving teams and professional learning communities.

We hope you’ll join us for this fascinating podcast!

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Dr. Louisa Moats, author of LETRS^® professional learning and LANGUAGE! Live^® reading intervention, as we talk candidly about the power of printed books and materials and how educators can best select and use them to encourage student motivation and engagement—while helping all students build essential reading skills.

Dr. Moats will share her thoughts about digital fatigue, the power of print, in what ways teachers and students should be trusted to select what they read both inside and outside of the classroom, and more.

This conversation will provide thought-provoking information for all administrators and teachers who work with struggling readers, especially those in middle school and beyond. 

It’s no secret: School and district leaders set the tone for the culture within the organization. Although every employee is ultimately responsible for creating an environment where students want to be, school leaders must model the way. How can principals looking to implement change create an innovative, sustainable culture that consistently models future ready learning, relies upon a level of teaching and learning backed by science, and promotes a high level of literacy success for all students?

Join us as we talk with our guest, best-selling author Thomas C. Murray, a lifelong educator who is now the director of innovation for Future Ready Schools^®. In his current role, Murray works with districts to create the types of learning experiences today’s modern learners need to thrive. As a previous secondary and elementary principal, he knows the importance of helping every child learn to read proficiently, and how to intervene when children don’t have the literacy skills needed by third to fifth grades. On a daily basis, he works with principals and superintendents on systems change, sustainability, and equity and resolving culture-change obstacles standing in the way of students achieving the level of literacy success that allows each one to truly be future ready.

 Join us as we talk with our guest and explore: 

• What it means to be future ready for a student, teacher, administrator, and school
• Leveraging the The Future Ready Framework for sustainable change
• Why buying a great literacy program or intervention is not enough. If you don’t create a culture where people can learn it, believe it, and use it well, it can’t teach itself
• How do we make sure every child has the opportunity to learn? It goes well beyond technology
• The importance of community partnerships and relationships

In this podcast, Dr. Ruth Kaminski, coauthor of Acadience® Learning K–6 and other respected assessments, will discuss the many aspects of assessment that make it a meaningful and essential tool for preventing reading disabilities and promoting reading success.

Join us as we talk with Dr. Kaminski about the reasons educators should rely upon assessment for curriculum alignment, progress monitoring, and classroom planning.

We’ll explore:

• The critical nature of assessment
• Who should be assessed, when, and how often?
• How assessment can help teachers align their reading instruction with the science of reading
• The various features of assessment that make it meaningful for teachers

Writing is potentially the most powerful lever we have for building knowledge and improving reading comprehension. It can uncover gaps in background knowledge that prevent students from accessing grade-level material. And, because writing helps new information stick, it can also boost students’ academic performance.

But writing is the most difficult thing we ask students to do. If inexperienced writers are asked to write at length, they can easily become overwhelmed as they juggle everything from spelling to word choice to organizing their thoughts. And if students are asked to write only about personal experience or topics in a separate writing curriculum, writing won’t help them acquire the knowledge they need to succeed in school.

Join this informative podcast as we talk with esteemed researcher and author Natalie Wexler. She will share ways to make writing less overwhelming by starting at the sentence level and how to include writing activities in the content of the core curriculum. This is an approach that shouldn’t be limited to English classes. It can have powerful effects in any subject—and at any grade level.