Hard Words: Why Aren't Our Kids Being Taught to Read?

Hard Words: Why Aren't Our Kids Being Taught ...

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At a Loss for Words: What's Wrong with How Schools Teach Reading

Molly Woodworth had a secret: She couldn’t read very well. She fought her way through text by looking at the first letter of a word and thinking of something that made sense. Reading was slow and laborious. Then she learned that her daughter's school was actually teaching kids to ...  Show more

What the Words Say

There are kids like C.J. all over the country. Schools tell their parents they are reading at grade level, but the kids are not. And whether they ever get the help they need can depend a lot on their family income and their race. In this documentary, originally published in Augus ...  Show more

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Introducing: Sold a Story
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Emily Hanford introduces the first episode of her new podcast, Sold a Story.There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on thi ...  Show more

The End of the Reading Instruction Wars?
Reach Out and Read

Nearly everyone can learn to read — if they're taught correctly. It turns out that one of the primary approaches to teaching reading in schools was proven wrong decades ago. Emily Hanford, the host and investigative journalist behind the explosive "Sold A Story" podcast series ...

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The Today, Explained Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good
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For decades, American schools have taught reading with an approach that doesn’t work very well. Emily Hanford of the podcast “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong” explains how things are starting to change. This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Mat ...  Show more

Reading
Overthink

This is one for the books. In episode 104 of Overthink, Ellie and David consider what makes reading so rewarding, and, for many people today, so challenging! How did society shift toward inward silent reading and away from reading aloud in the Middle Ages? How have changes in tea ...  Show more