In the latest blog post in this series, Guest blogger, Faith Borkowsky discusses her observations and recommendations for any school district considering the transition to a Science of Reading based instruction practice. The importance of choosing a science-based reading program […]
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Cultural shift from letter names to sounds
Happy Spring!! The weather is getting warmer, the flowers will be in bloom, and the Kindergarten Center teachers are wondering when it will be time to teach letter names! For those of you who did not read, “Lynbrook Takes the […]
Read MoreHow to improve spelling: Five simple ways to improve kids’ spelling skills
Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard the phrase “some kids are just poor spellers.” I’ve got both hands and feet raised over here. Children are not destined to be poor or great spellers. All children can grow in […]
Read MoreWhat is the role of decodable texts?
As conversations about effective literacy instruction continue in schools and on social media, questions about the definition, use, and purpose of decodable texts inevitably arise. I’ve even heard these books described as a “battleground”. I recently watched a presentation on […]
Read MoreWhy would a not-too-wealthy, not-too-poor district abandon Balanced Literacy take the plunge and embrace Systematic Phonics?
Lynbrook District in Long Island, NY is like many districts. It’s not very poor and not very rich. Most of the kids do OK. So, why have the leaders of Lynbrook district decided to take the plunge and ditch balance […]
Read MoreLynbrook leads the way on Long Island
Over the years, it has become apparent that the Reading Workshop/Guided Reading model of instruction, popular in U.S. schools, does not produce the results promised. Special Education numbers have increased, and many children get labeled, unnecessarily, as having a “reading […]
Read MoreShould we be rethinking reading instruction? NYC’s new Schools Chancellor thinks so!
Many educators in the USA are rethinking reading instruction. In 2019 less than 30% of fourth graders were found to be proficient readers. What has gone wrong for so many children? The core of the problem is that teachers’ approach […]
Read MoreLittle things can make a big difference
The education researcher Dylan Wiliam has said that “changing what teachers do is more important than changing what teachers know.” But isn’t knowledge power? And what we do is obviously linked to what we know. So, how can that be? […]
Read MoreWhy ‘structured’ reading instruction is not enough
Why we need to teach ‘structured and cumulative’ reading instruction In the bad old days before I learned how to teach kids to read, I taught kids to read in a structured way. That is, what I thought was structure: […]
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