The Reading Instruction Show

Beware of simplistic answers for complex problems. They are alluring but alluringly ineffective. One of these simplistic, alluringly ineffective answers to a complex problem is the idea that we can fix all problems in education by holding somebody “accountable.”

This is an interview with Marvin Melvinhaus from the Moms for Liberty. In this podcast we discuss freedom, schools, and LGBT rights.

In the 1980s, basals were the main tool used to teach reading (they still are). A basal is a teaching manual for reading. It includes an anthology of stories for students to read, a teacher’s manual with directions for how to teach reading, and consumable workbooks to use to teach reading subskills. This podcast describes the beginning of my journal from basal instruction to reading workshop.

Corrine Hess published an article titled, Teacher Prep Programs Not on the Same Page as Wisconsin’s New Reading Law on the Wisconsin Public Radio website. I'm analyzing this article because the severe un-understandings of the reading, reading science, and reading instruction displayed here is illustrative of what we see on the national level.

I used to think the world existed to make me happy. I looked for happiness and wondered why I couldn't find it. Eventually, I learned that I exist to make others happy. I discovered that happiness had been there all the time, waiting for me. This is something I wish my literacy professor had told me 40 years ago.

Dysresearchlia is an unwillingness to read or an inability to understand reading research. It impacts 3% to 5% of the population. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a brain disorder. That is, even though brain imaging research has shown there to be anomalies in the brains of dysresearchiliacs; … with a basic educational research course, these anomalies largely disappear. Also, scientists have p...

The educational overlords would have me teach lies to the students in my undergraduate literacy methods course. I am required to lie.

This is an interview with Paul Gardner. He was a lecturer in England before moving to Australia. He describes a reading instruction police state that cost him his job. If we don't continue to act, this is our Christmas Yet to Be.

You may think you’re teaching reading. This may be so on the surface level, but on the deep level, you’re really teaching your students life. Reading good books, talking about good books, writing our stories, and listening to the stories of others is life. Helping students to use literacy to find out who they are and what they may become is helping them come alive. Teaching students to develop the...

I had an undergraduate class that didn't go as I would have liked. We've all had these. You do a lot of planning, you plan some activities, and it's clear that students are just not that into it. In this podcast, I use cognitive modeling as I go through a simple 5-step problem-solving process. This process can be used to problem-solve in a classroom or any place else. I then demonstrate how to use...

This is my second podcast looking at reading instruction issues in the state of Wisconsin. I have two behavior objectives for this podcast: (a) Listeners will be able to define balanced literacy and (b) listeners will be able to provide at least two reasons to explain why the Wisconsin State legislature seems to be part of the clown club.

This podcast is about Wisconsin, but it’s also about the various kinds of attacks perpetrated by those within the Science of Reading movement. By the way, do you know how much Emily Hanford charges for speaking fees?

Susan Vincent is a knowledgeable, experienced literacy educator. This is an incredible conversation.

I’m, analyzing all the things that Jessica Winter got wrong in her article, ‘The Rise and Fall of Vibes-Based Literacy’ because that’s what I do. I’m using my teeny-tiny little podcast to point out the errors and misinformation of her article written for The New Yorker with a circulation of over 1 million readers. I am assuming her errors weren’t intentional. We are left to conclude that that her...

Jessica Winter is an editor at The New Yorker, where she also writes about family and education. She wrote an article for the New Yorker entitled, ‘The Rise and Fall of Vibes-Based Literacy’. I’m spending time analyzing this article in a series of podcasts because it mis-describes reading instruction in a way that’s really hard to imagine. In so doing, it perfectly represents the mis-descriptions...

Jessica Winter is an editor at The New Yorker , where she also writes about family and education. She wrote an article for the New Yorker entitled, ‘The Rise and Fall of Vibes-Based Literacy’. In this series of podcasts, I’m analyzing this article because it describes or mis-describes reading instruction. As I started reading, I soon realized that Jessica Winter had no idea of what she was talking...

Yesterday I recorded a podcast that was full of sarcasm and biting comments about an article that Jessica Winter wrote for the New Yorker where she used the term "Vibes-Based Literacy" to demean something she obviously didn't understand. Some have said I was a little harsh. In this podcast I explain why we (I) sometimes have to resort to sarcasm and other childish things.

This podcast examines an article written in The New Yorker called, 'The Rise and Fall of Vibes-Based Literacy'. It was written by Jessica Winter. She's an editor at The New Yorker , where she also writes about family and education. She is also, a clown. A clown, in literacy terms, is a person who thinks they know much about literacy, when in fact, their knowledge base is very shallow and disjointe...

We live in an age of clownery. In today’s clown age, radio journalists (Emily Hanford) get more attention from schools, state legislators, and even groups like the Illinois Reading Council than do teachers, serious academicians, researchers, and scholars when talking about reading instruction. In this age of clownery, for-profit groups are making decisions about what gets taught in our schools and...

00:48 Phonemic Awareness 08:25 Reading 14:04 Word Recognition 26:02 Decoding 29:03 Professional Development 34:28 Dyslexia 40:20 Balanced Literacy 51:10 Reading Crisis 55:57 Orthography 58:10 Systematic Phonics Instruction 1:00:23 Alphabetic Principle

This is a conversation with Anna Hamman, another master teacher. We are looking to have teachers like this impacting our field.

if you’re one of those people running around saying the three cueing systems has been debunked, you might as well get one of those ‘hello’ stickers, and write, “Hello, I’m ignorant” on it. Then stick it right in the middle of your forehead. Because that’s what you’re saying to the world. "Hello, I'm ignorant!"

This is my conversation with Stephanie Fuhr. She is a master teacher who was forced to leave her classroom because she couldn't bring herself to committee educational malpractice. We can't afford to lose our master teachers.

This is my conversation with master literacy teacher, Ronda Schlumbohm. Why in heaven's name are people listening to no-nothing clowns like Emily Hanford and not knowledgeable expert teachers of reading like Ronda Schlumbohm?

This is a recording of a conversation with Dave Boulton. He and I have different views on reading instruction. Hopefully, we are modeling how to have respectful academic discussions.