COVID Shutdowns Stifle 4th Graders’ Reading Skills: Part 3

COVID Shutdowns Stifle 4th Graders’ Reading Skills: Part 3

In part 2 of this series, I talked about the common challenges educators are facing in the classroom, and the culture and technology shifts individuals can make to support struggling fourth grade readers. But no educator operates in a vacuum. What are some systemic...
COVID Shutdowns Stifle 4th Graders’ Reading Skills: Part 2

COVID Shutdowns Stifle 4th Graders’ Reading Skills: Part 2

By Dr. Carolyn Brown, Chief Academic Officer In part 1 of this series, I talked about the urgent reading challenge faced by fourth graders who experienced school closures during their early learning. In this blog, I’ll share what I’ve been hearing from teachers trying...

COVID Shutdowns Stifle 4th Graders’ Reading Skills: Part 1

By Dr. Carolyn Brown, Chief Academic Officer Elija held back tears as he tried to continue sounding out words. He was too frustrated to go on. As a fourth grader, he knew something was wrong and he felt like it was his fault that reading wasn’t getting easier. His...
Reading Specialist: WordFlight Helps Struggling Middle Schoolers

Reading Specialist: WordFlight Helps Struggling Middle Schoolers

By Jennifer Flieder   As a middle school language arts teacher, I know that for students who do not have decoding or automatic word recognition skills, there is no room in the regular curriculum to reteach them the skills they should have learned in elementary...
Moving Middle School Readers from Struggle to Success

Moving Middle School Readers from Struggle to Success

Over the past several years, our work has focused on students in middle school who struggle to read because they lack basic reading skills. Unfortunately, at least half the students who can’t read at grade level fall into this category. I’d like to reflect on the...
Now is the time to expand the narrative for early reading

Now is the time to expand the narrative for early reading

Now is the time to expand the narrative for early reading The value of systematically and explicitly teaching phonics is well-documented as an effective way to help students develop foundational reading skills—skills that are essential to becoming a proficient and...