The Reading Instruction Show

This is an insightful podcast looking at teacher preparation programs.

There are two basic approaches to early literacy instruction: A skills-based approach and a child-centered approach. The podcast describes each.

There are four basic word identification strategies: (a) morphemic analysis, (b) context clues, (c) analogy, and (d) phonics. Direct and explicit instruction related to all four strategies should be included as part of all students’ classroom reading instruction. This podcast describes morphemic analysis

This short podcast describes what sight words are, and how they should be assessed.

This podcast describes and explains theories in the context of education and education research, human learning, and four types of knowledge necessary to become and expert teacher.

As you read this page your eyes do not move from left to right, letter-to-letter, word-to-word in a straight, steady line. Your brain simply gives the impression that they do. Eye movement research shows that your eyes move unevenly across the page, going back occasionally, skipping some words, and fixating on others. The small, rapid, jerky movements that your eyes make are called saccades. Where your eyes stop is called a fixation. A regression is when your eye goes back to check on a word.

While this concept of fidelity may be appropriate for experimental research where control and treatment groups need to follow strict parameters in order to isolate a variable; it is neither effective nor appropriate when educating real students in the uncontrolled confines of the real world. , it would be a form of educational malpractice to insist that teachers follow a recipe with “fidelity”. In fact, this would prevent them from being able to adequately meet the needs of their students.

Parents are wondering how to handle reading at home during the COVID-19 or during the summer months. This podcast offers some simple tips.

Large unit phonics is based on the brain’s natural inclination to notice patterns and complete configurations based on partial data. When we look at words on the page, we tend to notice letter patterns much more so than individual letters. This podcast describes two activities: shared reading for large unit phonics and word sorts.

There are three types of phonics instruction: synthetic phonics, analytic phonics, and large unit phonics. In a meaning-based approach to word work, they should all be included.

This podcast described scaffolded oral reading (ScORe) and provided some tips for using the language experience approach.

The language experience approach, or language experience activity, is a powerful strategy to use with struggling or beginning readers. Here readers practice reading using words and concepts within their experience.

This podcast describes a strategy to develop reading fluency for severely struggling readers, or any other readers reading at RL 1 or RL 2. The materials for this strategy can be found at www.Readocity.com

WPM (words-per-minute) scores should be used to document reading fluency program NOT WCPM (words-correct-per-minute). This podcast explains why and describes two fluency strategies.

Round robin reading is when a teacher goes around the reading table or class and asks students to read parts of a text out loud. This should never be used. This podcast describes 7 alternatives to round robin reading.

This video podcast explains two terms related to reading fluency: expression and prosody. Reading with expression is not at all important. Reading prosody is.

This podcast provides a brief overview of reading fluency and describes why standardized, norm-references words-per-minute (WPM) rates should be given limited attention.

This podcast describes eight essential terms related to reading instruction that commonly misunderstood: 1. Reading, 2.word recognition, 3. word identification, 4. decoding, 5. a strategy, 6. a skill, 7. systematic phonics instruction, and 8. a balanced approach.

This podcast describes the three big ideas related to effective reading interventions: 1. They should be more intense versions of good classroom reading instruction, 2 they should contain a balanced approach to reading instruction, and 3. They should be taught be expert reading teachers.

This podcast describes the seven elements necessary for effective daily reading instruction: 1. Daily reading practice, 2. social interaction and conversation around good books, 3. authentic writing experiences, 4. activities and instruction to develop all three cueing systems used for word recognition, 5. activities and instruction for word identification strategies, 6. comprehension instruction, and 7. activities to develop word knowledge (vocabulary).

What do you do when you have a student who refuses to write. This short podcast provides some tips.

Educational research is used to create the theories upon which we design educational policies and practices. Theories help to organize relevant empirical facts (empirical means they can be observed or measured), in order to create a context for understanding phenomena. This podcast describes two theoretical models of reading.