Culture of Reading is Worth Reading I just read a newly released book from Solution Tree, an education publisher I admire. Leading a Culture of Reading, by Lorraine Radice, surpassed my expectations. The further I read, the more impressed I became with Dr. Radice’s methods for building lasting community around reading and books. She’s carried […]
Proust and the Squid: The story and science of the reading brain, by Dr. Maryanne Wolf Dr. Maryanne Wolf has authored more than 160 scientific articles, she designed the RAVE-O reading intervention for children with dyslexia, and with Martha Denckla, co-authored the RAN/RAS naming speed tests, a major predictor of dyslexia across all languages. Currently […]
The Dyslexic Advantage is Real I first encountered Brock and Fernette Eide’s ground-breaking research on dyslexia when they published the first edition of The Dyslexic Advantage, back around 2011. At least that’s when I found it. It changed my life and my career. That book explained how my daughter could be both brilliant and extremely […]
The First Edition was Great; This One is Even Better! I first reviewed this powerhouse of information back in 2017. So why did I buy the 2023 Revised and Updated edition? Because A LOT has happened in dyslexia research in the past few years, and the Eide’s are in the thick of it. This book […]
Alfie Kohn Loves Research! Alfie Kohn (@alfiekohn) has a gift for analyzing research and pulling out practical applications for educators and parents. I’ve been impressed with every book of his I’ve read, so I came to The Homework Myth: Why our kids get too much of a bad thing with high expectations. It didn’t disappoint. […]
Sold a Story is important I’ve just finished listening to all six episodes of Emily Hanford’s masterful podcast, Sold a Story. Should educators and concerned parents listen? Yes. Should they take it as gospel truth? No! Keep reading… Children have been harmed! Hanford is a talented and courageous journalist. I am grateful to her for […]
My classroom experiment I was happily teaching yearbook, newspaper and photography classes at a medium-sized high school. Then my principal asked me to teach a special English class that had been mandated by the state. It was a high-stakes class for seniors who had twice failed the state graduation test and now had to pass […]
Dr. Sam is a Wonderful Reading Teacher Resource Thanks to Dr. Sam Bommarito, I was alerted to an incredibly important 2022 paper on reading — full citation included at the end of this blog. One reason I blog is to read research papers and simplify them for those who need the info but don’t have […]
Kids Teaching Kids I came across this great teaching resource on peer-assisted learning in a podcast by Dr. Sam Bommarito. The book is available in both the UK and US. Peer Assisted Learning: A Practical Guide for Teachersby Keith ToppingCambridge, MA: Brookline Books (2000) What is Peer-Assisted Learning? Topping defines peer-assisted learning as the “acquisition of knowledge […]
Headphones are Not Evil I marvel that some teachers despise headphones. They see no problem with asking a student to concentrate on difficult mental work like reading or writing, in a group of 20+ other people tightly packed. Many people who work in computer science, remote customer service, accounting, or many other fields routinely use […]