Today I welcome Dr. HyeJin Hwang to talk about her recently published study on the bidirectional relationship of knowledge and comprehension in monolingual and multilingual readers. In this conversation we talk about different types of knowledge, ways to support knowledge building, the use of informational and narrative texts in the classroom, and frameworks that can help us think about comprehension. Later, I’m joined by my colleague Gina Dignon about practical takeaways. *** To learn more...

Today’s guest is Dr. Tanya Wright whose research and writing focus on vocabulary and knowledge-building, and comprehension. She’ll help us think about how to infuse vocabulary instruction into before, during, and after reading activities to move from passive word learning such as just parroting back a dictionary definition, to active processing where readers really engage with words to understand them more deeply. We’ll talk about what research says about explicitly teaching word meanings,...

Today’s guest is Dr. Rachael Gabriel. We’ll talk about the newly published book, How Education Policy Shapes Literacy Instruction, which includes chapters she authored and co-authored and which she edited. Specifically, we’ll explore the history of studies relating to teacher quality and instructional materials, and what research shows makes the biggest difference in supporting early literacy growth.  Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs and Molly Wood for a conversation about...

Today I welcome Dr. Gabriel DellaVecchia, who has reviewed decades of research about retention to answer the question: on the whole, do third grade retention laws—which are on the books in some form in 27 states in the US – help or harm literacy outcomes? Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Darren Victory and Lea Mercantini Liebowitz to discuss practical takeaways. *** For full transcripts, blog responses, and more information about the podcast and other guests, as well as information about...

Today my guest is Dr. Henry May  who has studied the popular first grade intervention Reading Recovery. We discuss results of two robust studies he was involved in—one showing strong positive effects in first grade, and another showing students who received the intervention underperformed years later on their third and fourth grade tests. We discuss why that might be, and what lessons we can learn about short term and ongoing interventions, as well as the ways that reading needs change and...

Today’s guest is Dr. Melanie Kuhn, who you may know from her research and teacher professional writing around reading fluency. We’ll talk about what fluency is, how to best assess and teach it, and ways to differentiate instruction in K-5 classrooms. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon, Macie Kerbs, Lainie Powell, and Lea Mercantini-Leibowitz for a conversation about what we are most excited to bring to the classroom right away. **** Read a full transcript of this episode and...

Today’s guest is Dr. Freddy Heibert. We’ll talk about her newly published book about vocabulary instruction, her work around text complexity and her site textproject.org, how to ensure self-selected reading time is worth the time, and more.  Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Macie Kerbs, Rosie Maurantonio, and Lea Leibowitz for a conversation about practical takeaways. **** Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about the show at  jenniferserravallo.com/podcast Visit Text...

Today my guest is Dr. Peter Afflerbach who researches individual differences in reading development, reading assessment, and comprehension. We’ll talk about the differences between skills and strategies – and why that matters for the classroom, as well as his new book Teaching Readers Not Reading in which he argues that factors such as efficacy, motivation, engagement, epistemic beliefs, attributions, and executive functions play a significant role in developing readers. Later, I’m joined by...

Today’s guest is Daniel Willingham, author of the new book Outsmart Your Brain. I’m so excited for you to hear us talk about how we as teachers can help students to become successful, independent learners through supporting their focus, planning and goal setting; purposefully take notes from listening or reading; and how to help them best tackle and comprehend complex texts. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Elisha Li, Gina Dignon, Lainie Powell, and Macie Kerbs for a conversation about what...

Today I welcome Dr. Maryanne Wolf for a conversation about the incredible reading brain: what happens in neural circuitry when we are reading words accurately, the many different ways to read, and her important thoughts on how to cultivate true reading engagement in children—and in ourselves. Later, I’m joined by my colleagues Gina Dignon, Molly Wood, and Lea Mercantini-Leibowitz, to talk about implications for the classroom. **** Read a full transcript of this episode and learn more about...

Today’s guest is Dr. Kelly Cartwright. We’ll talk about her invaluable work around executive skills, and the ways that these important skills undergird reading engagement and comprehension. We’ll also discuss her 2021 paper with Dr. Nell Duke titled “The Science of Reading Progresses” about The Active View of Reading framework, which incorporates current research on executive skills and explains critical “bridging processes” connecting word reading and language comprehension.  Later, I’m...

An introduction to the new podcast for literacy teachers and leaders by Jennifer Serravallo. Listen in as she interviews today’s leading researchers and has post-interview conversations with colleagues about practical takeaways. Support the show