• Decoding,  Dyslexia,  Fluency,  Learning Disabilities,  Phonemic Awareness,  Phonics,  Precision Teaching,  Reading Instruction,  Science of Reading,  Teacher Training,  Uncategorized,  Whole Language

    Of Fluency and Fritters

    t’s been clear for a long time that something is very wrong with the way reading is taught, but if we genuinely want things to change, we need to take a hard look at what actually works—and building fluency beyond a doubt does so. We owe it to students to get this right: their success in high school and beyond depends on it.

  • Uncategorized

    Seeking Participants for Science of Reading Instructor Training

    Breaking the Code is seeking two initial groups (one teachers, one parents) of approximately 6-8 individuals looking for a crash course/bootcamp in teaching decoding skills according to research-backed principles.  The recent explosion of interest in the science of reading is obviously a welcome and heartening development, but we also realize that the glut of information now available can easily become overwhelming, and that asking teachers and parents to sift through it all and educate themselves—while continuing to juggle their many other responsibilities—is a very tall order.  Contrary to popular belief, we know from experience that learning to teach reading efficiently and effectively is not actually rocket science; however, there is…

  • Decoding,  Dyslexia,  Fluency,  Phonemic Awareness,  Phonics,  Reading Instruction,  Sight Words,  Three Cueing System,  Whole Language

    Tipping The Scale on Fountas & Pinnell

    Fountas and Pinnell, as well as other balanced literacy programs, places a great deal of emphasis on this guided approach to reading and group work because, fundamentally, they see reading as a social activity, rather than an individual’s ability to decode text, something that happens in the confines of the brain in the reading circuit.

  • Uncategorized

    When Should Beginning Readers Use Context Clues?

    One of the most serious, and most persistent, misconceptions in the world of reading early reading instruction involves the use of context clues. Regardless of whether they are explicitly taught an incorrect interpretation of three/multi-cueing system or simply absorb its tenets in graduate school or via professional development, many teachers of beginning readers erroneously learn that children should focus primarily on beginning/ending letters and then use a variety of guess-and-check methods (e.g., picture clues, other information in the text) to make educated guesses about unfamiliar words.  If you’re not familiar with the research, a reliance on context clues has been identified as a compensatory strategy for weak decoding skills (Nicholson,…

  • Reading Instruction

    Boys Are Falling Behind in Reading Worldwide

    The following article was written by Valerie Erde of Veridian Prep and is cross-posted from that website. Houston, we have a problem.  Our boys and young men are falling behind generally in educational attainment.  In fact, worldwide, women are enrolling in college and universities at much higher rates, are achieving higher grades in college, and completing degrees at higher rates than their male peers.  One explanation for this disparity is that between the ages of 15-24, boys especially lag their female peers in reading and writing skills – skills necessary for strong performance in high school courses, on standardized tests, and in more rigorous college-level work. If you’re thinking “oh,…