Today’s Literacy Headlines

Author and entrepreneur Dr. Shawn Anthony Robinson describes to host Anita Rao how he learned to read at age 18 and how his struggles with literacy affected his mental health and sense of worth growing up. Shawn is the co-author of the graphic novel series, “Doctor Dyslexia Dude!,” which he and his wife wrote to show dyslexic Black boys their potential to do great things. Anita also talks with Dr. Maryanne Wolf, a human development and psychology scholar and the Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners and Social Justice at UCLA, about how our brains actually learn to read and the interventions currently available to help dyslexic readers of all ages.

As poverty rises, reading proficiency tends to fall. But it’s not fate. In this interactive article, see the districts in your state that are outperforming expectations. The authors set out to find districts around the country that succeed with the students they actually serve. They calculated each district’s expected reading proficiency rate, based on its local poverty rate, and compared it to its actual third grade reading scores. This methodology helped identify districts that are beating the odds and successfully teaching kids to read.  

Teaching multilingual students about Greek and Latin roots in words can help them systematically build their knowledge of English. Breaking words into parts helped students generate the meaning of unfamiliar words. This was especially true when I chose Greek and Latin roots that had English and Spanish cognates.

So what’s the trick to getting young people – and teens and 10-year-olds – to enjoy the act of reading? To stay in the moment long enough to appreciate the feel of paper pages and a cliff-hanger chapter? What can parents and teachers do? Educators the Monitor reached out to as the school year gears up have lots of advice: Set aside dedicated time for reading. Find materials that resonate with students. Offer a welcoming setting. Give students the chance to talk about what they’ve read. 

Ready or not, across the country, a new crop of kindergarteners has entered the K-12 school system. Their teachers will spend these early weeks determining where the 5- and 6-year-olds are developmentally, what academic, social and emotional skills they bring, and what support they need to set them up for a successful school year. The last few classes of kindergarteners have shown up lacking some of the basic skills and competencies that educators and school leaders had previously come to expect. These include following instructions, sharing, listening and participating during lessons, using writing utensils and craft materials, and toilet training.

“A primary source at its very core is the raw material of history,” said Lee Ann Potter, the Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress. Many students today are learning history through primary sources. That shift, according to Potter, arose in the last two decades as museums and archival institutions began digitizing their collections, making them accessible to teachers and students online. At the Library of Congress, Potter and her team develop resources to help teachers use primary sources in their classrooms. 

This summer, the Durango district enrolled about 10 students in the program for four weeks before the school year started. Such programs fill a critical need for families and educators across the state. Colorado districts enrolled thousands of newly arrived immigrant students throughout the last school year. Teachers in places like Denver, Aurora, and Jeffco have described feeling overwhelmed at times by the arrival of so many new students, and the experience has prompted changes across schools. The same has happened in rural Durango, a district of about 5,200 students where about 4% of students identify as English learners.

Earlier this year, the prolific writer Percival Everett released a critically acclaimed novel, “James,” that adopts as its conceit the story of Jim from “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” as told by Jim himself. Though its intended audience is very different from that of “James,” Hope Jahren’s first novel and first book for young readers, “Adventures of Mary Jane,” tries something similar. It’s framed as the first-person story of a much less prominent — one might say fairly minor — character from “Huckleberry Finn”: the object of Huck’s affection over the course of about 50 pages in Mark Twain’s 1884 classic.

An analysis from Rand and CRPE estimates 19% — or 9.4 million students — were chronically absent during the 2023-24 school year. About one-quarter (23%) of school districts surveyed said none of the strategies they put in place to combat chronic absenteeism have been particularly effective. Rand and CRPE recommended three approaches suggested by district leaders and researchers.

Sweeping changes to literacy instruction are underway in New York City, with all elementary schools for the first time using one of three mandated curriculums this September. By requiring instruction in line with long-standing research about how children learn to read, known as the science of reading, the city is hoping to boost its literacy rates. Just under half of students in grades 3-8 are considered proficient in English, according to state exams.

Understanding the science of reading helps educators develop effective teaching strategies that are grounded in research. My districts were located in underfunded urban areas, where literacy issues hit the hardest in our country. Poor, marginalized communities are critically affected by educational inequities, but even well-funded districts can lack the appropriate resources for reading education. By using classroom volunteers, retired educators and high school seniors looking for volunteer hours, leaders can think outside the box when finding additional resources for their students. 

During their ILA Webinar From Facts to Fascination: Using Nonfiction to Drive Curriculum and Enthusiasm, speakers Patricia Newman and Kirsten W. Larson (find her on all social media as @KirstenWLarson) shared how effective nonfiction can be at engaging young readers. This naturally leads to the question: Where can I find high-quality nonfiction books to bring into my classroom? Larson provided a list of some of her sources.

When Newbery Medalist Meg Medina was a kid, she had a babysitter — señora Mimí. She was a wonderful babysitter but kind of a pain in the neck, as well … “She loved us,” says Medina. Now, Meg Medina is honoring señora Mimí — and caregivers everywhere — in her new children’s book, No More Señora Mimí, illustrated by Brittany Cicchese.

Matthew Kraft, an associate professor of education and economics at Brown University, was an early proponent of giving tutors — ordinarily a luxury for the rich — to the masses after the pandemic. The research evidence was strong; more than a hundred studies had shown remarkable academic gains for students who were frequently tutored every week at school. Sometimes, they caught up two grade levels in a single year. 

Nikki Corbett was desperate. The mother and small business owner had searched online and in stores near her home in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, but she could not find any books to teach her young children the Yup’ik language.So Corbett – and her friend, Katie O’Connor, an illustrator and mother – decided to create their own Yup’ik alphabet coloring book. In Alaska, there’s a market for primers like this. More than 20% of the state’s population is Native. Of the estimated 21,000 Alaskans who identify as Yup’ik, nearly half speak the language.

Dyslexia is often discussed as a catch-all explanation for reading difficulties, affecting millions of children worldwide. Despite its common use, the term is surrounded by misconceptions and varied interpretations, making it a complex and sometimes controversial diagnosis. The question remains: what exactly does it mean to be dyslexic, and how does this label influence the way we approach reading difficulties? Imagine this scenario – one that is unfolding not just across the United States, but in cities, towns and clinics around the world.

In the two pilot elementary schools, 90% of families and 70% of teachers opted in. At year’s end, literacy and attendance were up — and now more schools are taking part. Fairfield Court Elementary’s early-literacy proficiency rates jumped from 61% to 82% in just one year. It now has the seventh-highest early literacy scores out of 26 elementary schools in the district, despite having the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (97%). 

Have you ever read a children’s book where the main character is… the book? Dictionary has noticed that even though her pages contain all the words that exist, she doesn’t really tell a story like all the other books on the shelf do. So one day, Dictionary decides to change that and bring her contents — guts? pages? definitions? — to life. “It’s a book about chaos. Chaos and order. Fine line,” says Oliver Jeffers who — along with Sam Winston — wrote and illustrated The Dictionary Story. 

In 39 states and Washington, D.C., laws have been passed or rules have been made requiring schools to follow the Science of Reading approach. That generally means new books and new teacher training with a focus on phonics. Jason Borges is overseeing New York City’s new reading program, which began with a partial rollout last year and will be in every classroom this fall.

While starting at a new school may cause anxiety, it can also, as these 10 stories illustrate, create opportunities for growth, resilience and an increased capacity for compassion. And despite all the awkwardness and jitters, the benefit of being the new kid is that it always makes for a good story.

The way I’ve learned how to instill a love of reading, even when a school doesn’t promote it, is to establish and incentivize reading in such a way that no child leaves their book behind. In doing so, I not only promote the love of reading but also create a classroom culture that has become fundamental to who I am as a teacher. Here’s a guide for how to do it at any grade level. 

When teachers find ways to promote oracy in the classroom—from oral storytelling to small-group discussions and Socratic seminars—it helps students develop social and self-regulatory skills while supporting language and vocabulary acquisition. In fact, a wide body of research shows that the benefits of building speaking skills and learning to express oneself well is a significant factor in long-term social, emotional, and academic success.

Students in schools that had a dual-language immersion model of English instruction showed more growth over time in reading. Schools that lack such a program, do not offer English learner families opportunities to connect, and are overcrowded were associated with worse performance on the growth measure. Last year, the Education Department planned to focus a federal grant program meant to improve English learner instruction toward decreasing multilingual educator shortages.

What do the Montauk lighthouse, a school mural, a trampoline accident, a forced migration, and the Quartering Act of 1765 have in common? These are the subjects of winning podcasts submitted by fourth graders to NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge.

When you think of students receiving speech therapy, you probably think of a student who has difficulty pronouncing sounds.While these students may need help from the school speech therapist, let’s identify some other students who could benefit from a speech-language evaluation by looking at what speech-language pathologists (SLPs) target in the school setting and what to do if you think a student needs to be referred to your school’s SLP. 

The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance has launched Empowering Young Writers, a series of slideshows and educational resources—culled from more than 500 children’s trade books—demonstrating various writing elements and techniques for fourth through ninth graders. The online tools, which are available for free, are designed to assist educators, librarians, and parents as students return to the classroom this year.

Teachers in grades 3-8 reported that nearly half (44%) of their students always or nearly always have difficulty reading their written instructional materials, according to a recent Rand Corporation report.However, 40% of the teachers surveyed had misconceptions about how students develop word reading skills, and 46% said their primary source of knowledge about reading instruction comes from personal experiences in the classroom. Only 22% cited professional development as a primary source of their reading instruction knowledge, and even fewer (10%) cited other teachers and mentors. 

When many Washington, D.C., schools launched intensive tutoring programs after the COVID-19 closures, staff observed a pleasant surprise: More kids started showing up each day. The higher attendance rates – on top of improved math and reading skills – proved a welcome side effect of an initiative aimed at bridging students’ learning gaps. Amid the flurry of activity in recent years, researchers and policy advocates are increasingly pointing to a specific kind of tutoring as the most effective. Known as “high-impact” or “high-dosage,” it generally refers to tutoring that happens at least three times a week for 30-minute sessions with groups of four or fewer students. And if it occurs during the regular school day? Even better.

The joys and anxieties of this rite of passage are fertile ground for storytelling, which has led to a lot of excellent books on the topic. Anxiety, making new friends, learning to share: These nine titles will prepare young readers for whatever their first day of school may have in store.

By knowing what to look for, teachers can work with parents and create supports to help girls with ADHD succeed in school. Girls are more likely to have the inattentive type of ADHD and display “internalizing” symptoms, while boys typically have the hyperactive type of ADHD and display “externalizing” symptoms. Because of this, boys are more likely to receive treatment, medication, and other supports, while girls with ADHD may grow up struggling with their relationships, mental health, and self image. 

Children should learn about history in ways that promote critical thinking and encourage them to better understand the world by making connections between past and present. This means learning how to analyze primary sources, like photographs and artifacts, to understand important ideas like chronology, how the human experience has changed throughout time, and the causes and consequences of historical events. I’ve found photographs powerful in fostering students’ historical thinking; they provide a visual entry point and prevent the reading barriers that students sometimes experience with text-based sources.

Due to nationwide early intervention (EI) provider shortages, personnel recruitment and retention strategies are critical. Children under age three with developmental delays or disabilities are entitled to these services by federal law under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). To address the need for a stronger pipeline of early interventionists, Virginia universities formed a unique consortium called the Virginia Early Intervention/Preservice Consortium. The Consortium brings together faculty and staff from seven universities across Virginia to strengthen relationships with local EI systems, conduct research, and increase placement opportunities and share education resources for EI higher education students. 

Throughout rural America, non-native English speakers are less likely than their urban peers to get proper support in school, sometimes leading to a lifetime of lower educational attainment. But some rural schools are developing multilingual education strategies to rival those found in urban and suburban districts.

Carey Wright, who was lauded for her work as the top education official in Mississippi, is beginning her first full school year as Maryland’s state superintendent. As the interim, she has used some of the same strategies — improving literacy instruction, expanding early child care education, and reviewing accountability measures — that her administration was known for in Mississippi. Among the changes: a resolution directing all Maryland school districts to align their literacy curriculum around the “science of reading,” a method of teaching that emphasizes pillars such as phonemic awareness, vocabulary development and reading comprehension.

The start of the school year can be stressful, but parents of neurodivergent children are more likely to report feeling overwhelmed, unprepared and scared than other parents, according to a new survey. Elementary-age children who think and learn differently may struggle more with the back-to-school transition because they have a harder time expressing their needs than their older peers, said Andrew Kahn, associate director of behavior change and expertise at Understood.org. “You’re much more likely to see this in behavior, and in avoidance and escape.”

Language development in the early grades not only has short-term benefits in learning how to read but also is linked to long-term benefits of academic language success in middle school. In terms of student learning, not all student talk is created equal. Teachers can intentionally structure activities to focus on high-quality talk as a way to promote literacy and to facilitate creativity and thinking skills.

An unexpected highlight of the Democratic National Convention on Night Three was an outburst of pride from the son of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. The high school senior’s joy quickly went viral and his newfound fame is focusing attention on the challenges of people with learning disabilities. His parents recently revealed to People magazine that Gus has ADHD, an anxiety disorder, and something called a non-verbal learning disorder. There’s no standard definition for non-verbal learning disorder. It doesn’t mean people with it can’t talk. But according to the NVLD Project at Columbia University, people with it “struggle with a range of conditions that include social and spatial disabilities. Often they are marginalized and isolated; consequently, they can experience social barriers throughout their lives.”

This season’s books for kids and teens offers many stellar reads, including new books by Meg Medina, Jules Feiffer, Jason Reynolds and Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Looking for a World War II spy novel? See “The Bletchley Riddle.” For something funny, try “Jax Freeman and the Phantom Shriek.” And young picture-book lovers can choose silly, “The Man Who Didn’t Like Animals,” or thoughtful, “When You Find the Right Rock.”

Last year, Georgia passed a bill requiring schools to emphasize “structured literacy” when training instructors and testing students. It’s a method that teaches reading in a systemic and explicit manner characterized by word identification and decoding strategies. The method stems from the science of reading, which refers to a body of research examining the best way for children to learn how to read.

A majority of Americans worry more about children losing access to books that could teach them something about the world than they do about children being exposed to potentially inappropriate material. And most trust teachers and school librarians to make good choices about the books they stock at school. But they also think age appropriateness is a legitimate reason to restrict book access, especially for elementary students. And there are big differences on the issue between liberals and conservatives, between LGBTQ adults and others, and between parents and non-parents.

A machine learning model can identify most children with autism before the age of 2, research suggests, potentially accelerating the process of getting a diagnosis. In a study looking at data on about 12,000 people in the U.S. with and without autism, researchers said their artificial intelligence model dubbed AutMedAI could predict autism in children under age 2 with nearly 80% accuracy.

The more paraeducators know about the content and curriculum, class routines, and software programs, the more they can expand instructional options. Administrators must include paraeducators in training and ongoing professional learning to effectively support literacy instruction based on the science of reading. When paraeducators have knowledge and specific responsibilities, they offer greater flexibility and differentiation as true partners in the classroom.

According to a 2023 survey by the School Library Journal, graphic novels have risen in popularity at over 90% of school libraries. However, the same survey reported that a majority of librarians experienced opposition to graphic novels from parents, teachers and others who didn’t consider them “real books.” Resistance often stems from misconceptions that they lack academic rigor, are too controversial, and do not build reading skills, said literary specialist Shawna Coppola. When teachers dispel preconceived notions about comics and graphic novels, they can unlock these books’ potential as educational tools.

As the United States heads toward the semiquincentennial (!) of the Declaration of Independence and as many worthy groups strive to rekindle civics in American schools and colleges, it’s time to revisit and revive the superb animated video series named Liberty’s Kids. Aimed at elementary school-age children, but enjoyable well into middle school, these thirty-minute episodes feature Benjamin Franklin (narrated by Walter Cronkite) and four wonderfully engaging (and diverse) children as they experience the Revolutionary War and the early days of the new nation, starting with the Boston Tea Party and ending with Washington’s inauguration.

Starting this fall, Iowa City Community School District will pilot new AI guidelines governing how the technology is used in the classroom. The curriculum, for example, teaches the basics of using AI to K-2 students, along with discussing the technology’s pros and cons. Students in higher grade levels will dive deeper into safe and responsible use of AI, he said. 

A new study by researchers from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Carleton University has found the brain’s language network responds differently to a native language, than additional languages. The study published in academic journal Cerebral Cortex, further explored existing findings on the language center in the brains of people who speak five or more languages, otherwise known as polyglots.

Two dreamlike picture books explore the ennui particular to the colossus. “Giant on the Shore” with text by Alfonso Ochoa and art by Andrés López begins with the arrival of a giant to an unnamed island. Marine Schneider’s “Hekla and Laki”, translated from the French by Nick Frost and Catherine Ostiguy attaches the names of two Icelandic volcanoes to a bearded, blue silhouette of an old man (Laki) and a mysterious, orange child-being (Hekla). 

As students prepare to head back to school, they may feel a range of emotions. Many may feel excited or anxious about starting a new grade or school. When it comes to having a successful school year, no one knows what they need more than students themselves. That’s why we asked kids across the U.S. to share their best tips on going back to school — and they delivered. Read on for advice from a second-grader all the way to a kid almost done with high school.

Schools in Ohio, like other schools across the country, are struggling to reduce chronic absenteeism, which spiked during the pandemic. But Ohio may have a head start on dealing with the problem, thanks to a 2018 state law encouraging a positive approach to discipline. This positive approach attempts to improve student behavior and a school’s environment by emphasizing prevention over punishment. The idea is to stop problems before they happen, reward good behavior and give extra help to students who need it the most. 

The first year of teaching preschool students can be overwhelming, but by making a few simple preparations, pre-K teachers can jump in with confidence. From maintaining a playful mindset to choosing comfortable clothes, from organizing your space with intention to planning effective transitions, from taking time to observe students to not being shy about asking questions, these tips for new preschool teachers can help them kick off their first year well—and make a more positive impact on their little learners from day one.

Working out of her basement, and with no teaching experience, Ms. Colvin created a nonprofit that helped people around the world learn to read. Literacy Volunteers, was chartered by New York State as a nonprofit with 77 tutors, 100 students. After a 2002 merger with Laubach Literacy International, the organization became ProLiteracy, with hundreds of programs and 100,000 tutors in 42 states and 60 other countries, offering lessons in scores of languages at homes, workplaces, prisons and other sites. For 60 years, Ms. Colvin remained a teacher and administrator, traveling widely and writing 12 books on her work.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a set of bills Tuesday aimed at improving student reading proficiency, which dwindled after the COVID pandemic, by mandating literacy screenings for K-3 students and implementing new educator training on reading instruction next school year, among other initiatives.

Nearly a decade ago, Cecil County Public Schools had some of the lowest-performing elementary schools in Maryland, and teachers used a variety of homegrown curriculum and curated resources to varying effect. Today, our schools all use Bookworms, a highly structured, open-source curriculum published by the University of Delaware. We adopted and implemented Bookworms districtwide at a rapid clip in 2016 and quickly saw gains in the share of students in grades 3–5 scoring proficient on statewide tests. We have consistently fine-tuned our practices to maintain progress in the years since. Most major changes don’t happen without a long lead time or thoroughly debated pilot. And many changes cannot be sustained over the long haul. Our experience with Bookworms is a counterexample to both. It is possible to move fast and build reforms that last. Here’s how.

Every teacher at the Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego shares in the responsibility of teaching students literacy skills, regardless of the subject they teach. That’s because so many students, even incoming ninth graders, arrive at the school without basic reading skills, according to Douglas Fisher, an administrator at the school. While some students also receive one-on-one remediation, Fisher said that research shows those interventions aren’t enough to close the gap.

Linda B. Gambrell, professor emerita in the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University and a past president of the International Reading Association (IRA, now the International Literacy Association, ILA), died on August 6, 2024, at the age of 82. Considered a towering figure in the literacy field, Gambrell’s contributions as a researcher, educator, leader, and friend leave an indelible mark on the profession and the countless lives she touched.

D.C. students who got frequent, small group tutoring improved their reading and math scores after the return to in-person classes, attended more classes and had a stronger sense of belonging at school, according to new research into the city’s multimillion-dollar tutoring program. The findings from Stanford University are encouraging, researchers said: Although students have yet to fully recover from the pandemic-induced slump that saw test scores plummet and absenteeism rise, children in D.C. are making progress.

The practice of 3rd grade retention has trended upwards in recent years, but the research on the practice is complex, and it has been criticized by education experts who argue that such policies are ineffective over the long term. Why do these early literacy retention policies overwhelmingly focus on the end of 3rd grade? Is this target of when kids should know how to read warranted? Here’s what development and education experts had to say.

These tips from an experienced English language learning specialist can help you prepare for your first year, with a focuson strategies for supporting ELLs, communicating with classroom teachers, and maintaining a positive relationship with colleagues.

What can the news, features, essays, interviews, photos, videos, podcasts and graphics in The New York Times teach your students about composing for a real audience? Our writing curriculum is a road map for teachers as well as an invitation to students. For teachers, each of the 9 units focuses on a different genre or type of composing that your students can find not just in The Times but also in all kinds of real-world sources. For students, these units offer confirmation that they have something valuable to say, choices about how to say it and a global audience eager to listen. 

The school district, along with the advocacy group Philadelphia Alliance to Restore School Librarians (PARSL), applied for and received a nearly $150,000 federal grant to develop a plan for increasing the number of school libraries. Study after study has shown a positive correlation between having a quality school library program and student achievement in reading. It is a correlation, not a causation, she stressed: Schools with libraries are likely to be better funded overall, with a more stable teaching staff and other resources. But the research also shows that having trained librarians is especially beneficial for low-income districts.