Home Is Where Children’s Reading Skills Start to Develop

The On Track study performed at the Norwegian Reading Centre at the University of Stavanger found a strong connection between a child’s home reading environment from the time they’re very young and the progress that child makes in learning to read and learning to read better when they’re in school.[1] Study researcher Vibeke Bergersen indicated … Continue reading “Home Is Where Children’s Reading Skills Start to Develop”


Balancing Literacy: What Makes for Good Reading Instruction?

In a September 8, 2021 opinion post, Education Week described two educators’ concerns over the polarization of literary instruction and the distortion of the term “balanced literacy” from its original meaning.[1] To address the former, we have to look no farther than the hotly debated “war” between phonics and whole-word instruction, which we dealt with … Continue reading “Balancing Literacy: What Makes for Good Reading Instruction?”


Teaching All the Foundational Reading Skills

Learning to read is a complex process — as is teaching reading skills to young learners. Most of the debate about the best approach seems to center around the whole-word approach versus phonics, with the latter being the better supported. However, according to a recent post in Education Week, that debate misses out on the … Continue reading “Teaching All the Foundational Reading Skills”


Does Learning Music Help Students Learn to Read?

If it’s to be believed, a 2018 study from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicates that students who receive music lessons — specifically piano instruction — have an advantage over their non-musical peers when it comes to learning to read, and that … Continue reading “Does Learning Music Help Students Learn to Read?”


Interview with Leah King: Educator, reading specialist, and reader, Part 2

[Editor’s note and disclaimer: This is Part 2 of our discussion with educator and reading specialist Leah King. The content for this two-part post came from an interview conducted by Miriam Ruff on October 4, 2020, and it has been edited somewhat for length and fluency.] To read Part 1, click here. MR: Like everyone … Continue reading “Interview with Leah King: Educator, reading specialist, and reader, Part 2”


The Science of Reading – Part 1: Unlocking Language

[Editor’s note: This is the first part of our five-part series on the best practices of learning to read and learning to read better.] There’s a long-standing debate about how best to teach children to read, which has led to what is colloquially known as the “reading wars.” On one side of the battle are … Continue reading “The Science of Reading – Part 1: Unlocking Language”


AceReader in the Educational Environment

In some ways, reading education has not changed much over the past hundred years or so – teachers still confront the issues of how to instruct students effectively in the basic issues of learning phonemic awareness, decoding text, mastering understanding of text material (comprehension), and achieving reading fluency. What has changed is our understanding of … Continue reading “AceReader in the Educational Environment”