Science of Reading and Learning Science
Understanding how children learn changes everything. The Science of Reading and broader learning science give us a research-based picture of how the brain develops, how children acquire skills, why some students struggle, and what instructional approaches make the biggest difference. Explore our articles to dig into the evidence.
Midweek Mini: “How Was Your Day?” Fine. — Ten Questions That Actually Work
"How was your day?" produces "fine." "What did you do?" produces "nothing." The conversation is over — and so is one of the most valuable language-building opportunities in your child's day. Research consistently shows that back-and-forth conversational turns build the vocabulary, syntax, and listening comprehension that reading comprehension depends on — and the questions that follow are designed to actually start one.
The Talking Comes First: How Everyday Conversation Builds the Foundation for Reading
Two children arrive at kindergarten on the same day, in the same classroom — and the gap between them is already years wide. Research shows that back-and-forth conversation before school begins predicts reading comprehension more reliably than almost any other factor, because oral language is the foundation that decoding alone cannot replace. The dinner table, the car ride, the bedtime story — none of it feels like reading instruction, but all of it is building the half of reading that happens before a child ever opens a book.