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.
How to Embed Reading Instruction in Content Area Teaching
Reading comprehension isn't a separate skill from science and social studies—it depends on them. Here's what happens when you stop treating content and literacy as competitors.
The Value of Teaching Morphology—And Why It Changes Everything About Vocabulary
A child doesn't need to memorize "unbelievable"—they need to spot un-, believe, and -able. Here's why teaching word parts changes vocabulary and decoding for older readers.
Midweek Mnii: They’ve Read That Book 47 Times. Good.
Research on young readers keeps confirming something that runs counter to most parents' instincts — hearing the same book multiple times produces stronger vocabulary growth than hearing a new book each time. Familiarity doesn't reduce the value of a text; it unlocks a different and deeper kind of engagement with it. The child who wants the same book again is not stuck — they are digging into it in ways the first read never could have allowed.
Read It Aloud: Why Reading Aloud Matters at Every Age
Read alouds build vocabulary, oral language, and comprehension through pathways that independent reading at a child's own level simply cannot replicate. The benefits begin in infancy, continue through high school, and compound with every page. That makes reading aloud one of the highest-leverage literacy tools any parent or teacher has — and one of the most underused.
Words Are the Thing: What Vocabulary Instruction Actually Is—And Why It Determines Whether Children Truly Comprehend
The most surprising reading failures aren't in children who can't decode — they're in children who can. A student who reads every word correctly but understands almost nothing has a vocabulary problem, and research shows it is one of the most underestimated obstacles in reading education. Word knowledge doesn't just support comprehension; it is the mechanism through which comprehension becomes possible at all.