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.
What Your Child’s Brain Does With “The” — And Why Flash Cards Are Not the Answer
Flash cards for common words feel right — they are how most of us learned, and how most of us are teaching our own children. But the brain does not store words as visual shapes, and the research is unambiguous: repetition without connecting letters to sounds does not trigger the process that makes words permanently recognizable. What does is phonics — and understanding that changes everything about how high-frequency words should be taught.