The simple view of reading states that reading comprehension is the product of word recognition and language comprehension. This simple, yet powerful, equation informs both my beginning-of-the-year assessments and the reading interventions I provide for my third-grade students. Since my end goal is reading comprehension, I need to assess and support my students in both their word-recognition skills and their language comprehension abilities

During normal times, two groups of students have been at the heart of my literacy work. They are our fragile readers—fragile because they are young and just beginning to read, or fragile because they are older students who haven’t read well for years. As we navigate through these COVID years, we continue to hear messages of hope for these students.

As teachers face the prospect of more students struggling with reading, they will be looking for proven approaches to get them up to speed. The good news is that research shows almost all K–5 students who have difficulty learning to read can gain proficiency if they receive literacy intervention developed with evidence-based, research-validated teaching practices.

I have often heard third grade described as the year students shift from learning to read to reading to learn. And while there is accuracy to that statement, I have found that third grade feels more like the year we juggle between supporting students who are still learning to read and engaging those who are reading to learn.

Who loves good cookies and what are your favorite kinds? As you know, cookies are a collection of ingredients put together following a sequence of steps, resulting in tasty outcomes.

When we teach reading, it is imperative that we get it right the first time. If we fail to do so, our students—and, ultimately, society—will suffer.