Shows / The Reading Instruction Show
The Reading Instruction Show
The Reading Instruction Show is a podcast about reading instruction (and other things) with a little bit of attitude. There is plenty here to inform and entertain all. And, by the way, I'm not trying to sell any books. I don't have any curriculum or programs to market. I don't accept speaking fees. And, I don't ever want to be a consultant.
Episodes
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Importance of Context and the Science of Reading
The Science of Reading seems to refer to a general consensus related to the strategies and practices that lead to improved reading outcomes. These strategies…
The Reading Instruction ShowStructured Literacy: Forward to the Past
Using Blanche DuBois’s tragic reliance on the "kindness of strangers" as a central metaphor, this article critiques the recurring cycle of corporate-driven…
The Reading Instruction ShowConversation with Kathy Brown, Master Educator
If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe…
The Reading Instruction ShowReading Instruction, Word Confirmation, and Confirmation Bias
Purpose statement: The reader will become more effective in evaluating online sources related to reading instruction. Behavioral objective: Readers will be…
The Reading Instruction ShowQuiet, Piggy: A Trumpian Response to Science of Reading Critics
If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe…
The Reading Instruction ShowRecognizing Words, the Three-Cueing System, and Identifying Words
• Purpose: Readers will understand how the three cueing system is used to recognize words. • Behavioral objective: After reading this chapter, the reader will…
The Reading Instruction ShowHow NAEP Created a Perpetual Reading Crisis
The NAEP proficiency levels were arbitrarily defined (Bracey, 2008; Ravitch, 2012; Reinking, Hruby, & Risko, 2023). These levels should be interpreted with…
The Reading Instruction ShowReading and the Information Processing Model: Why Penguins Continue to Mishear What I Say
Reading is a thinking process, not a responding-to-stimuli process or a sounding-out-words process. And since cognitive psychology studies human thinking; it…
The Reading Instruction ShowLittle Timmy, Round-Robin Reading, and Kindly, Old Mrs. Peterson
Important Terms • Round-robin reading – going around the table or around the room and having each student in turn read a section of text out loud. This is a…
The Reading Instruction ShowUnderstanding Reading from a Neurological Perspective: The Basics
If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe…
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Latest NCTQ Technical Report Does Not Meet Basic Academic Standards
The National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) recently put out another technical report. This technical report graded 700 teacher preparation programs across…
The Reading Instruction ShowMy MAGA Friends Tell Me Not to Judge Them
Matthew 7: 1-2. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to…
The Reading Instruction ShowDeconstructing Goldenberg's Science of Reading Propositions
If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe…
The Reading Instruction ShowNational Reading Panel - Fluency
ntroduction to Reading Fluency This session focuses on fluency, one of the five core areas of reading defined by the National Reading Panel (following previous…
The Reading Instruction ShowReading Instruction, Whole Language, and a Flux Capacitor
In 2026, the Minnesota Department of Education requires teachers to be toadies who follow approved teachers’ manuals with fidelity. All the love of reading has…
The Reading Instruction ShowUnderstanding Reading
If you’re looking for accessible, research-based information that slices through the endless loads of overly worded baloney, I would encourage you to subscribe…
The Reading Instruction ShowLimitations of Brain Imaging Research for Reading Instruction
Just because a book, article, or presentation includes pictures of a brain or uses a whole bunch of big brain words, does not mean the information presented is…
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Story of the International Literacy Educators Coalition (ILEC)
By Dr. Andy Johnson, Executive Director, ILEC Push back against top-down SoR mandates that disempower teachers. Get involved with the International Literacy…
The Reading Instruction ShowDr. Johnson is Vulgard, Common, and Shameful
Warning: The academic aristrocacy do not want you to listen to this podcast.
The Reading Instruction ShowDr. Johnson is Not Very Smart
Push back against top-down SoR mandates that disempower teacher. Get involved with ILEC. Sign up at this link…
The Reading Instruction ShowGeorge Hruby presents After the Flood: Reading Instruction Post SoR
Feeling deluged by SOR media, materials, and mandates? Science of Reading’s murky waters have crested, says Dr. Hruby. Our classrooms are ours to reclaim if we…
The Reading Instruction ShowMinnesota, Reading Legislation, and Tarot Cards
In Minnesota our special reading law called The Read Act. The Read Act makes certain kinds of reading instruction mandatory and other kinds illegal. I will…
The Reading Instruction ShowLiving Your Values, MAGA, and Christianity
Prince of Peace. How’s that working out for you? How’s that peace thing going? I have to be honest, I don’t see a lot of peace coming out of my Jesus-loving…
The Reading Instruction ShowTrained Seals, Reading Instruction, and Educational Overlords
Effective teachers are reflective teachers (Sternberg & Williams, 2010; Zeichner & Liston, 2010). They think about what they’re doing, what they did, and what…
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Rich Man, Brother Lazarus, and Donald J. Trump
The bible is quite clear on this point: To hell with you who support the Rich Man while Brother Lazarus is sick and starving. To hell with you. To hell with…
The Reading Instruction ShowGod Exists
Videos, articles, and much more at my free Substack: Transpersonal Christianity https://dr731.substack.com/
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Importance of Argument in Reading Instruction
The argumentation process is the foundation of academic discourse within the academy. It’s worked well for centuries, enabling our various academic fields to…
The Reading Instruction ShowTeaching Reading at Home: Tips for Parents
This podcast describes simple, pragmatic, research-based tips for parents to help their child with reading at home and over the summer.
The Reading Instruction ShowGod Has a Plan
Videos, articles, and much more at my free Substack: Transpersonal Christianity https://dr731.substack.com/
The Reading Instruction ShowThe National Reading Panel: Phonics and Word Work
Research-based strategies to addres phonics and word work.
The Reading Instruction ShowThe National Reading Panel: Comprehension
This podcast reviews and applies the research related to Comprehension.
The Reading Instruction ShowIntroduction to Systemic Racism
This is a good time to revist systemic racism. Trump posted a racist tweet, showing the heads of Barak and Michelle Obama on Monkeys. He won’t apologize for…
The Reading Instruction ShowTwisted Scripture
Somebody accused me of twisting scripture to fit my political perspective. I didn’t know that wanting to stop the bullying, beating, imprisonment, and killing…
The Reading Instruction ShowA Journalist is NOT a Literacy Scholar
Journalists should not get a free pass on ignorance. This podcast describes the difference between journalists and literacy scholars.
The Reading Instruction ShowConference Presentation: LETRS - Behind the Pretty Words
Just because it says it’s ‘research-based’ or ‘scientifically based’ doesn’t mean that it is. Dr. Louisa Moats’ website states that, “Moats developed the…
The Reading Instruction ShowWhat is Evidence and Research?
Evidence and research are at the heart of current SoR mandates. Yet little time and few resources are provided to enable teachers to understand exactly what…
The Reading Instruction ShowSunday Sermon: Bat Shit Crazy Ramblings
There are travelers who have been beaten, robbed, and left on the side of the road. Why are you walking by? Stop the abuse. Stop ICE. Psalm 119:105 Your word…
The Reading Instruction ShowSunday Sermon: People of Faith or People of Belief?
James 1:19 says, “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for a man’s anger does not…
The Reading Instruction ShowSunday Sermon: The Lord Detests These Things
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: (a) haughty eyes, (b) a lying tongue, (c) hands that shed innocent blood, (d) a heart…
The Reading Instruction Show8 Commonly Misunderstood Terms in Reading Instruction
Below are eight commonly misunderstood terms related to reading instruction. • Reading. • Word recognition. • Word identification • Decoding • Strategy. •…
The Reading Instruction Show8 Comonly Misunderstoond Terms in Reading Instruction
This podcast explains eight commonly misunderstood terms related to reading instruction. • Reading. • Word recognition. • Word identification • Decoding •…
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Importance of Academic Journals: John Stossel Doesn't Know What they Are
Below are seven big ideas that you should take from this chapter. 1. Having a body of knowledge is important in any field. 2. Disagreement followed by academic…
The Reading Instruction ShowDyslexia Summits, Disinvitations, and Reading Camps
Let’s review. A couple of months ago, I recorded an online interview for a dyslexia summit. I also put together and recorded a short video presentation. These…
The Reading Instruction ShowJohn Stossel: My Adventure in Television – Part I
It is very hard to have a serious and substantive discussion about a topic like reading instruction with somebody whose knowledge base is shallow and…
The Reading Instruction ShowDyslexia Summits, Disinvitations, and Abrasiveness
The abrasiveness of a writing tone is determined largely by the cognitive framework held by the reader. A cognitive framework is the mentally constructed…
The Reading Instruction ShowAcademic Buzzwords, Weasel Words, and Propagating Lexiconic Locution: Claude Goldenberg, and the International Dyslexia Association
This podcast describes the following: Words - sound groups that represent things in the real world. Buzzwords - are words used to elicit an emotional response…
The Reading Instruction ShowAcademic Buzzwords, Weasel Words, and Propagating Lexiconic Locution: Claude Goldenberg, and the International Dyslexia Association
This podcast defines the following: Words - sound groups that represent things in the real world. Buzzwords - are words used to elicit an emotional response…
The Reading Instruction ShowSelective Umbrage: Emily Hanford is an Alexa App
In a recent show, I referred to Emily Hanford as the Alexa App of reading instruction. This was a metaphor, a common literary device in which one makes a…
The Reading Instruction ShowShow Me "The Research'
If somebody makes the claim that research says something, one has an obligation to have read a research article at least once in their life. And if somebody…
The Reading Instruction ShowLegitimate Professional Development for Reading Teachers
Legitimate professional development for teachers is necessary. I used the term ‘legitimate’ to exclude programs and services that are profit-based. These are…
The Reading Instruction ShowToadys, Transaction, and Reading Instruction
Toadys sometimes call themselves “consultants”. They promote methods and say things that just happen to coincide with the products and services being sold by…
The Reading Instruction ShowThe Ideology of Reading
Despite having the word “science” in their title, the proposals put forth by the SoR are not grounded in science at all, but in pseudo-science, I-think-isms…
The Reading Instruction ShowForward to the Past: Writer Over to People
One of the reasons why the Science of Reading people have been so successful is that they’ve been writing to the people over there. They’ve used stories and…
The Reading Instruction ShowReading Wars and the Education Science Reform Act of 2002
There never was a reading war. A war assumes there are two armies meeting on a field of battle. This didn’t happen. But there was a reading coup. There was a…
The Reading Instruction ShowCognitive Science and Reading
Neuroscience is a study of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, and neurons (NIH, 2025). The neuroscience of reading looks at how the brain…
The Reading Instruction ShowOrthographic Mapping: Weak or Robust Theory?
In this podcast, I try to make sense of orthographic mapping, a term invented by Linnea Ehri and introduced in Chapter 15 (Ehri, 2014). We’ll start with her…
The Reading Instruction ShowEverybody Uses Direct Instruction For Reading
The term “direct and explicit instruction” is often used to sell products or to persuade state legislators to make bad decisions. But everybody already uses…
The Reading Instruction ShowResearch to Support the Three-Cueing Systems
Our big human brains have evolved to become very efficient predicting machines (Hawkins, 2004). They are constantly accessing multiple data sources in order to…
The Reading Instruction ShowOrton-Gillingham: Behind the Pretty Words
The problem with Orton-Gillingham and similar for-profit products (Lindamood, Wilson Language Training, Barton System, etc.) is that they try to reduce…
The Reading Instruction ShowDefining the Science of Reading
When somebody askes you, “What’s the Science of Reading?” what do you say? Is it a process? Is it a set of strategies? An approach or method? A reading…