Many reading programs assume learning to read follows a fixed sequence.. Children are expected to move through carefully ordered steps, mastering simple words and sound patterns before progressing to more…
When Words Don’t Fit the Model
In a recent discussion on social media thread, Dr. Pete Bowers made several claims that deserve to be read twice. They are not small…
What Happens to the Children Who Can’t Learn Phonics First
I’m not loyal to a method. I’m loyal to children. And I am against anything that harms them.
That’s the frame…
Why “Linguistic Phonics” Is Not Linguistic
Over the past several years, critiques of Structured Literacy and extended phonics instruction have become increasingly difficult to ignore. Even among long-time proponents, there…
When Phonology Is Slow: Using Structured Word Inquiry With Severely Struggling Learners
Why literacy doesn’t have to wait for sounds to “click”
When a child fails to make progress year…
Robust Comprehension Is Not an Add-On
What a New Science of Reading Study Reveals and What It Still Misses
A recent report by SRI examining Science of Reading implementation in…
When Instruction Becomes Doctrine: What the Science of Reading Is Still Getting Wrong
Mark Seidenberg’s recent response to The New Yorker article “Alphabet Soup” raises concerns that many of us…
From Hammocks to Hurricanes: How Taíno Words Shaped English
When we talk about where English words come from, the focus usually falls on the major contributors. Roughly 29% of modern…
When Education Stops Teaching Students How to Think
A viral post has been circulating recently. Someone asked an AI, “If you were the devil, how would you destroy young minds?”…
The literacy field often uses phonics, phonology, and phonemic awareness interchangeably.
They all relate to sound, but they come from entirely different systems.
When these concepts get blurred, instruction becomes mismatched…
Rethinking Phonemic Awareness in Light of Seidenberg’s Recent Posts Aug-Nov
Lately, the conversation about phonemic awareness (PA) has felt like déjà vu
Are phonemes real? Should we teach 44 of them?…
What Seidenberg Just Said About Phonemic Awareness
And Why SWI Has Been Right About This All Along
By Shawna Pope-Jefferson, SLP ~ Structured Word Inquiry: Teaching Reading via Spelling
A…