TextProject president and CEO Elfrieda H. (Freddy) Hiebert blogs about important issues in reading research and practice.
Frankly Freddy entries (published from 2005 to 2014) have been sorted into five topics of literacy learning and instruction. Click here to download the ebook!
Why Every Minute of Reading Matters
August 19, 2025
When it comes to silent reading, volume matters. Even ten additional minutes for silent reading per day can shape whether students develop the automatic, flexible reading skills they need for lifelong learning.
Webinar: Using AI to Select, Teach, and Assess Word Knowledge
August 8, 2025
Join TextProject CEO Freddy Hiebert on August 12 at 5:00 p.m. ET for a live webinar exploring how AI can enhance word selection, teaching strategies, and assessment practices. You will gain practical insights you can apply right away!
The Power of Text Sets: Freddy Talks with the Melissa & Lori Love Literacy Podcast
July 11, 2025
Freddy shares her expertise on understanding text features and the vital role of repetition in vocabulary acquisition. The conversation highlights how background knowledge supports comprehension and the thoughtful development of decodable texts to support early readers
Freddy joins host Lindsay Persohn on a new episode of Classroom Caffeine podcast!
June 17, 2025
TextProject founder and CEO Dr. Elfrieda “Freddy” Hiebert joins Lindsay Persohn of the podcast Classroom Caffeine to discuss language, learning to read, and authentic interactions with interesting texts.
New podcast: Linking Automaticity, Vocabulary, and Text With Dr.Freddy Hiebert
June 11, 2025
Jake Downs, host of the Talking Literacy podcast, welcomes guest Dr. Freddy Hiebert, a renowned literacy researcher and CEO/Founder of TextProject. The conversation covers topics such as the importance of automaticity, the core vocabulary, reading volume, and shifts in text complexity over the decades.
How Misunderstandings of Text Complexity May Have Widened the Achievement Gap
February 19, 2025
Reading scores for the lowest-performing students have plummeted to historic lows. Misunderstandings of text complexity have contributed to this achievment gap.
Using AI to Teach Word Networks
January 30, 2025
Dr. Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert shares tips on using an AI assistant to select words from narrative text for more effective vocabulary instruction.
The AI Story Problem: Why Stories for Children and Adolescents Still Need Human Writers
January 29, 2025
As we embrace AI’s strengths in educational content, we must also champion human storytelling that truly speaks to children’s hearts and minds.
The Power of Pictures: Nurturing Young Readers’ Motivation
January 14, 2025
Illustrations are not merely decorative elements in children’s literature. They are often powerful motivational tools that transform the reading experience.
Webinar: The New Science of Vocabulary: AI-Enhanced Approaches to Word Selection
December 12, 2024
TextProject CEO Dr. Elfrieda “Freddy” H. Hiebert, explores the opportunities to use AI to help strengthen vocabulary instruction and enhance students’ literacy skills.
Terminology, Texts and Teachers in an AI World
December 9, 2024
Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert delivered a keynote address during the Reading Hall of Fame Mentoring session organized by the Literacy Research Association on December 5, 2024.
The Science of Word Zones: How Big Data is Building Better Readers
November 5, 2024
Unlike the strict vocabulary limits of the past, scaffolded texts use language research to create rich learning opportunities. At their core is the organization of words into morphological families – groups that share the same root. This structure comes from analyzing large collections of texts to identify the word families that occur most often at different grade levels.
Revolutionizing Vocabulary Learning: AI’s Contributions to Word Selection in Education
October 15, 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers educators a data-driven alternative to intuition-based word lists. By analyzing vast language datasets, AI tools can identify word clusters supporting text comprehension and general knowledge, as well as words with rich webs of related vocabulary.
Using Story Structure for Comprehension and Enhancing Vocabulary
September 26, 2024
By exploring vocabulary through the lens of story structure, we empower students to engage more deeply with texts and enrich their vocabularies.
Elevating Adolescents’ Literacies: Recognizing Strengths and Building on Curiosities
September 6, 2024
It’s time to shift our perspective and focus on recognizing and celebrating the literacies, curiosities, and strengths of adolescents.
ILA Webinar Q & A Highlights: Knowledge Building as the Foundation for Literacy Learning
June 20, 2024
In these clips from the Q & A session of a webinar for the International Literacy, Cervetti and Hiebert emphasize the importance of integrating content area learning with ELA, cautioning against replacing experiential learning with superficial knowledge in ELA curricula. They advocate for diverse text sets to build depth in students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary, and to foster meaningful engagement and ownership in their learning.
The Semantic Map: Essential Tool for Building Knowledge
May 22, 2024
One learning technique has proven effective in supporting students in organizing and remembering knowledge: semantic maps. Whether the technique is called a semantic, concept, or mind map, the distinguishing feature is that words, phrases, or sentences that represent concepts are presented in a diagram-like scheme.
ILA Webinar: Knowledge Building as the Foundation of Literacy Learning
May 14, 2024
In this session, speakers Gina N. Cervetti and Elfrieda (Freddy) H. Hiebert will discuss the importance of knowledge building in the literacy instruction classroom and draw direct connections to both students’ academic success and their social-emotional well-being through developing other critical skills essential for personal growth.
“I just have to keep answering the questions I think are important”: Dr. Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert on the Getting Smarter podcast
May 9, 2024
My hope is that when a plaque gets put up for me some day, that people will see this unusual name and say: ‘She was committed to the kids, and to their teachers.’ And I review that commitment every single morning and every night… I just have to keep answering the questions I think are important.
TextProject celebrates Children’s Book Week May 2 – 6!
May 6, 2024
“Knowledge building as the foundation of literacy learning” is our focus this May at TextProject, and what better way to kick it off than by celebrating Children’s Book Week! After all, books are how we find out about the wider world around us. The theRead More »TextProject celebrates Children’s Book Week May 2 – 6!