Frankly Freddy Blog Archive

2025

Using AI to Teach Word Networks

The AI Story Problem: Why Stories for Children and Adolescents Still Need Human Writers

The Power of Pictures: Nurturing Young Readers’ Motivation

2024

Webinar: The New Science of Vocabulary: AI-Enhanced Approaches to Word Selection

Terminology, Texts and Teachers in an AI World

The Science of Word Zones: How Big Data is Building Better Readers

Revolutionizing Vocabulary Learning: AI’s Contributions to Word Selection in Education

Using Story Structure for Comprehension and Enhancing Vocabulary

Elevating Adolescents’ Literacies: Recognizing Strengths and Building on Curiosities

ILA Webinar Q & A Highlights: Knowledge Building as the Foundation for Literacy Learning

Reclaiming Our Field: Three Highlights from Research & Practice

Semantic Maps: An Essential Tool for Navigating Knowledge

ILA Webinar: Knowledge Building as the Foundation of Literacy Learning

“I just have to keep answering the questions I think are important”: Dr. Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert on the Getting Smarter podcast

TextProject celebrates Children’s Book Week May 2 – 6!

AERA 2024: Considering Decodable Texts

Fostering Hope with Children’s Literature

Webinar: How Words and Literature Support Hope in Classrooms

Podcast: Valuable Words About Vocabulary

2023

LRA 2023: Reading Research in the 21st Century

TextProject’s Decoding + Knowledge Program

Giving Middle-School Readers a Boost with TopicReads

2022

The Science of Reading: Seeking Research-Based Answers to Critical Questions

Knowledge Building for Beginning Readers

2021

Read-Alouds That Inspire

Results May Vary: Do First-Grade Reading Curriculum and Instruction Need to Be Adapted?

Feature Presentation: How Familiarity and Concreteness Can Help Beginning Readers Learn New Words

2020

What is the Best Way to Teach Vocabulary?

Teaching Networks of Words

Getting Back to the Page & Staying There

Bad with Names: Why Proper Names Deserve Instructional Attention

A Whole New World of Vocabulary Instruction

Not All Rare Words Are Sesquipedalian!

2018

What Does It Mean To Be A Digitally Literate Scholar?

A New Kind of Leveled Text: Meeting the Needs of Challenged Readers

What Should Goals Be For Increasing Students’ Oral Reading Rates?

2017

The Stories of Words: TextProject’s Newest Texts and Vocabulary Product

2016

Interpreting Intervention Outcomes: Lexile-Based Assessments and Norm-Referenced Assessments

Multi-Level Text Sets: Leveling the Playing Field or Sidelining Struggling Readers?

Join the “Read-an-Article-a-Day” Initiative

2015

The Reach of Literacy Research

2014

Claims about Text Complexity within the Common Core State Standards: Examining the Evidence

2013

Summary of Kenji Hakuta on English Language Learners and the Common Core State Standards

Reading Rules for Becoming Proficient with Complex Texts

Why Becoming a Nation of Readers Is Still Relevant

Summary of Karen Wixson on “Assessment and Instruction in the Era of the CCSS in English Language Arts”

Summary of David Francis on “CCSS Assessments and Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners”

Summary of Peter Afflerbach on “Formative Assessments and the Common Core: Text Complexity to Task Complexity”

Summary of P. David Pearson on Will Our Tests Support or Subvert Our Vision of Deeper Learning of English/Language Arts?

Summary of David Coleman on Assessments That Support the Goals of the Common Core State Standards

An Inside View of the New Assessments

FYI for Kids: Building Students’ Capacity for Complex Text

Read-Aloud Favorites: A Source for Enriching Students’ Knowledge of the World and of Language

7 Actions That Literacy Leaders Can Take Right Now: Text Complexity

2012

It’s Not Just Informational Text That Supports Knowledge Acquisition: The Critical Role of Narrative Text in the Common Core State Standards

Scaffolding Complex Text: Volume of Text Matters

Syntax and Text Complexity: A Classic Text Goes from College-Career Level to First Grade

Teaching Complex Text: Why Look at Word Frequency?

Children’s literacy learning and screen time

2011

Is Reading in Kindergarten the Means for Ensuring College and Career Readiness?

The 90-10 Rule of Vocabulary in Increasing Students’ Capacity for Complex Text

Identifying Principles for the Creation of Texts in A Variety of Languages for Beginning Readers

What Teachers and Parents Can Do to Stop the Summer Reading Slide

Looking “Within” the Lexile for More Guidance: Word Frequency and Sentence Length

2010

The Generalizability of the TExT Model to Indic Languages

Immunizations and treatments in early reading

Opening the dialogue

What Exactly is a Decodable Text?

Whatever Happened to Dick and Jane?

2009

High-Leverage Action #3

High-Leverage Action #2

High-Leverage Action #1

High-Leverage Actions That Can Make a Difference

Private, Personal, and Peculiar

Welcome back, Freddy

Everyday Events

2008

Word Findings #8

2007

Word Findings #7

Word Findings #6

Word Findings #5

Word Findings #4

Word Findings #3

Word Findings #2

Word Findings #1

2006

Does self-selected reading have a place in a comprehension program?

What’s new in comprehension research?

What’s silent reading got to do with it?

To teach students to read and write involves CONTENT…

What does comprehension instruction look like for struggling readers?