TextProject president and CEO Elfrieda H. (Freddy) Hiebert blogs about important issues in reading research and practice.
The Science of Reading: Seeking Research-Based Answers to Critical Questions
November 30, 2022
I wrote a series of five blogs in late 2020 on the relationship of research to reading acquisition and instruction. In the first blog, I promised a final blog that would raise questions that require the attention of researchers. I am finally following through on that promise. This blog presents questions about the curriculum, instruction, and texts of reading instruction (especially in the early stages) for which I have been looking for answers in the ensuing two-year gap.
Knowledge Building for Beginning Readers
September 19, 2022
Young children are bursting with curiosity about the world around them. A flock of birds flying overhead, the sound of a train, the taste of a kiwi–almost anything can ignite young children’s curiosity. Through answers to their questions and experiences, young children amass a treasure trove of knowledge.
Read-Alouds That Inspire
March 9, 2021
We need to do more than simply get students back on track in their academic learning. Yes, getting back on the page as readers and writers is critical. But at the same time, we as educators need to recognize that children, just as adults, need to feel the vibrancy of community and a sense of hope.
Results May Vary: Do First-Grade Reading Curriculum and Instruction Need to Be Adapted?
January 25, 2021
Beginning readers have different levels of proficiency, but many may follow a similar path as they learn new words and orthographic patterns. This may not be the case for those with the lowest levels of ability, so curriculum and instruction should take into account the needs of those who depend most on their in-school literacy experiences.
Feature Presentation: How Familiarity and Concreteness Can Help Beginning Readers Learn New Words
January 5, 2021
Teachers can help beginning readers master more than half of the 2,500 most frequently occurring word families by focusing on words they have already acquired in oral language and words with high concreteness ratings.
What is the Best Way to Teach Vocabulary?
November 18, 2020
With over 600,000 words in written English, which ones should English Language Arts teachers teach, and how?
Teaching Networks of Words
August 13, 2020
Students have trouble learning and retaining lists of unconnected words. Teaching words in networks helps students form connections among the words, bolstering their understanding.
Getting Back to the Page & Staying There
July 16, 2020
Reading is all about knowledge; it’s not just for practice. Students need the chance to read books and articles clustered around worthwhile content—topics like amazing creatures in the ocean and stories of kids who have done courageous things.
Bad with Names: Why Proper Names Deserve Instructional Attention
January 28, 2020
Rare words typically make up only 5% or less of the total words in texts, but it’s often these words that get students anxious about reading.
A Whole New World of Vocabulary Instruction
January 21, 2020
Words are not only a means of communicating, but a foundation of learning.
Not All Rare Words Are Sesquipedalian!
January 15, 2020
A small part of the English vocabulary accounts for the majority of the words in the texts students read across the grades – but some of the words may surprise you.
What Does It Mean To Be A Digitally Literate Scholar?
November 27, 2018
Some thoughts for Literacy Research Association session: Opening up the ivory tower: Examining the elements of open, digitally engaged scholarship (November 28, 2018, Indian Wells, CA)
A New Kind of Leveled Text: Meeting the Needs of Challenged Readers
July 24, 2018
Short sentences and less text don’t add up to proficient reading. But that’s exactly what the current wave of leveled texts offers.
What Should Goals Be For Increasing Students’ Oral Reading Rates?
May 26, 2018
The question of how much growth to set as goals for oral reading fluency depends on the grade level and where students are in relation to grade-level patterns. But before I give my recommendations, I would like to review several critical points about oRead More »What Should Goals Be For Increasing Students’ Oral Reading Rates?
The Stories of Words: TextProject’s Newest Texts and Vocabulary Product
January 9, 2017
The texts in the Stories of Words series provide a great opportunity for students to expand their vocabularies, increase their background knowledge, and develop facility with the core vocabulary of written English.
Interpreting Intervention Outcomes: Lexile-Based Assessments and Norm-Referenced Assessments
April 8, 2016
Are the results from Lexile-based assessments and Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE) comparable? For educators, how do the results from Lexile-based and norm-referenced assessments relate to the results of summative, end-of-the-year, state-mandated assessments?heere
Join the “Read-an-Article-a-Day” Initiative
January 21, 2016
What is the “Read-an-Article-a-Day” Initiative and why is it important?
The Reach of Literacy Research
November 5, 2015
The age old debate: Quality versus quantity in the field of reading research
Claims about Text Complexity within the Common Core State Standards: Examining the Evidence
March 3, 2014
Standard 10 of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) evaluates students’ ability to read increasingly more complex texts across the grades to ensure proficiency with texts of college and careers by high school graduation. The content of Standard 10 isRead More »Claims about Text Complexity within the Common Core State Standards: Examining the Evidence
Summary of Kenji Hakuta on English Language Learners and the Common Core State Standards
October 31, 2013
Highlights of Hakuta’s presentation in Virtual Institute on Assessment and the CCSS on TextProject’s YouTube channel.