| |  | Have Elementary Reading Texts Been "Dumbed Down" Over the Last Six Decades? New Research Offers Insights| The article offers a fresh framework for thinking about text design—one that balances appropriate challenge with intentional support and promotes steady intellectual growth for all students. The full article is available as an open-access publication and at TextProject.org |
| | New Resource for Middle School Students |  | | Background knowledge is one of the strongest predictors of reading comprehension. At the same time, many middle schoolers struggle with the core vocabulary that appears across most school texts—the 2,500 word families that account for about 95% of what students read. |
| Background Builders, TextProject’s newest series, supports both dimensions of comprehension. Each set introduces students to a high-interest topic that builds essential knowledge and provides sustained exposure to these widely used word families. |
| For example, “Making Up Words” explores Lewis Carroll’s playful inventions like chortle and brillig, connecting them to students’ everyday experiences with creating and sharing new words through texting and online communication. |
The result: engaging texts that grow students’ knowledge of the world while strengthening the vocabulary foundation needed for more complex reading.
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