TRT Podcast#35: What are the reading wars?
As we begin our discussion about the science of reading, we need to look back at the history of teaching reading in the United States. What exactly are the reading wars, and when did they begin? Where are we today? Join us for a brief and lively history of the debate.
Listen to the episode here
Full episode transcript
Books mentioned in the episode
- Why Johnny Can’t Read, by Rudolf Flesch
- The Great Debate, by Jean Chall
- Proust and the Squid, by Maryann Wolf
- Reading in the Brain: The New Science of How We Read, by Stanislas Dehaene
- Language at the Speed of Sight, by Mark Seidenberg
The article that reignited the reading wars
- At a Loss for Words, by Emily Hanford
Link to original Facebook Live presentation
Check out the full science of reading bootcamp
- Introduction to the series
- Episode 1: What are the reading wars?
- Episode 2: My reaction to the article that reignited the reading wars
- Episode 3: How the brain learns to read
- Episode 4: What the science of reading is based on
- Episode 5: What’s wrong with three-cueing?
- Episode 6: Should you use leveled or decodable books?
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Rebecca
I just discovered your podcast and website and LOVE them. So much wonderful information. Thank you! I’m curious where Orton and Gillingham’s research fits into the overview above. I did my O-G Associate training this past summer, so of course that was rather steeped in the history of their research. They seem like pioneers in the field of structured literacy. I’ve been thinking of them as the “originals” whose work has been corroborated and expanded upon in more recent decades. Is that an accurate view? Thank you in advance for your insight and perspective!
Anna Geiger
So Rebecca, I’ve waited to answer this because I wanted to research this a bit. I’m also working on getting Orton Gillingham certified, but I haven’t learned the history of the approach. After a week of sick kids, I just haven’t had time to dive into this. But I would like to write a post about OG in the future, and I’ll make sure to do the research then. So far I haven’t found that they were the pioneers in this approach, but I’ll keep an eye open for helpful info!