In this episode, join Dr. Marnie Ginsberg and I for a dynamic discussion. We'll delve into her inspiring journey that led to her impactful work and explore collaborative approaches for parents and educators to support students who are learning to read. Discover innovative strategies to make reading more engaging and enjoyable, bridging the gap between traditional teaching methods and modern, captivating approaches.
Dr. Marnie Ginsberg is the founder of Reading Simplified, whose mission is to support busy, overwhelmed teachers learn a research-based system of effective and efficient instruction that accelerates all students’ reading achievement. Marnie’s surprise at finding so many of the middle school students in her classroom reading well below their grade, spurred a passion for finding and disseminating solutions. What followed included private tutoring, university research, the creation of an evidence-based reading program, and ultimately the development of Reading Simplified.
Listen in as we talk about:
[2:30] The journey that led Marnie into her work
[10:20] How parents and educators can help students who are learning to read
[15:50] Innovative and practical ways to make reading more fun and engaging
[21:10] How educators and parents can improve their own teaching practices
[26:35] Effective strategies to support struggling readers and help them to thrive
[32:15] Reading as both an art and a science
[37:05] Marnie’s favourite teacher
[41:25] Marnie answers some rapid fire questions
Connect with Dr. Marnie:
Website: https://readingsimplified.com
LinkedIn: Reading Simplified https://www.linkedin.com/company/reading-simplified/
Instagram: @readingsimplified https://www.instagram.com/readingsimplified/
Facebook: @ReadingSimplified https://www.facebook.com/ReadingSimplified
Twitter: @ReadSimplified https://twitter.com/ReadSimplified
Connect with Tiana:
Website: https://tianafech.com
LinkedIn: Tiana Fech
Instagram: @tianafech
Facebook: @tianafech
Book: Online Course Creation 101: A step-by-step guide to creating your first online course
HOW PARENTS AND EDUCATORS CAN HELP STUDENTS WHO ARE LEARNING TO READ
The main factors contributing to students' struggles with learning to read in the English-speaking world stem from flawed instructional choices made by adults over the past four decades. Research has increasingly shown how the brain learns to read and the importance of phonemic awareness – the ability to recognize individual sounds in spoken language. Effective reading instruction should connect these sounds to written symbols (letters), such as associating "c" with the word "cat." It's a gradual process of building neural processes on top of existing language knowledge.
Understanding that letters represent sounds allows beginners to decode words like "show" by recognizing that "sh" represents the "sh" sound, and "o" represents the "ow" sound. Once this connection is established, reading becomes more fluent, and students rapidly recognize and comprehend words, leading to a lifelong reading ability. However, many English-speaking countries' educational systems have failed to align with this scientifically validated approach, leading to debates on how children should be taught to read. The "science of reading" movement, catalyzed by figures like Emily Hanford, aims to bridge the gap between scientific research and reading instruction, emphasizing the importance of sound-based decoding in early reading development.
INNOVATIVE AND PRACTICAL WAYS TO MAKE READING MORE FUN AND ENGAGING
“Reading is an essential and expansive part of our lives.”
One effective approach to making reading instruction engaging and successful for students is to focus on their rapid success in reading. This involves changing activities frequently during the more laborious stages of reading instruction to prevent boredom and maintain engagement. One practical and engaging activity mentioned is "Switch It,