A Conversation with Dr. Julia Lindsey
Reading Above the Fray: Reliable, Research-Based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills by Julia B. Lindsey
Today’s episode is a fun one! Today, I have a guest, Julia Lindsey. Julia B. Lindsey, Ph.D., who is a foundational literacy expert, consultant, and proud former elementary school teacher. Her work aims to help educators implement research findings into reading instruction.
She is the author of the newly released book, Reading Above the Fray: Research-based Routines for Developing Decoding Skills. Julia is also the creator of a framework for research-tested, content-rich decodable texts used by districts, curriculum developers, and tens of thousands of teachers across the globe.
In this episode, Julia begins by discussing the The Science of Reading and what it means for teachers and also for parents. This can be tricky to understand as there are different definitions around, but Julia explains it so thoughtfully. She explains The Science of Reading as science, scientific knowledge, and research from different disciplines that explain the phenomenon of reading. This includes common knowledge and practices, disproven theories, and new, emerging studies. Another way to look at The Science of Reading is as a movement aimed at improving the teaching of reading so that it is aligned with research.
Decoding can be challenging to teach kids, so Julia shared some of the strategies from her book. She advocates for getting kids to decode as soon as they begin learning letters and their sounds. We also discussed shared reading, an effective practice for teaching reading. This is where the teacher reads a text with the students. Julia and I discuss several practices that would make shared reading more effective. The first is that the text should be around their reading level. With each shared reading lesson, focus on something to point out to the students, either specific letters, new words, frequently used words, capital letters, or whatever it is your class is learning at the time. More than anything, shared reading is effective because it is a shared experience with your students.
Please have a listen to the full episode as Julia shares practical and practices to help students learn to read. I hope you enjoy it! And, if you want to learn more, you should pick up a copy of Julia’s book, Reading Above the Fray!