Nearly a half century ago, a landmark study showed that teachers weren’t explicitly teaching reading comprehension. Once children learned how to read words, no one taught them how to make sense of the ...

Reading comprehension instruction doesn't line up with what the evidence shows can work—and it goes on way too long. A recent meta-analysis confirms that it’s best to teach reading comprehension ...

There’s been a lot of concern about phonics instruction in recent months, sparked by an illuminating new audio documentary. But there’s another aspect of reading—comprehension—that is equally crucial, ...

“Avoid the passive voice” is a favorite maxim of writing teachers. But for young learners, exposure to passive construction—and other more complex sentences in spoken language—may help children ...

There are a lot of things that have improved over the past 50 years, but are still far from perfect: Car safety. Solar power uptake. Scores of medical procedures. Add reading comprehension instruction ...

Teaching a child to decode words is a critical early step in reading instruction. But just because children can read words doesn’t mean they understand them. “Reading comprehension, in its simplest ...

This is the second of five posts I am publishing this week by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, all dedicated to reading and based on his new book, “Raising Kids Who Read: What Parents and ...