Reading Realities
Changing how we teach reading isn’t simple. It’s complex, ongoing, and often overwhelming—and no one should have to figure it out alone.
Reading Realities is a podcast about what it really takes to change how we teach reading. Host Rose Else-Mitchell of the Science of Reading Center at SUNY New Paltz talks honestly with educators about the instructional shifts they're making, what they've learned about how humans learn to read, and what it takes to teach it. Guests discuss what they've tried, what worked (and what didn’t), and what they are learning to do differently now — making change durable, practical, and compassionate for anyone on this journey teaching reading.
Episodes
3 episodes
Messy Work for Meaningful Change feat. Cherie Kent
What happens when educators realize the way they were taught to teach reading may not have served their students well?In this episode of Reading Realities, Cherie Kent, a literacy coach and consultant based in Auburn, Massachuse...
Nobody Looks Silly in My Class: Teaching Literacy in Middle School feat. Kyair Butts
What happens when students are expected to “read to learn” — but haven’t yet fully learned to read?Kyair Butts, a middle school literacy teacher and instructional leader in Baltimore, Maryland, joins host Rose Else-Mitchell, to ...
Teaching is a Verb: Rethinking Kindergarten Reading Instruction feat. Caitlin Lucas
In this first episode of Reading Realities, host Rose Else-Mitchell talks with Caitlin Lucas, a kindergarten teacher and literacy specialist in Pittsburgh, PA, to unpack her journey from familiar routines to research-aligned reading in...