Our journey through the history of literacy instruction in the United States has brought us to the very place we started: the current science of reading movement that has taken the education field by storm. In this concluding episode of A N...

Following the explosion of the Reading Wars in California, a push for nationwide literacy legislation swept the nation. In this episode of A Novel Idea we explore the consequences of this movement, including the influence of legislativ...

In the 1990s, debates over literacy instruction reached a tipping point in the nation’s most populous state. Learn more about the reading crisis in California and the start of the so-called “Reading Wars” in this episode of A Novel Idea

Whole language is one of the most talked about developments in literacy instruction in the past several decades. In this episode of A Novel Idea, we take a look at the history and founders of this popular teaching philosophy and examin...

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the work of several influential researchers in the early days of the science of reading. These pioneers of literacy research paved the way for the development of evidence-based instruction of today and ...

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go!” In this episode, find out how children’s picture books became a major battleground for debates about literacy instruction. Plus, hear i...

Hear ye, hear ye! In this episode, we travel all the way back to the 17th and 18th centuries to examine the Enlightenment-era roots of reading instruction as we know it. We will introduce several major players in the early days of literacy educ...

What is the science of reading? And why is everyone in the literacy community talking about it?In this episode, we explore the current state of the science of reading movement. Along with our original reporting, you’ll hear fr...

A brand new, 8-episode podcast series, brought to you by the Iowa Reading Research Center, explores the historical roots of today’s science of reading movement.Learn More