17 episodes
Sold a Story APM Reports
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- Society & Culture
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4.9 • 5.8K Ratings
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Millions of kids can't read well. Scientists have known for decades how children learn to read but many schools are ignoring the research. They buy teacher training and books that are rooted in a disproven idea. Emily Hanford investigates four authors and a publishing company that have made millions selling this idea.
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1: The Problem
Corinne Adams watches her son's lessons during Zoom school and discovers a dismaying truth: He can't read. Little Charlie isn't the only one. Sixty-five percent of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient readers. Kids need to learn specific skills to become good readers, and in many schools, those skills are not being taught.
Read: Emily Hanford’s reading listRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org
Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. -
2: The Idea
Sixty years ago, Marie Clay developed a way to teach reading she said would help kids who were falling behind. They’d catch up and never need help again. Today, her program remains popular and her theory about how people read is at the root of a lot of reading instruction in schools. But Marie Clay was wrong.
Read: Emily Hanford’s reading listRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org
Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. -
3: The Battle
President George W. Bush made improving reading instruction a priority. He got Congress to provide money to schools that used reading programs supported by scientific research. But backers of Marie Clay’s cueing idea saw Bush’s Reading First initiative as a threat.
Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org
Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. -
4: The Superstar
Teachers sing songs about Teachers College Columbia professor Lucy Calkins. She’s one of the most influential people in American elementary education today. Her admirers call her books bibles. Why didn't she know that scientific research contradicted reading strategies she promoted?
Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org
Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. -
5: The Company
Teachers call books published by Heinemann their "bibles." The company's products are in schools all over the country. Some of the products used to teach reading are rooted in a debunked idea about how children learn to read. But they've made the company and some of its authors millions.
Map: Heinemann’s national reachRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org
Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. -
6: The Reckoning
Lucy Calkins says she has learned from the science of reading. She's revised her materials. Fountas and Pinnell have not revised theirs. Their publisher, Heinemann, is still selling some products to teach reading that contain debunked practices. Parents, teachers and lawmakers want answers.
Map: How states approach reading instructionOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guide Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org
Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.
Customer Reviews
Excellent work
As a high school English teacher I have seen the negative impacts of the balanced literacy system in the later years of education. Thank you for your reporting and continued work on this topic.
Irony
Very interesting.
My one issue with this podcast is that they spend an inordinate amount of time discussing how these women made money off their reading/writing programs. The insulation here is that the fact they made money was somehow wrong or perhaps their motives disingenuous.
The ironic part is that EVERY SINGLE EPISODE this podcast asks for money from its listeners. They say that their authentic journalism is expensive etc. I believe this is true but it’s funny to me that they harangue the women who made money of their teaching methods yet ask for money themselves for how they choose to spread information.
Bookworm and Proud of It.
Born in Detroit in 1964, I’m glad that I wasn’t taught to read with this technique. Thank God my teacher taught us to first sound out the letters, which led to sounding out the words. Sure, large words had to be sounded out a few times, but once mastered, never forgotten. Clay’s method is just ridiculous!! I love reading & was chosen to help other students in 2nd & 3rd grade with their reading. What’s wrong with our society? Admit that Clay was WRONG!! Our children are paying the price.