Brains On: How Do We Learn to Read — and Why is It Hard?

Summary

Sold a Story: Brains On Episode Summary Episode: "How Do We Learn to Read — and Why is It Hard?" Release Date: April 11, 2023 Hosted by APM Reports

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I. Introduction to the Episode

In this insightful episode of Brains On, hosted by Molly Bloom and Anna from Brooklyn, the discussion centers around the complexities of learning to read and the widespread challenges faced by millions of children. Drawing inspiration from Emily Hanford's investigative podcast Sold a Story, the hosts delve deep into why many children struggle with reading despite extensive scientific research on effective reading strategies.

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II. Understanding the Reading Process

Molly and Anna begin by exploring what it takes to become a proficient reader, particularly in the English language. They outline that effective reading involves two primary skills:

1. Language Comprehension (Understanding What Words Mean):

   • Anna (06:03): "There are two things you need to be able to do to be a good reader. First, you need to know what words mean."
   • This skill can be naturally developed through conversations, watching educational media, and being read to.

2. Decoding (Figuring Out Written Words):

   • Molly (06:30): "The second part of being a good reader is being able to decode or figure out written words. And this is the tricky part."
   • Decoding involves recognizing letters, matching them to their sounds, and blending these sounds to form words. This systematic approach is backed by extensive scientific research as the most effective method for teaching reading.

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III. Molly's Personal Struggle with Reading

Molly shares her personal journey with reading, highlighting the challenges she faced despite early education efforts.

• Molly (11:10): "I felt like I could read and that I was a strong reader. But as I grew up, I realized it was actually hard for me to sound out words."
• She recounts the frustration of being forced to read for extended periods, believing her difficulties stemmed from a lack of interest or intelligence rather than ineffective teaching methods.

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IV. The Whole Word Approach vs. Decoding

Emily Hanford's Sold a Story podcast uncovers a prevalent yet flawed teaching method known as the "whole word" approach.

• Whole Word Approach:

  • Emily Hanford (17:19): "The teacher would show me a picture of a cat and then point to the word and say, here's the word cat."
  • This method emphasizes memorizing entire words and guessing meanings based on context or pictures, rather than breaking words down into their constituent sounds.

• Decoding Method:

  • In contrast, the decoding method focuses on teaching children to sound out each letter and blend them to form words.
  • Anna (09:44): "Learning to read English is hard. But being taught how to decode words step by step, paired with a good knowledge of lots of words, has been proven by scientists to be the best way to learn to read."

Despite strong evidence in favor of decoding, the whole word approach has been historically popular due to its appealing notion of making reading "easier" and more enjoyable for children. However, as Emily Hanford discovered, this method often leaves children struggling when faced with more complex texts that require robust decoding skills.

• Emily Hanford (22:45): "They wanted kids to get to the good part... Read a book and understand it and really enjoy it."

This disconnect between teaching methods and scientific research has led to widespread reading difficulties among children, as illustrated by Molly's experiences and those of other students discussed in the episode.

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V. Expert Insights and Parental Support

The episode features valuable insights from educators and experts advocating for evidence-based reading instruction.

• Kareem Weaver on Seeking Help:

  • Kareem Weaver (24:16): "You're not dumb... You need to find somebody, some adult that's willing to help."
  • Emphasizing the importance of early intervention and testing for learning differences such as dyslexia to provide targeted support.

• Susie, Molly's Mother, on Teaching Evolution:

  • Susie (26:05): "Anna needed help... I really wanted to figure out a way to help her."
  • Susie discusses shifting her teaching approach from the whole word method to a more decoding-focused strategy, ensuring that her students—and her daughter—develop the necessary skills to decode and comprehend words effectively.

These perspectives underscore the necessity of adapting teaching methods to align with proven scientific strategies, ensuring that all children have the tools they need to become competent readers.

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VI. Overcoming Reading Challenges: Encouragement and Strategies

Molly and Anna conclude the episode with messages of hope and practical advice for listeners struggling with reading.

• Molly Bloom (31:06): "You're not alone... Stay patient and really realize that the end goal will be worth it."
• Susie (31:10): "The most important thing that Anna did... asked for help."

Key takeaways include:

• Persistence and Patience: Learning to read is a gradual process that requires consistent effort and time.
• Seeking Help: It's crucial to reach out for support from educators, parents, or specialists when facing reading difficulties.
• Evidence-Based Learning: Utilizing teaching methods grounded in scientific research, such as decoding, can significantly enhance reading skills.

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VII. Conclusion

This episode of Brains On sheds light on the critical issue of reading education, revealing how outdated teaching methods have contributed to widespread literacy challenges. By highlighting personal stories, expert opinions, and scientifically-backed strategies, Molly and Anna advocate for a shift towards decoding-based instruction to empower children and adults alike to overcome reading obstacles. The episode serves as both an informative guide and a source of encouragement for anyone grappling with reading difficulties, reinforcing the message that with the right approach and support, proficiency in reading is achievable.

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Note: For a deeper dive into this topic, listeners are encouraged to explore Emily Hanford's Sold a Story podcast series, which further investigates the systemic issues in reading education.

Transcript

[Emily Hanford]

Hi, this is Emily. We've got something special on the Sold a Story podcast feed. It's from our friends at BrainsOn. Brains on is a science podcast for kids from American Public Media. I listened to an episode they did a few years ago about kids with dyslexia. It was good. I recommend it. And when Solda's story came out, I got in touch with the producers of Brainzon, and I said, how about an episode for kids about how people learn to read? We heard from a bunch of kids in response to Solda's story. One woman wrote about her 10 year old nephew's response. When he listened, she said, tears rolled down his face. He realized he was a child who had been taught the poor strategies. We heard from kids who said listening to the podcast made them feel less alone. And we heard from adults who said the same thing. They didn't understand when they were little why they had such a hard time learning to read. They were ashamed, kept it a secret. But it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not uncommon to have a hard time with reading. And as I said in Solda's story, there are very, very smart people who struggle to learn how to read. So grab the kids in your life and the people who were once kids and maybe struggling to learn how to read and listen to today's episode of Brains On.

[Molly Bloom]

You're listening to Brains on. Where we're serious about being curious. Brains on is supported in part by.

[Anna]

A grant from the National Science Foundation.

[Letter K]

So then I said, kitty, that kangaroo kept that kebab all to herself. Not very kind. And it was quite a kerfuffle. Hasn't that kangaroo heard of karma?

[Letter C]

Oh, letter K. Don't look now, but letter C is headed this way.

[Anna]

And you're both wearing the same outfit again.

[Letter K]

Omg, this is so embarrassing. Every single Alphabet party sh.

[Letter C]

Here they come.

[Letter K]

Oh, hi, letter C. Hi, letter N. Hello, letter K. Hello, letter C. Look, I wasn't gonna say anything, but you need to stop copying me.

[Molly Bloom]

Okay, I'm just gonna go.

[Letter K]

I'm really going to need you to stop making the K sound. It's too confusing. Excuse me? You want me letter K to stop? K is all I do. Put me next to an A K, an I, K, E, O, U, K. And what happens when you get put? Oh, I don't know. A letter E. I make a S sound. Excuse me, I couldn't hear you. I make a S sound. How about when you're next to the letter I? Fine, I make a S sound. But don't go around pretending you're all K all the time. I don't know what you're talking about. Well, how about we talk about your good friend letter N who just scampered away? When you hang out with letter N, you lose yourself entirely. That's right. When the two of you get together, all I hear is N. N. You know what I mean. I know. I know. You're right. I need to stand up for myself. I can't just let letter N swallow me up. Look at me here with my leg kicking out. Hey, letter C. We're always stronger when we're together. You know what K, I C. K spells kick.

[Anna]

Let's kick it together.

[Letter K]

I hear there are some killer cookies kept on the snack CK cart. Ooh, and cups of kettle corn.

[Anna]

You're listening to Brains on from APM Studios. I'm Molly Bloom and I'm here with my co host, Anna from Brooklyn, New York. Hi, Anna.

[Molly Bloom]

Hey, Molly.

[Anna]

And today we're answering all of our listener questions about reading. A bunch of you have written to us wondering about it, like Isabelle from mol. Why, when you're little, you can't read. My name is Colin. And my name is Katherine, and we're from Charlottesville, Virginia.

[Molly Bloom]

Our question is, why do we read? These are great questions, but before we can answer them, we have to jump back in time to when we were babies.

[Anna]

Babies are born not knowing how to do much.

[Molly Bloom]

They're so cute. Big eyes, squishy legs, adorable little gummy smiles.

[Anna]

They're also pretty helpless. Beyond eating, pooping, and sleeping, they can't do a lot.

[Molly Bloom]

But given some time, most babies will eventually figure out how to get around on their own and how to communicate with other people just by watching the adults around them. Which is pretty amazing when you think about it.

[Anna]

When it comes to reading, though, most kids will not figure that out on their own.

[Molly Bloom]

And that's because reading is a relatively new skill for humans.

[Anna]

Right? Our brains did not evolve to do this naturally. Our early human ancestors didn't read. So there's not a part of the brain that's labeled the reading part.

[Molly Bloom]

Humans are really clever, though. About 5,000 years ago, people in the Middle east came up with a system to write down the words and ideas that had been spoken for generations.

[Anna]

But even after reading started, it still took a long time in history for reading and writing to catch on. It wasn't until pretty recently that reading became a normal, regular thing for most people to do. And they still have to work to learn it. Which brings us to our first what does it take to become a good reader?

[Molly Bloom]

Let's clarify. There are lots of different languages out there, but we're talking today about what it takes to become a good reader of the English language.

[Anna]

There are two things you need to be able to do to be a good reader. First, you need to know what words mean.

[Molly Bloom]

That's called language comprehension. Comprehension is another way of saying understanding.

[Anna]

Understanding what words mean is not unique to reading. You need this to be a good listener and talker too.

[Molly Bloom]

And good language comprehension is something kids can pick up by talking to other people, watching TV shows, having books read to them, and listening to podcasts.

[Anna]

The second part of being a good reader is being able to decode or figure out written words. And this is the tricky part. So let's break it down into steps.

[Molly Bloom]

Step one Recognizing letters.

[Anna]

Lets think about the Alphabet for a second. Sometimes letters of the Alphabet are made with straight lines. Sometimes they're squiggly. And some of the letters look very similar to other letters. A lowercase B is the same as a lowercase D, except backwards. Uppercase p and uppercase R are the same, except R has a fancy little leg sticking out. It takes time to tell the difference between all these different shapes.

[Molly Bloom]

Step 2 Matching letters with sounds.

[Anna]

So once you can tell the difference between a B and a D, an.

[Molly Bloom]

Uppercase B looks like an uppercase D wearing a belt.

[Anna]

Oh, you are so right. So once you can tell them apart, you can understand that they make different sounds. B makes a B B B sound and D makes a D D, D sound. Then comes step three, Sounding out words. That means you take what you've learned about the sounds letters make and put them together. So let's take the word B a.

[Molly Bloom]

T. You've learned the letter B makes a B sound.

[Anna]

A makes an A sound and T.

[Molly Bloom]

Makes a T sound.

[Anna]

So you look at B a T and you sound it out.

[Molly Bloom]

B a T B at bat.

[Anna]

And if you see the word C a T, you can do the same thing.

[Molly Bloom]

CA@C a T cat woo hoo.

[Anna]

That's decoding. When you're learning to read this way, you'll start with simple words like these.

[Molly Bloom]

Like dog or rag or fan.

[Anna]

Right? Simple three letter words. Then you'll start to get longer words to decode. And here's where your previous knowledge of words comes in.

[Molly Bloom]

Lets say you see the word W a T E R. You might sound.

[Anna]

It out like this. W a T e R W a T er wa ter.

[Molly Bloom]

But your brain will say wa ter is Not a word. I know.

[Anna]

So you'll look at that A and say, huh? Okay, that A can make different sounds. Not always A. But could it be water? Yes, water. And the further you get in your decoding journey, you'll start to learn some of the very confusing combos that English uses. For example, what makes the F sound? F. Right. But you can also make the F sound by using the letters P and h together. P +h equals f. Or in the word laugh, which is spelled L, A, U, G, H. Where is the F sound coming from? It's from the letters G and H.

[Molly Bloom]

G plus H equals F. Unless you're.

[Anna]

Spelling the word ghost, which is G, H, O, S, T. And in this case, G +H equals G. G is right. Learning to read English is hard. But being taught how to decode words step by step, paired with a good knowled of lots of words, has been proven by scientists to be the best way to learn to read.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah, there's been lots and lots of research done over the years.

[Anna]

They've looked at learning at every level in different languages and have compared different teaching methods. And the research shows that being able to decode words is key. You can't be a good reader without being good at decoding words.

[Molly Bloom]

Scientists have also looked at what happens in your brain when you learn to read.

[Anna]

At first, your brain takes the slower route of breaking down each word into its parts. But the more you do this and the more comfortable you get, your brain starts to do it almost automatically.

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah. After a while, your brain recognizes the words so quickly that you don't need to sound them out anymore.

[Anna]

By the time you're a really good reader, you actually know tens of thousands of words instantly on sight. You don't have to figure them out. You just know them in a split second. It's pretty cool. So Anna was learning to read easy or hard for you?

[Molly Bloom]

So learning to read for me was kind of confusing because I learned to read, obviously, in, like, first grade and kindergarten, and I felt like I could read and that I was a strong reader. But as, like, I grew up, I realized that it was actually hard for me to sound out words. And that instant sight word that you were talking about, I didn't have a lot of those. And it would take me a long time to read. Cause I would have to sound out each word, Even words that I should know.

[Anna]

Yeah. What grade were you in when you figured out, like, oh, wait, maybe reading's not a thing that is easy for me to do pretty early.

[Molly Bloom]

My mom always used to make us read, like, 30 minutes a day. And that was always really hard for me. And I would always just be looking at the clock, wanting it to go away, because it was just so frustrating for me. So I didn't know necessarily that something was wrong with my reading. I just thought I didn't like to read.

[Anna]

Got it. So do you remember being taught how to read?

[Molly Bloom]

I remember a lot of it being independent. Our teachers, like, assigning us different levels and then kind of giving us books, maybe working in small groups to read these books that were placed next to pictures. I would say that I more learned picture and word memory than actually sounding outwards. We would see a picture of a cat and then C A T and be told that cat equals this picture. So then we would. They wanted our brains to automatically be able to recognize cat as cat from picture and word recognition.

[Anna]

So it was kind of like you were being taught to skip the sounding out part and kind of go right to the sight word part.

[Molly Bloom]

Yes, exactly.

[Anna]

Got it. And what grade are you in now?

[Molly Bloom]

I'm in ninth grade, so a freshman in high school.

[Anna]

And when did reading become easier for you?

[Molly Bloom]

Reading never really became easier. I never saw it something that was hard, necessarily. I just saw it kind of as something I didn't like. But as I this year especially, I've realized that I actually just have trouble reading. It's not that I don't like it. It's that it's frustrating for me because I never really learned how to read and decode properly. So now this year, it's just reading in general. My relationship with it has became so much better.

[Anna]

That is great. And you are very much not alone. It turns out that a lot of kids were not taught how to decode words, Even though that's been proven to be the best way to learn to read. We're gonna hear more about that in a. But first, we have something else for your ears to break down. Not a word, but a.

[Molly Bloom]

Mystery sound.

[Anna]

Ready for the mystery sound, Anna?

[Molly Bloom]

Yes.

[Anna]

All right, here it is. Hmm. Do you wanna hear it again?

[Molly Bloom]

Yeah.

[Anna]

What are your thoughts?

[Molly Bloom]

I think that's the sound of pages being flipped. Hmm.

[Anna]

Very good guess. We'll hear it again after the credits. See if you feel the same way or you have a new guess and we'll hear the answer, so stick around. We're working on an episode about how creatures would evolve on other planets. So we want you to do a little dreaming with us. Imagine you find life on another planet. How would that life greet you? What would it sound like in their language to say hi. Would they even have a language or would they greet you another way? Anna, if you found a living creature on another planet, how do you imagine they would say hi?

[Molly Bloom]

I imagine that they would say hi in a very different way that we say hi. I think that a lot of animals that I've seen say hi to each other more by going up to each other and touching each other. So I imagine this new creature saying hi to another creature by going up to it, maybe wagging their tail.

[Anna]

I love that. Maybe a big hug.

[Molly Bloom]

Yes, maybe.

[Anna]

Well, listeners, we want to hear how you imagine an alien creature would say hi. Record yourself and send it to [e-mail] contact while you're there, you can also send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions like this one. My question is, how do hurricanes form? You can find an answer to that question on our moment of podcast. It's a daily dose of facts and curiosity you can find wherever you listen to Brains ON Again, that's brainson.org contact and keep listening.

[Molly Bloom]

You're listening to Brains on from APM Studios. I'm Anna.

[Anna]

And I'm Molly. Okay, so we just heard about the best ways to learn to read, according to lots and lots of research.

[Molly Bloom]

I love lots and lots of research. So helpful.

[Anna]

I know. So you'd think teachers would be all about these findings, that they'd be teaching everyone to read, starting by learning the letters, then sounding things out and going from there.

[Molly Bloom]

But that's not always what's happening. To find out more, we talked with someone who knows a lot about this.

[Emily Hanford]

Hi, I'm Emily Hanford. I'm a reporter at American Public Media, and I cover education.

[Molly Bloom]

Emily made a podcast called Sold a Story.

[Anna]

It's about how lots of kids were having trouble learning to read. Emily found out that these kids were being taught in a way that it just wasn't working. It all started when she was talking to different parents who kept telling her the same story.

[Emily Hanford]

And the story goes like this. My kid entered school and I knew something wasn't quite right. And I went to the teacher, and the teacher said, don't worry about it. It'll be fine. And a lot of cases, things weren't fine.

[Anna]

Sometimes the kids seemed like they could read at first, books with simple words and lots of pictures. But as the words in the book got more complicated and the pictures went away, the kid would struggle.

[Molly Bloom]

Sometimes the kid had memorized words that they'd seen lots of times before, but they couldn't figure out new words.

[Anna]

Emily says many of these kids felt sad or angry or frustrated, and it.

[Emily Hanford]

Was having an impact on their ability to learn in other subject areas like math and science and social studies. And in a lot of cases, they were starting to really not like school. They didn't want to go to school. They were being really resistant, and it was all becoming really, really hard.

[Molly Bloom]

She wondered what was going on.

[Anna]

She couldn't figure it out until she talked to one kid in particular, and something clicked.

[Emily Hanford]

I was asking her what she remembered about being taught to read. And she said to me, the teacher would show me a picture of a cat and then point to the word and say, here's the word cat. And then if this little girl didn't know a word in a book she was trying to read, the teacher told her to guess based on the picture. And I remember her telling me that and being struck by that description.

[Anna]

Emily thought it was strange that this girl was being taught to memorize each word or to guess, but not to sound out the words. We're going to call this approach the whole word way of reading, because instead of sounding words out letter by letter, you're trying to figure out the whole.

[Molly Bloom]

Word, as opposed to the sound it out or decoding method, where you start by sounding out the letters.

[Anna]

Right. And the more Emily looked into it, the more she saw that this whole word way of teaching kids was everywhere. Classes all around the country were telling students to memorize a word and what it looks like. And if they didn't know a word, they should guess based on what would make sense.

[Emily Hanford]

The problem is you're not going to be right that much of the time. Just guessing at a few of the words on the page can really make the whole meaning of the story seem different.

[Molly Bloom]

Like, say you're reading a story and.

[Anna]

You see a sentence full of words you don't know. So you make some guesses based on the first letters you see.

[Molly Bloom]

Maybe you think the sentence says, it's dinner, and a bunch of bears are invited. They're bringing plates and cups, and one of them shared the napkins.

[Anna]

You'd think you're reading a story about some very polite grizzly bears. Oh, look, the bears are at the door. Oh, good, the table is ready. We'll be having duck confit nicoise salad and a tarto framboise for dessert. Oh, look, they brought fine china and crystal glasses. And these napkins. These napkins are. Are they linen? Absolutely exquisite. But really, the sentence didn't actually say, it's dinner and a bunch of bears are Invited. They're bringing plates and cups, and one of them shared the napkins.

[Molly Bloom]

It actually said, it's dinner, and a bunch of bears are invading. They're breaking plates and cups, and one of them shredded the napkins.

[Letter K]

Oh, no. Bears are at the door.

[Molly Bloom]

Goodness. They're eating the duck confit in the nicoise salad.

[Letter K]

Oh, no, not the tart framboise. That was for dessert.

[Anna]

Oh, and they're breaking the fine china.

[Molly Bloom]

And the crystals, and they've shredded the linen napkins.

[Anna]

Not the linen napkins.

[Molly Bloom]

Anything but the linen napkins.

[Anna]

If you were just guessing those words using the first few letters, it would be pretty easy to make this kind of mistake. After all, the words invite and invade, bringing and breaking, shared and shred. They look kind of similar at first. Emily says once she realized this, it started making sense why so many kids were having a tough time.

[Molly Bloom]

Students could guess words if they were reading a simple book, but as the.

[Anna]

Books got more complicated and had fewer pictures, the kids who had been reading okay before suddenly couldn't figure things out.

[Molly Bloom]

So why weren't teachers seeing this? Why were they still teaching this whole word way? Especially when lots and lots of research said the decoding way was better.

[Anna]

To understand that, you have to realize that for a long, long time, we had no idea how a kid learned to read. There were lots of different ideas, but we did not have strong research telling us what worked.

[Molly Bloom]

The whole word way of teaching has been around for a long time, all the way back to when public schools started, and it got really popular, and.

[Anna]

It made sense to a lot of teachers. In fact, Emily thinks the reason so many teachers loved the whole word approach was because it seemed like it helped kids skip the hard part of reading, the part where you have to slowly sound out each word.

[Emily Hanford]

They wanted kids to get to the good part. And the good part is being able to read a book and understand it and really enjoy it, really love it. And so I think with really good intentions, a lot of teachers wanted to help kids get to the good part.

[Molly Bloom]

It seemed like it helped kids start reading whole words faster.

[Anna]

So the whole word approach was really popular in schools. And then scientists started doing more of those studies we mentioned earlier, and they.

[Molly Bloom]

Found that sounding things out was actually a way better way to teach kids to read.

[Anna]

But a lot of schools and educators were already super invested in the whole word approach, and they didn't want to change what they thought was working. It wasn't until decades later, after lots and lots of research came out and books were written about this and reporters like Emily told this story that some schools started rethinking how they taught kids to read.

[Emily Hanford]

So I think things are changing. There are people in state legislatures across the country who are passing laws that are saying schools need to teach kids how to read based on all of the scientific research. They're giving money for teachers to get training for schools to buy new books and materials. I think it's an exciting moment, but.

[Molly Bloom]

A lot of kids and grownups were taught the whole word way of reading, and they might still have a hard time reading.

[Kareem Weaver]

So the first thing you have to understand is you're not dumb.

[Anna]

That's Kareem Weaver. He knows a lot about kids and reading.

[Kareem Weaver]

I know it may feel like it because everything's moving so fast around you, and you're trying and you've tried hard, and it's like you just can't get it. That's not it. You need to find somebody, some adult that's willing to help.

[Anna]

Kareem runs a nonprofit focused on helping kids learn how to read, and he used to teach fourth and fifth grade.

[Molly Bloom]

He says even if reading isn't fun for you, that's okay, but it's still an important skill to have.

[Kareem Weaver]

What you do with it is up to you, and whether you like it or not is up to you. But you'll be a better worker or business owner or student or husband or wife or neighbor or whatever. If you can read. And I want you to be able to read the job application. I want you to be able to read your paperwork. I want you to be able to read the instructions. When that sign says stop, I want you to know what it means.

[Anna]

Basically, don't give up on becoming a good reader. If you've had trouble, you might just need some different instruction.

[Molly Bloom]

Karim is also a parent, and he has some advice for parents who want to help.

[Anna]

He recommends a book called 100 Easy Lessons, which you can find a link to in our show notes. And he says it's very important to test kids early for learning differences like dyslexia. That's when a person's brain can have special challenges learning to decode words. We have a whole episode about dyslexia if you want to learn more. Once Karim's daughter got tested, she was able to get help, and now she's thriving.

[Molly Bloom]

That sounds a lot like my story, right?

[Anna]

You mentioned earlier that you had some trouble with reading, and your mom, like Karim, is a teacher, and she came along with you today. So we thought that maybe she would join us for this Next section. Hi, Susie.

[Molly Bloom]

Hi, mom.

[Letter C]

Hi, Anna. Molly, thanks so much for having me on the show today.

[Anna]

Well, thank you for being here. Suzy, what grade do you teach?

[Letter C]

I teach first grade.

[Anna]

Susie And Anna, when did it finally click? Like, what was happening with Anna? That it wasn't that she just didn't like reading, but she was, like, really struggling.

[Letter C]

So after just kind of years, in all honesty, last year, which was the year before ninth grade, she had a reading list, and she came to me, and I had noticed that she wasn't reading it. And I was frustrated because I thought she just didn't want to read and what was the problem. And then she told me that she actually was having a lot of trouble reading, and it was really hard for her to read the words and read the books. And so then I really wanted to figure out a way to help her. Cause I realized that it was a problem and that she needed help.

[Anna]

So, Anna, how was that when you went to your mom this past summer? How did that feel to you?

[Molly Bloom]

When I went to my mom and we agreed that I needed some sort of help to really thrive reading, I felt super relieved. I felt relieved because I thought, like, something was wrong with me and that I just didn't like reading and I just wasn't that smart. I really realized how I struggled reading in front of the class. And that was always something I never wanted to do. I was always so embarrassed because sometimes kids would laugh when I would mispronounce words. And I always have wanted to love reading, like my role models, like my mom, my dad, and my brother do. They always would be talking about books at dinner, and my older brother would always brag about how many pages he read. And I would always be like, how is that possible, to read that many pages in, like, a short amount of time? And also, how is it possible to like reading? I really realized that I did not know how to decode words at all. When I went over with my mom, the sounds of each letter in the Alphabet, and I literally just did not know them. I didn't realize there was an important difference between the I sound and the E sound. So when I found out that it was actually something wrong with how I sounded out words, I was so relieved and hopeful that I still had a chance to love reading and made me understand why people love reading. It's because they have a different experience while reading than I did.

[Anna]

So, Suzy, I'm wondering, how is being a mom similar to being a teacher? And how is it different? So, like, when you saw Anna struggling With reading, how does that compare with the kids in your classroom?

[Letter C]

I think in both cases, just with my kids and my students, I definitely think of my kids also just in the classroom. I want them all to reach their full potential and to believe in themselves and not think that it's something that's wrong with them if they're happy, having trouble. But it's something that we can work together to become stronger.

[Molly Bloom]

Did my struggles with reading change anything about how you teach reading to your students?

[Letter C]

So it absolutely did. It really made me focus even more on decoding strategies and making sure every one of my first graders would have the skills themselves to decode any word and every word that they come across.

[Anna]

And Susie, were you taught the whole word method of teaching reading?

[Letter C]

So when I went to teaching school, when I went to grad school, I was much more taught the whole word or whole language way of teaching reading where there wasn't as much emphasis on decoding or sounding the words out. And I really flipped my teaching to really focus so much more on those decoding and the sounding out words.

[Anna]

Are you seeing that flip happening with other schools and teachers? I am.

[Letter C]

I mean, I talk to teachers all the time at different schools and about this and sold a story, I think, really articulated what teachers are seeing, how different teachers have learned. And so it's really helped me just even learn. I think as a teacher, you're always learning more. And so for me, it's been pretty amazing and great to really learn all these. This information, all this research and then transition that and put it into my teaching.

[Anna]

That's amazing. I think it's really good for kids to know too, that your teachers are learning all the time and they're figuring out the best way to teach. And there it's. You never stop learning, even when you're a grownup.

[Letter C]

Exactly.

[Anna]

And Anna, I would love to know what you want to say to kids listening to this, because I'm sure that we have a lot of listeners who've had struggles with reading and it might make them feel bad. Like you said you felt like maybe you just weren't smart, which is clearly not true. So what do you want to tell our listeners listening today?

[Molly Bloom]

I want every listener to know that even though we hear from parents and teachers and friends that reading is this great fun thing, that it can also be really frustrating and that you're not alone or you're not being lazy or you're not bored or unsmart if you really just don't wanna read. It's just because it's frustrating when you're first learning, and even if you're older, you're still like, learning. And it's not your fault. And it's a process, the tutoring process that I'm in right now for reading and how it can be really frustrating and how it's can seem tedious and just like improving is hard and it's not this easy switch that will occur. You really have to work and you have to engrave this in your brain. And I think it's really important. And I'm still learning how to do this. But stay patient and really realize that the end goal will be worth it.

[Letter C]

And also, just the most important thing that Anna did, I think she asked for help. And I think that that's something that whether you're in first grade, whether you're a ninth grader, whether you're a grownup, if you're trouble and you're not sure why and you don't know why these things aren't coming together that it's so important just to ask for help, you can ask your grownup, you can ask a teacher. But I think that that's the way that we were able to help Anna is because she spoke up and she could say, I need help.

[Molly Bloom]

I'm so glad that my mom was so helpful and supportive, and she really reassured me that it wasn't my fault. And I'm so thankful that my mom was so helpful and supportive in the process.

[Letter C]

And I'm just so proud of Anna for coming and saying that she needed help, but then also being willing to put in the work that she needs to put in to go through all this, to really connect those sounds with the letters. And she has really been committed, and so I'm very proud of her for doing that. And I'm just. I'm so excited and happy for her that. That we're figuring this out.

[Anna]

Human brains are usually pretty good at learning to move and communicate without much help.

[Molly Bloom]

But reading is different because it's such a new skill for our species.

[Anna]

Research says the best way to learn to read is to start by learning.

[Molly Bloom]

The letters and the sounds that go with them.

[Anna]

And then sound out words letter by letter until you get so good your brain can recognize words super fast.

[Molly Bloom]

Not everyone was taught to read this way, though.

[Anna]

If you want to get better at reading, there are lots of ways to do it. Just ask for help. That's it for this episode of Brains On.

[Molly Bloom]

This episode was produced by Molly Bloom, Rosie Dupont, Anna Goldfield, Aron Woldeslassie. Anna Weggle, Nico Gonzalez Whistler, Molly Quinlan, Ruby Guthrie and Mark Sanchez.

[Anna]

Many super duper special thanks to Emily Hanford for her reporting and helping us with this episode. We highly recommend listening to her whole series Sold a story. You can find it wherever you listen to brains on [e-mail] Our editors are Sandon Totten and Shayla Farzon. This episode was sound designed by Rachel Breeze and we had engineering help from Gary O'Keefe and Derek Ramirez. Beth Perlman is our executive producer. The executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavati, Alex Shaffert and Joanne Griffith. Special thanks to Susie Brandmeier.

[Molly Bloom]

Brainson is a nonprofit public radio program.

[Anna]

There are lots of ways to support the show. Head to brainson.org while you're there.

[Molly Bloom]

You can send in questions and fan art.

[Anna]

We love getting fan art from you.

[Molly Bloom]

You can also subscribe to our SmartyPass.

[Anna]

When you do, you'll get ad free episodes and super special bonus stuff. SmartyPass.org okay Anna, are you ready to hear the mystery sound again?

[Molly Bloom]

Yes. I'm really excited to see what it is.

[Anna]

Me too. Any new thoughts?

[Molly Bloom]

I don't know. I'm still sticking with my page flip theory.

[Anna]

Very good theory. I have no idea what it is either. And that's what I thought too. So let's see if our brains got it. Here is the answer. Hi, I'm Samuel. And I'm Marianne. And that was the sound of us flipping the pages of a book. Hey. Yay, Anna. So good. Excellent ears. Nice work. Now it's time for the Brains honor roll. These are the kids who keep the show going with their questions, ideas, mystery sounds, drawings and high fives. Esme and Cleo from Philadelphia. June and Carrie from Raleigh, North Carolina Eli from Spokane, Washington Manny from Fargo Harrison from Santa Monica, California Noah from Vancouver Miles from Tennessee Maya from Minneapolis Martha from Forest Lake, Minnesota Simon from Los Angeles. Wesley and Annalise from Rockford, Illinois Jason from Cupertino, California Viola from Seattle Parker from Dover, Ohio Christopher from Ashburn, Virginia Colby, Asher, Ren and Milo from Belvedere, Illinois. Sam from Exeter, Rhode Island Poppy from Toronto Nate and Samantha from Stamford, Connecticut Kazuki from San Jose, California Haywood from Richmond, British Columbia Navi from Olympia, Washington Julian from Wakefield, Quebec Cassie from Washington, D.C. aditya from Big Rapids, Michigan Eli and Arthur from New York City Maddie from Brooklyn, New York Autumn from Floyd, Virginia Jimmy from Sammamish, Washington Grace and Seth from Portland, Oregon Xavier, Hugo and Tao from Johannesburg, South Africa DJ from Garner, New York Jonathan from North Andover, Massachusetts Crudy from Miami Clark from Pittsburgh Amelie from Keeley, England Ryan from Sterling, Massachusetts Leo from Pittsford, New York Aurora from Sydney, Australia Amira and Corbin from Memphis, Tennessee Reese, Afton and Drake from Harrisburg, South Dakota Noe and Ollie from Spokane, Washington Logan and Myla from West Midlands, England Leo from Manchester, UK Jaden from Simi Valley, California Evelyn and Midge from Bangor, Maine Elliot from Mount Airy, North Carolina, Carolina Tebow from Hillsborough, California Lucas from Flowery Branch, Georgia Jack from Benicia, California Hazel from San Carlos, California Rishe from Frisco, Texas Elliot from San Francisco Corbin from Gresham, Oregon Charlie, Daniel and Liam from St. Louis Dulce from Hobart, Australia Matthew from San Diego Phoebe and Owen From Santa Barbara, California Aria from St. Louis Axel from Perth, Australia Noah and Sammy from Decker, Indiana Sophia from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Brendan, Donovan, Kevin, Catalina, Lucia, Elena and Isabella from Kailua, Hawaii Ellie and Henry from Shoreview, Minnesota Dexter and Phoenix from Yorba Linda, California and Ada from St. Paul, Minnesota. We'll be back next week with more answers to your questions.

[Molly Bloom]

Thanks for listening.