Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Reading & Literacy Opinion

The Essentials of Reading: What Teachers Must Know

By Larry Ferlazzo — August 18, 2023 1 min read
opinion classroom q&a reading
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

How can teachers, to borrow an expression from polling expert Nate Silver, distinguish the “signal from the noise” in the so-called “reading wars”?

These highlights from past Classroom Q&A posts may help educators do just that.

Plus, look for another series on this topic later in the fall as more classroom educators weigh in by talking about their direct experiences.

perhapsastart

1. How Can a Teacher Navigate the So-Called ‘Reading Wars’?

In the debate over how to teach literacy, shaming those who used instructional approaches outside the “science of reading” won’t help. Read more.

2. Use Knowledge-Building Curriculum to Boost Literacy

By pursuing in-depth knowledge building about specific topics, students are able to show what they can do, not just what they can’t. Read more.

3. Many Older Students Are Struggling to Read. How Can Teachers Help?

Educators offer targeted instructional steps to support middle and high schoolers in their in their journey to understand the written word. Read more.


Here are a few older posts that are also helpful:

4. ‘Teachers Know A Lot About Scaffolding’ for Complex Texts

This post includes three joint commentaries from Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher; Tammy Mulligan and Clare Landrigan; and Aaron Brock and Jody Passanisi about how teachers can gauge students’ needs when dealing with complex texts. Read more.

5. ‘Reading Is Intensely Social': An Interview With Jeffrey Wilhelm and Michael Smith

This interview with educators Jeffrey Wilhelm and Michael Smith discusses how to develop lifelong readers. Read more.

6. Reading Digitally vs. Reading Paper

Daniel Willingham, Kristin Ziemke, Lester Laminack, and Kimberly Carraway explore that topic of reading digitally compared to reading on paper in this post. Read more.


Similar topics from Classroom Q&A:

Related Tags:

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Recalibrating PLCs for Student Growth in the New Year
Get advice from K-12 leaders on resetting your PLCs for spring by utilizing winter assessment data and aligning PLC work with MTSS cycles.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Reading & Literacy Many Teens Lack Basic Reading Skills. These Teachers Are Trying to Change That
Schools are building programs to provide sustained reading support to older students.
6 min read
Loralyn LaBombard, a reading specialist, reads “Among the Hidden” by Margaret Peterson Haddix with a group of students in a 7th grading reading class at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H., on Oct. 29, 2025.
Loralyn LaBombard, a reading specialist, reads <i>Among the Hidden</i> by Margaret Peterson Haddix with a group of students in a 7th grade reading class at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H., on Oct. 29, 2025. Nationally, experts say there is a lack of resources available to help middle and high school students learn basic reading skills.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Reading & Literacy When Older Students Can't Read: How This Middle School Is Tackling Literacy
Structured literacy classes at a New Hampshire middle school have helped some students crack the code.
14 min read
A student shows their spelling of the word “knew” during an exercise in a fifth grade structured literacy class at Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. Bow Memorial School is a middle school that has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in middle school students.
Bow Memorial School has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps among middle schoolers, integrating sound-letter skills with a rich diet of reading materials. A student shows their spelling during an exercise in a 5th grade class at the school in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Reading & Literacy 4 Tips for Supporting Older Struggling Readers, From Researchers and Experts
No matter the age, reading draws on the same underlying skills. But teens may need different supports.
5 min read
Photo illustration of a female teen hanging from the very top of a tall stack of books. The background is a sky with clouds.
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy Secondary Students Are Struggling With Reading, Too. A Look at the Landscape
Exclusive survey findings outline how educators perceive the obstacles affecting older students' reading.
5 min read
Students attend Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H. on Oct. 29, 2025. Bow Memorial School is a middle school that has developed a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in middle school students.
New data show that many educators report that middle and high school students struggle with aspects of foundational literacy. At Bow Memorial School in Bow, N.H., pictured on Oct. 29, 2025, students work with reading specialist Loralyn LaBombard, who has helped pioneer a systematic approach to addressing foundational reading gaps in grades 5 to 8.
Sophie Park for Education Week