The Boring Advice I Can't Give Enough: From a Literacy Coordinator and Teacher, 20 years in the classroom

This piece poured out of me just after another round of beginning-of-year meetings with parents, teachers, and tutors who want to know what to do to support their readers and writers. I’ve realized over my 20 years of teaching, and now as a literacy coordinator, that the seemingly simple advice I give is far from common knowledge, and somehow counterintuitive to what it seems parents and teachers are actually doing. From the parent who is concerned that her first grader isn’t picking up a book to read on his own every night, to the teacher who is delivering lessons based on “the science of reading” but isn’t getting results, to the tutor who is using debunked or outdated methodology, I have 8 pieces of advice I give on repeat.

Why might it seem boring? Because it’s simple and to the point, nothing trendy, nothing a parent, teacher, or tutor can’t start doing today. For a child, though, this advice can lead to that magical moment when they’ve cracked the code and are on their way to becoming a reader and writer.

Here’s the science-based advice without the jargon, where reading skills and executive functioning skills converge. No clutter. Sharing only what you need to know to support your child or student.

1. Reading isn’t natural, so don’t treat it that way.

Unlike oral language, we are not born wired to read. The brain builds new pathways that connect the spelling to the pronunciation of words and their meaning. This requires explicit, systematic instruction in essential reading skills for the majority of children. The dosage and duration of that instruction vary by child, but the methodology is the same.

2. Provide high-impact practice that supports the brain’s word storing process.

Some teachers, tutors, and by extension, parents are unknowingly using debunked, outdated, and/or ineffective methods to teach word reading, and this is often the main culprit in a lack of progress. Here’s what you need to know.

A behind-the-scenes cognitive process that Dr. Linnea Ehri calls orthographic mapping is how words get stored in long-term memory so they can be read instantly. As cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Stanislas Dehaene puts it, "It's like every word has a different barcode in the brain.” This storing process cannot be taught directly, but it can be supported with the right instruction.

Some children store words quickly. Others need many more accurate repetitions. This has nothing to do with intelligence. It is all about the efficiency with which the brain builds the circuitry for reading to connect the sounds in words to their spellings.

The most effective way to aid this process in early reading development is to segment and blend the sounds in words while connecting those sounds to the letters that spell them. Make sure the meaning of the word is known as well. Spelling and decoding are reciprocal processes at this foundational stage, though spelling is a heavier lift and directly improves word reading skills. Dr. Brennan Chandler makes the point that when children learn to spell a word, they're building the mental dictionary that lets them read it automatically.

My advice is always to start a practice session with a simple spelling routine. Keep practice short and engaging with 3 to 8 words depending on the child’s development. Just 5 to 10 minutes a day can make a difference.

1. Say the word. (“sled”)
2. Segment the sounds in the word. (“/s/ /l/ /e/ /d/”)
3. Match the sounds to the letters that spell them, saying the sounds while writing the letters. (s l e d)
4. Check for accuracy and correct on the spot as needed.
5. Rewrite the word, saying the sounds. (“sssllleeed”)
6. Read the word in one breath. (“sled”)

This routine should be used with words that are predictably spelled (cat, happy, go, sunset, table) and words that are considered less regular (said, was, who). The brain’s storing process doesn’t treat those words any differently. You can point out, and even provide, “trickier” parts of words depending on the child’s phonics knowledge. This shouldn’t be a guessing game.

Accuracy is the most important goal, so if the child doesn’t know how to spell the word “said” after it has been introduced, continue to write it down and show them, asking the child to segment the sounds and match the sounds to letters. It might seem too easy with the word right in front of them, but it’s more difficult than you think. The child has to determine which letters spell which sounds. When they copy the word while saying the sounds that each letter or letter combination spells, it strengthens retention. After a few sessions, you might prompt, “What are the two letters that spell /e/ in said?” The point here is that we want the child to practice with the correct letters in order to store the word correctly, so just tell them what they need to know and provide as much practice as needed, gradually removing support once they are able to retrieve the information with greater success.

Make sure to always follow spelling practice with decoding practice. Read words with the sounds and patterns the child just spelled. Read sentences and short texts with those words as well. This brings it back to meaning. Here are the decoding strategies the child should apply:

Single-syllable words: Slide a finger or writing tool under the word, saying the sounds and blending them together. Then read the word in one breath.

Multisyllabic words: Identify the vowels, identify familiar prefixes and suffixes, scoop a few letters together at a time, listening to yourself and trying out different sounds as needed. Then read the word in one breath.

Sentences and text: First decode the words, then read like you speak, scooping a few words together at a time.

Before I wrap up this long but important section, I need to offer some words of caution. Beware of ineffective reading instruction with these red flags:

• A reading approach that encourages children to guess or memorize whole words instead of decoding
• Phonics-based instruction that doesn’t include enough practice
• Lists of words called “sight words” that “just have to be memorized” and “can’t be sounded out”
• Practice that encourages a child to remember the “shape” of a word
• Rule-heavy instruction that has students marking up words and reciting rules more than actually attempting to decode and read them

Keep it simple. Keep it effective.

3. The productive struggle is necessary. Embrace it and balance it out.

One of the biggest concerns I hear from parents who have a child in kindergarten or first grade, and also from parents with an older child who is struggling, is that they don’t read for pleasure. Here’s how I explain that.

Learning to read is like learning to swim. At first there is a productive struggle. The focus isn’t on swimming gracefully, it’s on building the muscles that make swimming possible. It’s technical, that’s it. This is the sweaty phase. Component parts coordinate through practice and corrective feedback. Over time swimming gets smoother, easier, and more automatic, as long as the instruction and practice are effective and efficient.

Reading, like swimming, isn’t that fun or relaxing until you can do it with some ease. Kids in between the floaties phase and skilled swimming often ask for the floaties back after practicing without them for a bit because it requires a lot of energy. A good productive struggle is the best path to proficient word reading and fluency. Making room for this productive struggle while also instilling a love of reading is a balancing act. Until your child or student is reading accurately with some fluency, continue reading quality texts to (and with) them while they build their own word reading muscles separately. And remember, it’s certainly not for nothing.

Proficient reading requires both word recognition skills and language comprehension skills. Read quality literature that builds vocabulary, complex sentence structure, background knowledge and the critical thinking skills needed to be a confident reader and writer. Engage in discussions and instill a love of reading alongside the sweaty decoding phase.

Decodable books serve as a bridge between the technical side and the an enjoyable side of reading. During the sweaty phase, the child’s reading sounds choppy, effortful, and needs on-the-spot correction. Decodable books have the patterns a child has already learned, which promotes accuracy and is more accessible while they apply newly learned phonics skills. Decodable texts also promote a letter-only decoding habit and limit guessing tendencies. This heavy lifting should mostly happen at school. At home, parents should keep any extra practice short and supported, and if it isn’t working, talk to the teacher. If the child is older and receiving support, make sure they’re practicing at grade level, supported as needed. If the child is mostly reading texts below grade level, the gap won’t close.

Once a child is ready to pick up a book for pleasure, they might still be reluctant. Try interval training:

• Set a timer for 5 minutes a day for a week
• Let the child choose a book they can read with strong accuracy for that stretch of time
• Add time gradually until they’re reading for pleasure without even realizing it

Sometimes it takes a boost, but once they feel successful, they will hopefully choose to read on their own.

4. Override the brain’s guessing machine.

Raise your hand if you know a child who has a guessing habit. Yep, parents and teachers are often frustrated by this because it seems like the child just isn’t putting in the effort. However, there’s usually a better explanation. Adults typically don’t remember what it was like learning to read. Some children need more explicit instruction and a lot more practice before they become skilled decoders. Sometimes children guess because they lack phonics knowledge to decode with confidence, especially if the book is too difficult with words and patterns they haven’t learned yet. Sometimes children guess because they are being taught to use illustrations or context to figure out a word instead of decoding. This kind of instruction is debunked. Some children will look to the parent or teacher for the answer, anything to avoid attempting to decode themselves.

But here’s the thing, guessing isn’t always about a gap in phonics knowledge or poor instruction. It’s often the brain taking mental shortcuts, a mechanism that can serve us well in certain situations, but in reading, it can be a trap that stifles progress and confidence, and derails comprehension. Decoding requires a strict focus on the letters as a first step. Depending on the effort required, the brain might make a shortcut. That’s where inhibitory control comes into play. It’s the brain’s ability to override an automatic response, to resist the shortcut and slow down to decode instead. Dr. Gregoire Borst, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience of Education, has helped me to understand the importance of embedding executive functioning skills into instructional design, and why guessing itself can be driven by heuristics, those mental shortcuts the brain can default to.

Pay attention to whether or not a child can reread a misread word with ease the second time around. If at first they “guessed,” but then were able to decode it accurately and quickly, they might just need to slow down and focus on attending to the letters rather than receive isolated phonics intervention. A phonics gap needs more instruction and practice with phonics; an attention gap needs strategies to attend to the letters and build accuracy and automaticity.

It is helpful to tell the child to be aware of this “trap” before they begin reading. Tell them to keep their eyes on the letters, tracking left to right with their finger or another tool, and monitoring for sense. Explain that they need to outsmart their brain by preventing the guess from taking over. The more they do this, the stronger reader they will become. Once more words and spelling patterns are stored in long-term memory, the guessing and avoidance tendencies subside.

The only way to get there is through the productive struggle: lots of practice, and reminding the child to go slow to go fast. Taking the time to decode accurately overrides the guessing mechanism and leads to more fluent reading.

5. Finger tracking is a game-changer. Don’t hate on it.

One of the best tools for breaking the guessing habit also happens to be one parents often tell their child not to use. Tracking text tends to be seen as a sign of struggle for many people, like using fingers to count in math. I explain, though, that this is an important habit for those who are not reading accurately, plowing through text, regardless of whether it makes sense.

In an Eyes on Reading presentation, Dr. Stanislas Dehaene suggests tracking strategies to help children read accurately. Tracking text is beneficial for a reader who is guessing, transposing letters, leaving off endings, and misreading words in general. Children can learn to slide their finger or another tracking tool underneath each word, saying each sound continuously (like singing), and then saying the word in one breath. Eyes on the letters at all times.

The same principle carries into longer texts too, and eventually the child should scoop groups of words together, reading “like they speak.” Nora Chahbazi, the founder of EBLI, calls the following routine Read, Read Back, Read Again. Repeated reading is a well-established fluency intervention in reading research, dating back to the late 1970s and still supported today, though researchers continue to study exactly how well the gains transfer to brand-new, unpracticed text. The goal is always the same, accuracy and fluency.

1. Read. The child is asked to read a text that is sufficiently challenging, where many words have to be decoded. They might read two sentences to a full paragraph depending on the difficulty. The adult tracks for the child with a pencil during the first, cold read. If the pencil stops, the child knows to go back and recode the word. If they need support, the practitioner provides it. For example, pointing to the “eigh” in neighbor and prompting, “say /ā/.”
2. Read back. Once they finish decoding a few sentences, the adult reads the section aloud, modeling the fluency.
3. Read again. The child reads the section a second time, tracking the text themselves.

Eventually, we might want to break the tracking habit, but better to have it than not for many children.

6. Encourage the child to listen to themselves as they read and be a flexible decoder.

Some children get stuck when they come to a word that doesn’t sound right as they are reading. For example, if a child comes to the word “want” and pronounces the short a sound, like in apple, that’s a fine mistake. However, it can be confusing if they have no idea that many letters and letter combinations in English can spell different sounds.

My advice? Tell children upfront about this variability in the English code, explaining that letters can spell different sounds. We want them to be flexible decoders, in the habit of trying different sounds until the word makes sense. This promotes cognitive flexibility, the executive function skill of shifting to a different response when the first one doesn't work. They must use the letters to decode, and also listen to themselves and adjust if they misread a word. You can use the child’s name or a familiar word to demonstrate this concept. If the child learned that the letter a spells /a/ like in apple, but their name is Amanda, you can show them the other sounds that the letter a spells as an introduction to the variability they might encounter.

Since our brain is a pattern-seeking machine, it quietly tracks how often letters spell certain sounds in certain positions. This is called statistical learning. For example, once a child learns to read words like again, about, and ago, that could help them read the unfamiliar word above by noticing that the “a” often sounds like the “uh” sound when it is at the beginning of a two-syllable word. Flexible decoding is what makes this possible. Each time a child successfully decodes a new word, it helps store that word in memory, a process David Share calls self-teaching. This only works if the child has a good decoding process and is comfortable trying out different sounds. Language comprehension matters here, too. A child has to notice when a word doesn’t make sense because that’s the prompt they need to recode.

For children who are working on their English proficiency, it can be helpful to front-load important concepts and words, leveraging their dominant language, and prepping them for whatever text they will be reading.

7. Delivery is just as important as content.

With the best of intentions, teachers and parents might deliver lessons and support that are not effective.

From my experience training teachers and guiding parents, I have realized that knowledge of something does not always equate to effective delivery. There’s a whole body of learning science that is often left out of the conversation. Novice learners in particular need very explicit, direct instruction without ambiguity, and a lot of practice.

Give clear, to-the-point instructions and intentionally plan for short, consistent, high-impact sessions with maximum engagement. As Anita Archer says, keep a perky pace and cut the fluff. A slow, meandering lesson with too much teacher talk is ineffective. Keep your introduction short, model the skill, practice a few times together, and then provide targeted practice in the dosage a child needs. For teachers in particular, providing effective instruction and the right amount of practice to all students in a class can be difficult to manage. Dr. Julia B. Lindsey suggests accordion grouping: small group and one-to-one instruction should expand and contract based on what the data says a child actually needs right now.

8. Make sure your child or student isn’t losing precious time.

Here’s one that continues to fire me up. There are tutors and “specialists” out there who have no accountability to results. If your child or student is working with someone to improve their reading and writing skills, check that this person is accountable to the child’s progress. That means:

1. They should administer a credible assessment that shows what the child knows and needs to learn.
2. Set clear, measurable goals.
3. Use evidence-informed instruction.
4. Monitor progress periodically to determine if the instruction is effective and adjust.

When vetting professionals, a credential on a resume isn’t the same as effectiveness. If results are not improving after a reasonable stretch of time, reevaluate. Accountability to data is a good place to start.

This accountability matters most in the earliest years. The critical window to act is kindergarten and first grade. The stats are clear. Too many times, an older student comes to my private practice with years of instruction lost and a gap that is costly to close, especially in terms of time and confidence. That gap grows both in school and with ineffective outside providers. We have to be effective and efficient when building the foundation. There is so much more to learn, and the gap only becomes harder to close as time goes by. (I wrote more about this in a previous article Unintentional Malpractice).

That’s it for now. My boring advice.

Teaching is an art and a science. As long as you lead with the science, feel free to spice it up with some art. Watch your child or student read and write with better clarity and improved confidence once the clutter is gone.

With the screening tools, along with the reading and learning science we have now, it’s time to step it up and make sure our kids aren’t missing out on precious time in the early years.

If any of this feels like more than you can or want to do on your own, that's exactly why B.Lit exists. The Crack the Code workbooks and guides turn this advice into plug-and-play instruction and practice. If you'd like to talk it through, book a free 30-minute consultation via Ask Carolyn at theblitstudio.com.