what the research says

early literacy research distilled for educators

About WTRS

What the Research Says (WTRS) aims to bring relevant, usable findings from recent research papers in the field of early literacy to educators especially elementary school teachers and coaches. Over the last decade, we have seen a windfall for educators -- the findings of thousands of studies, carefully conducted by researchers. Many of the findings reinforce existing practices. But some suggest new insights. 

The format is deliberately sparse: the findings from a single paper with minimal commentary. You add the commentary.

Laurence Holt

The blog is maintained by Laurence Holt who works for an educational technology company in New York City.

Some rules:

  • Quotes that are not based on specific research findings are labeled "opinion"
  • We are unable to provide links to the original research due to copyright restrictions, though you may sometimes be able to find the full paper online using a specialist search engine such as Google Scholar
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Recent Posts

  • Comprehension may not be as simple as the 'Simple View' suggests
  • Explicit spelling instruction transfers to authentic contexts
  • Students have a 15% chance of learning new words from context alone
  • Teacher-led small-group beats peer tutoring
  • First graders use multiple, overlapping strategies to spell
  • Why automaticity (aka 'fluency') is important in learning to read (opinion)
  • On teaching inference as a comprehension strategy
  • Compare student data to state (not local) norms
  • Non-word reading fluency predicts reading difficulty for ELL students and native English speakers equally well
  • Phonemic awareness exists in Spanish ELL readers

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Categories

  • Assessment
  • Component skills
  • Comprehension
  • Differentiated instruction
  • ELL
  • Fluency
  • Implementation
  • Neuroscience
  • Opinion
  • PD
  • Phonological awareness
  • Spelling
  • Teaching methods
  • Textbooks
  • Vocabulary

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