Category: Chapter 1-Conditions for Learning

Dedicate sufficient time. Our best results occurred when students received at least two sessions of reading instruction per week, for around an hour each time. We did have students who received half-hour sessions three or four times per week, and other students who received less frequent but longer sessions. In both cases, they did not…

Organize students into groups of three or four. The research and our experiences indicate that this is the best group size for teaching reading. And this makes a lot of sense. The best learning activities are based on cooperative learning principles, which means there have to be several students in a group. On the other…

Create a safe environment. Before we can talk about reading, we have to think about brains. For learning to occur, the frontal lobes of the brain have to be engaged. Learning requires the neocortex to be active, all the twisty parts on the outside of the brain where we learn, process, interpret, predict, and reason….

Ch. 1 Intro: The Environment for Learning Before you do any reading instruction, you have to create the right environment for learning. The 3 keys to creating the conditions for reading progress are Create a safe environment, Organize students into groups of 3 or 4 students, and Dedicate sufficient time. Let’s look at each of…