Sold a Story

Sold a Story is a six-part series beginning with two episodes on October 20.More: soldastory.org

Corinne Adams watches her son's lessons during Zoom school and discovers a dismaying truth: He can't read. Little Charlie isn't the only one. Sixty-five percent of fourth graders in the United States are not proficient readers. Kids need to learn specific skills to become good readers, and in many schools, those skills are not being taught.Read: Emily Hanford's reading listRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org

Sixty years ago, Marie Clay developed a way to teach reading she said would help kids who were falling behind. They'd catch up and never need help again. Today, her program remains popular and her theory about how people read is at the root of a lot of reading instruction in schools. But Marie Clay was wrong. Read: Emily Hanford's reading listRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org

President George W. Bush made improving reading instruction a priority. He got Congress to provide money to schools that used reading programs supported by scientific research. But backers of Marie Clay's cueing idea saw Bush's Reading First initiative as a threat.Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org

Teachers sing songs about Teachers College Columbia professor Lucy Calkins. She's one of the most influential people in American elementary education today. Her admirers call her books bibles. Why didn't she know that scientific research contradicted reading strategies she promoted?Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org

Teachers call books published by Heinemann their "bibles." The company's products are in schools all over the country. Some of the products used to teach reading are rooted in a debunked idea about how children learn to read. But they've made the company and some of its authors millions.Map: Heinemann's national reachRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org

Lucy Calkins says she has learned from the science of reading. She's revised her materials. Fountas and Pinnell have not revised theirs. Their publisher, Heinemann, is still selling some products to teach reading that contain debunked practices. Parents, teachers and lawmakers want answers. In our final episode, we try to get some answers.Map: How states approach reading instructionOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guide Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APMMore: soldastory.org

The parents knew something wasn't right. The school said everything would be fine. But their kids weren't learning how to read. In this documentary, originally published in September 2017, we look at why kids with dyslexia have a hard time getting the help they need in school.Read more: How American schools fail kids with dyslexiaQ&A: What is dyslexia, with neuroscientist Guinevere EdenSupport this show: Donate to APM Reports

Jack Silva had a problem. He was the chief academic officer of a school district in Pennsylvania, and more than 40% of the kids in his district were not proficient readers. He didn't know much about how kids learn to read, but he knew he had to figure it out. Originally published in September 2018, this documentary helped ignite a national conversation about the science of reading. Winner of an EWA Public Service Award.Read more: Why aren't kids being taught to read?Read in Spanish: Translation by AptusSupport this show: Donate to APM Reports

Molly Woodworth had a secret: She couldn't read very well. She fought her way through text by looking at the first letter of a word and thinking of something that made sense.  Reading was slow and laborious. Then she learned that her daughter's school was actually teaching kids to read that way. In this documentary, originally published in August 2019, host Emily Hanford reveals that many kids are being taught the habits of struggling readers. Winner of a Gracie Award and finalist for an EWA Public Service Award.  Read more: How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readersSupport this show: Donate to APM Reports

There are kids like C.J. all over the country. Schools tell their parents they are reading at grade level, but the kids are not. And whether they ever get the help they need can depend a lot on their family income and their race. In this documentary, originally published in August 2020, host Emily Hanford shows that America's approach to reading instruction is having an especially devastating impact on children of color.Read more: Children of color are far less likely to get the help they needSupport this show: Donate to APM Reports

This week we have an episode of a show called Brains On. It's a science podcast for kids from our colleagues at APM. In this episode, Emily joins the Brains On hosts to talk about how people learn to read. Grab the kids in your life and listen to this special episode made for kids and curious adults.More: brainson.orgSupport our show: Donate to APM Reports

Messages poured in: voicemails, emails, tweets. We got a lot of messages from people after they heard Sold a Story. In this bonus episode, we bring you some of their voices. A 10-year-old figures out why he has struggled to read. A mom stays up late to binge the podcast. A teacher confirms what he's suspected for years — he's not really teaching kids how to read.  Read: Messages from our listenersMore: soldastory.orgDonate to support Sold a Story and other reporting from APM.

Across the country, school districts are dropping textbooks, state legislatures are going so far as to ban teaching methods, and everyone, it seems, is talking about "the science of reading." Things have been changing since Sold a Story was released. In this bonus episode, we tell you about some of the changes and what we think about them. Read: Legislators look to change reading instructionMore: soldastory.orgDonate to support Sold a Story and other reporting from APM.EXTENDED READINGBlog: Seidenberg on translating research into practiceArticle: Goldenberg, Goldberg on premortem (paywall) | Excerpt

A Spanish adaptation of Sold a Story is now available. Hosted by journalist Valeria Fernández, the podcast is condensed into one 58-minute episode, plus a conversation between Fernández and Emily Hanford for Spanish-speaking parents whose children are learning to read English in American schools. - Listen or share: Sold a Story en español - Learn more: soldastory.es

Schools around the country are changing the way they teach reading. And that is having major consequences for people who sold the flawed theory we investigated in Sold a Story. But Lucy Calkins, Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell are fighting back — and fighting to stay relevant. And so are organizations that promoted their work: The Reading Recovery Council of North America and the publisher, Heinemann.Read: Two universities stick with a discredited idea -  Transcript of this episode -  Donate to APM -  soldastory.org

Some of the teachers, students, parents and researchers we met in Sold a Story talk about the impact the podcast has had on their lives and in schools — and share some of their hopes and concerns about the “science of reading” movement. Portraits: Zoe and Lee Gaul, Christine Cronin, Reid LyonEmail us: soldastory@apmreports.orgVideo: Mark Seidenberg at YaleArticle: Seidenberg on translating the scienceArticle: Lyon's most important findingsRead: Transcript of this episodeDonate: Support APM ReportsMore: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We'll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

Nationally acclaimed journalist Emily Hanford's work is changing the ways schools around the country teach reading. In this award-winning podcast, she investigates why so many schools use an approach that cognitive scientists debunked decades ago. Apple Podcasts has recognized Sold a Story as a Series Essential. To celebrate, we're making it available without ads or other announcements for a limited time. Support: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We'll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

There's a school district in eastern Ohio where virtually all the students become good readers by the time they finish third grade. Many of the wealthiest places in the country can't even say that. And Steubenville is a Rust Belt town where the state considers almost all the students “economically disadvantaged.” How did they do it?Explore: Steubenville, by the numbers Read: Transcript of this episode From Karin Chenoweth Book: Districts that Succeed Book: How It's Being Done Podcast: ExtraOrdinary Districts Donate: Support our journalism More: soldastory.org  Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org  Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We'll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. 

There's a name for the program at the heart of Steubenville's remarkable reading results. It's called Success for All. It's been around for decades, and numerous studies have shown it's effective. But relatively few school districts use it. We trace the history of the program and why it's never really caught on. Read: Transcript of this episodeVideo: The Story Behind Sold a StoryDonate: Support our journalismMore: soldastory.orgEmail us: soldastory@apmreports.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We'll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit. 

Steubenville became a model of reading success. Then a new law in Ohio put it all at risk. In this episode, we look at the "science of reading" lists some states are making, why the program Steubenville has been using for 25 years isn't getting on many of these lists, and the surprising power of one curriculum review group.Read: Christopher Peak on EdReportsRead: Transcript of this episodeCall us: (612) 888-7323Email us: soldastory@apmreports.orgDonate: Support our journalism More: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We'll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.