The science and poetry in learning (and teaching) to read

Because reading is not a natural process like language, young learners must be taught to read. Knowledge about how the reading brain develops has critical implications for understanding which teaching methods to use and helps reconceptualize previous debates. In this excerpt from Reader Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, Maryanne Wolf describes how many different parts of the brain must work together when reading and why each requires attention in teaching. She delves into research into different reader profiles, each of which needs different emphases in reading instruction, and she explains the value of teaching approaches that include both explicit instruction in decoding and deep reading processes, and engagement by learner and teacher with the world of words and stories