We champion the role of content knowledge in the sciences of reading and learning.
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📣 The trailer for Season 2 of the #HistoryMatters Podcast is here!
Discover how history instruction builds literacy, content knowledge, and civic understanding with hosts @kyairb, @bdavidsonKMC, and @OERProjectEbony.
🎧 Listen to the trailer: knowledgematters.org/post/tr…
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Knowledge Matters retweeted
Come for the Sandlot meme, stay for the argument about why “differentiation” so often misses the mark.
Same bar. Better support. More chances to get there.
New from Quill and the Classroom: The Differentiation Trap
kristenmcquillan.substack.co…
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According to Hiebert, “It is the meanings that link words in our mental dictionaries, but we need to give those categories to kids to illustrate how they are related.” Read more about how I changed my practice to reflect that at the link below.
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Knowledge is essential!
Ellis Island's big story — opening, fire, peak, closing, rebirth — in short audio tales kids feel. Listen together and ask one question about starting over. Read: mystorypie[.]com/blog/en/ellis-island-for-families #Ellis #Island #FamilyStories
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“Phonics is necessary but insufficient.”
England’s results reinforce a critical truth: reading comprehension depends on knowledge. History, science, literature, geography, art, and music build the knowledge and vocabulary that make comprehension possible. nationalreview.com/2026/09/w…
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Differentiation is a hot topic. But knowledge-building means keeping content rich while adjusting the support students need to access it. As knowledge, skill & confidence grow, scaffolds come down.
From @mcglynn3:
kristenmcquillan.substack.co…
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🍂 Fall is officially here! Find a cozy spot, grab something warm, and catch up on Season 2 of the #HistoryMatters Podcast. Six episodes exploring how history builds knowledge and strengthens literacy.
🎧 Listen now: knowledgematters.org/history…
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We 👀 background knowledge explicitly included in the federal definition of the science of reading.
YES. 👏
Knowledge belongs in the science of reading conversation. Let’s make sure it stays there.
edweek.org/teaching-learning…
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"To ask or expect [novices] to mimic the intellectual habits of experts is the [a] cargo-cult mistake ... confusing the visible behaviors of expertise with the accumulated knowledge that makes those behaviors productive."
Outstanding @rpondiscio discussion of the relationship between knowledge and reading.
aei.org/research-products/re…
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Great example of tier 2 words playing a key role in science content.
Took this picture at the U.S. Botanic Garden. Another example why we need to teach students academic vocabulary as early as possible. How does a student make sense of this without understanding the words evolve, complement, transfer, and efficient?
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For decades we've taught children what good readers do and encouraged them to imitate those behaviors. But reading comprehension isn't about what good readers do. It's what they know.
thenext30years.substack.com/…
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"We have spent decades teaching children what good readers do. Teachers must also understand and impart what good readers know. It is the work of a school—and ultimately of a school system."
My latest on "What Good Readers Know."
thenext30years.substack.com/…
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Sometimes the comprehension problem isn’t:
❌ “They forgot to identify the main idea.”
Sometimes it’s:
🤷 “I have absolutely no idea what any of this is about.”
Knowledge changes what you can read.
Free module:
thebestclass.org/knowledge-b…
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Great way to build knowledge, even in young children. ❤️
Tonight, celebrate Maya Angelou's courage with a 5–10 min spoken‑word bedtime story. Parent tip: a short Angelou reading can help your child find their voice. Read more: mystorypie[.]com/blog/en/maya-angelou-for-kids #Maya #Angelou #Poetry #KidsStories
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2025 PISA analysis:
"[T]he strongest readers of complex digital material were not the students with the greatest exposure to technology, but those who had read books longer than 100 pages. Reading deeply requires students to sustain attention, construct meaning, connect ideas, and critically reflect on information, precisely the capacities they need to navigate a world overflowing with digital content and AI-generated answers."
ncee.org/thriving-in-a-compl…
Thx Kevin Grijalva for sharing this!
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“What good readers know” matters just as much as what good readers do.
@rpondiscio makes the case that reading comprehension is inseparable from background knowledge.
Knowledge builds comprehension. And knowledge compounds over time.
Read more: aei.org/research-products/re…
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"Children who come to school with less knowledge understand less of what they encounter. That makes it harder to acquire new vocabulary and information....They grow poorer and fall further behind."
New from yours truly for @AEIeducation
aei.org/research-products/re…
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Sign up for what should be an insightful panel from the Al Shanker Institute. Find out about the centrality of Time in teacher's work and the science of teaching reading.
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At our scho all of our read alouds r connected with what we are studying in science and social studies. Currently studying weather so we are reading Storm Blown by Nick Courage to my 4th graders. So much vocab that is in the book helps them more deeply understand the science.
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Many states do not mandate Content/Knowledge standards, instead they have adopted skill-based standards. Knowledge is powerful. We need all states to recognize that @KnowledgeMatrs and it must be systematically taught.
Half of state social-studies standards barely mention 9/11—yet you can’t understand modern America without understanding the day that changed it.
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Our Johnson Jaguars are true animal investigators! We are exploring with different samples to observe and classify Texas wildlife animal samples; foot prints, bones (heads), and poop! #choosealdine @drgoffney #animalclassification
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