Sold a Story
Sold a Story 2: What Happened to Teaching
Sold a Story is back with a new season that goes beyond reading. Emily Hanford explores an approach to teaching that's been largely rejected by the education system — despite decades of evidence that it works. Video: Watch the trailer on YouTubeMore: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part Extra Credit email series from Emily Hanford.
1: The Problem
Lee Gaul watches his daughter’s lessons during Zoom school and discovers a dismaying truth: She can't read. Little Zoe 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 list Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: 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.
2: The Idea
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 list Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: 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.
3: The Battle
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 ideas saw Bush’s Reading First initiative as a threat. Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: 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.
4: The Superstar
Teachers sing songs about Lucy Calkins. The longtime professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College is 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 episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: 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.
5: The Company
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 reach Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: 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.
6: The Reckoning
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. Map: How states approach reading instruction Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: 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.
7: Your Words
Voicemails, emails, tweets: We got a lot of messages from people after they heard Sold a Story. In this 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 listeners Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Call us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Donate to support Sold a Story and other journalism from APM Reports. 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.
8: The Impact
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 episode, we tell you about some of the changes and what we think about them. Read: New reading laws sweep the nationRead: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports More: soldastory.org EXTENDED READING Blog: Seidenberg on translating research into practice Article: Goldenberg, Goldberg on premortem (paywall) | Excerpt 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.
9: The Aftermath
Schools around the country are changing the way they teach reading. And that is having major consequences for people who sold the flawed idea 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 ideaRead: Reading Recovery financial difficultiesRead: Science movement trouble for HeinemannRead: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM ReportsMore: 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.
10: The Details
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 Lyon Read: Transcript of this episode Video: Mark Seidenberg at Yale Article: Seidenberg on translating the science Article: Reid Lyon’s most important findings Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesDonate: Support APM Reports Email us: soldastory@apmreports.orgMore: 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.
11: The Outlier
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 Book: Districts that Succeed Book: How It's Being Done Podcast: ExtraOrdinary Districts Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 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.
12: The Evidence
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: Why don’t more schools use Success for All?Read: Transcript of this episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org 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.
13: The List
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 episode Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org Call us: (612) 888-7323More: 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.
14: The Cuts
Education research is at a turning point in the United States. The Trump administration is slashing government funding for science and dismantling the Department of Education. We look at what the cuts mean for the science of reading — and the effort to get that science into schools. Read: Trump cancels survey of high schoolers Read: Nation’s Report Card at risk Read: Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment Read: Transcript of this episode Carolyn Riehl: Medical research and education research Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: soldastory@apmreports.org Call us: (612) 888-7323More: 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.
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