Disorderly Contexts: ELAC Conference 2024

*Our apologies for the late cancellation of this session. The speaker had to withdraw from the conference. We invite you to attend one of the many other offerings during this time block.

Everywhere we look there is talk of the Science of Reading (SoR). Proponents say that it is the magic cure for helping all children learn how to read and that we need to teach letters and sounds before comprehension. But we've been sold these "magic cures" before and the truth is that there is no one way that will support all children on their reading journey. The science that the SorR is based on is not only faulty, but incomplete. While I don't pretend to know everything or have all of the answers, I do have questions that I hope we can explore in a safe professional space because, if anything is true, it's that we all want to ensure that our students are successful readers and thinkers. The following are examples of some of the questions we will explore in this presentation  What does the research say? What research is being privileged and what research is being ignored by the SoR? What and who is behind the SoR movement? What are some effective practices that support children as they are learning to read? What definition of reading do we want to promote and why? My hope is that you come away from this session with new ways of thinking about this topic that can help you support your students at all levels.