The Literacy View & Lucy Calkins

I was recently invited to speak on The Literacy View, where we had a laugh and discussed some of the policies that are being put in place to filter out nonsense in some of the worst reading programs, like three cueing. We also sipped to our concerns that the gurus of balanced literacy past may be planning their comeback.

This interview follows a string of media appearances around my new book, Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching. If you’re digging this content, consider sending me a message via my Contact page. I would love to work for you.

1. Just Tell Them: A conversation with Zach Groshell

Holly is doing some fine reporting on educational topics that matter to teachers. I recommend subscribing to her newsletter, The Bell Ringer.

2. Teaching shouldn’t be “Guess What’s In My Head”

Joanne Jacobs does a fabulous job distilling the central argument of the book into a short and sweet blog post. Enjoy!

3. Knowledge-rich curriculum and direct instruction depend upon each other

Daniel Buck suggests that Just Tell Them is a good companion to Hirsch’s latest book, since it does the work of describing how to teach knowledge more efficiently. I wrote a blog about this idea here.

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Book updates

Many schools are asking me about bulk orders so that they can run some book clubs. Contact John Catt from Hodder Education, which also happens to be the sponsor of my podcast, for deals.

We’re looking forward to getting stuck into this @MrZachG 🌟🌟🌟 pic.twitter.com/ee0ASJnqV3

— Simon de Senlis Primary School (@SDSPrimary) November 29, 2024

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