Reading Instruction: A Shift Towards Foundational Skills

Sometimes, it feels like we’ve been arguing about this forever – how to teach kids to read. I remember conversations with Mrs. Davis, my mentor teacher back in August of ’24, when I started at room 214. She was firm on whole language, letting the kids discover words organically, a little bit like building a puzzle where you don't have all the pieces. It felt… nice. Gentle. But I also saw the kids struggling, the ones who just couldn’t quite connect the sounds with the letters dancing in their heads. You could see the frustration build up – not just on their faces, but seeping into their shoulders.

I spent a lot of those first few months trying to find that balance, trying to be flexible enough to meet kids where they were while also pushing them forward. The workshops they sent us to always felt a little… vague. Everyone had an opinion, and it was hard to know what to believe beyond the feeling you got in your gut when a kid just wasn't *getting* it. You’d try one thing, then another, always hoping something would click. And sometimes, it did! But often, you were just left staring at a blank page – and a whole class full of confused faces.

My grandmother used to tell me that making Sunday gravy was like that too – everyone had their “special” ingredient or technique, some secret thing they swore made all the difference. For years, I tried adding this or subtracting that, chasing some imaginary perfection. Turns out, she was right about a lot of things, but her emphasis on methodical steps and foundational understanding—a really good stock built first and foremost—was what ultimately led to something worth eating.

Now, there’s this quiet shift happening in the way we talk about teaching reading, too. A kind of settling down. It's not that all those other approaches are being thrown out the window entirely; it's more like we’re building a stronger base first – solid phonics instruction, making sure they have those basic skills locked in before we let them branch out and explore. I’ve been reading through some professional materials lately—the kind you get sent during the summer for "continued development"—and hearing folks across different districts really circling back to structured approaches.

This isn't about blaming anyone or saying that previous methods were failures, but rather acknowledging that a strong understanding of how language works is fundamental. Like when I realized in making gravy that simmering low and slow was more important than any fancy spice blend. It’s less about feeling guilty for what *was*, and more about excitement for what *can be*.

I’m already thinking about how this might change things in room 214 next year. More focused lessons on letter sounds, building those connections explicitly. Maybe a little less free-reading time initially, to ensure everyone has that foundational understanding before they move on. I imagine those kids will feel more confident, too; like the small victories in my own life – mastering something tricky—will begin accumulating for them.

It’s not going to be a quick fix, of course. There'll still be kids who need extra support, different approaches that resonate with some better than others. But having this shared understanding across schools and districts, it feels like we can finally move forward together with a clearer direction. It is, I think—and I say this as someone who’s always been wary of “one-size-fits-all” solutions—a kind of progress that should be celebrated.

This summer in Fishtown, with the slow simmer of my grandmother's gravy recipe finally coming together, has reminded me how important those foundational steps are – the groundwork that lets everything else flourish. It feels good to know that maybe, just maybe, we’re finally all on a similar page when it comes to helping kids unlock the magic in words.