There’s Research for That
There’s Research for That
by Heidi Anne Mesmer and Katie Hilden
A great resource for answering primary teachers’ questions about literacy
What it’s about
There’s Research for That is a really user-friendly text. It’s organised as a series of answers to questions that the authors have been asked by literacy teachers. For each question, the authors provide a brief background, a list of research studies that inform the question, and a helpful teacher-friendly summary of the research findings. They also include applications in the classroom, a graphic summarising the key implications for teaching, and a list of other useful resources.
Questions cover a wide range of topics, from how to teach letters to the impact of executive skills on reading comprehension. They include:
What does the research say about sound walls and teaching mouth moves?
How many times does a reader need to decode a word in order to really learn it?
Should I teach comprehension strategies one at a time?
For oral reading practice, should students read the same text repeatedly or read different texts?
As questions have been selected to cover the main areas of reading and writing development, the book acts as a gentle overview of the ‘science of reading’ research.
The best bits
As well as providing helpful guidance for what is likely to be effective in the classroom, There’s Research for That also demonstrates how research can be translated into practical recommendations.
The authors are candid about when there is insufficient research to answer a question. For example, in responding to a question about the necessity of explicit teaching of comprehension at the sentence-level, the authors conclude:
“Yes, we know that syntactic knowledge and awareness play an increasingly critical role in students’ reading comprehension. However, we know much less about how to support its development in the elementary grades.” (p. 150)
I found many of the answers raised more questions for me, so the inclusion of lists of extra references was a very helpful addition!
Who is it for?
I recommend this for primary teachers, particularly those focused on the early years. It’s also a great starting point for educators who are beginning to explore reading research.
Podcast pairing
For a bit of background on the authors and why they wrote this book, click the button to listen to Episode 217 of Reach All Readers (formerly Triple R Teaching) with Anna Geiger.