I help teachers get struggling readers to grade level in weeks, not years. Founder, Reading Simplified · Lead developer, IES-funded TRI · https://xitter.cf/t.co/Dj9T7Qyufd
Colorado Springs, CO
Joined June 2013
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Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
My kids now have to solve age appropriate math problems before each episode of Bluey, thanks to the miracle of AI reverse engineering and upgrading my TV 🔥🔥🔥
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
Prepare yourselves! The upcoming season of Sold a Story gets at deep-seated cultural fears that systemic instruction will turn kids into robots, says @ehanford:
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
Sold a Story Season 2 is coming, two weeks from today. youtube.com/watch?v=4YDq-AB_…
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
This piece is excellent: on the wrenching decision many Black parents face when it comes to their children's schooling. drmiah.substack.com/p/the-im…
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
A 12 year old boy walks into my office having already seen a psychiatrist, an allergist, a lung doctor, maybe a GI doctor. Seven different drugs by age 12. Kicked out of kindergarten for being disruptive. Diagnosed with ADHD and put on stimulant medication for years.
Nobody connected the dots. He also had asthma, headaches, stomachaches, insomnia. Each doctor treated their one piece and ignored the rest.
I did a full workup instead of writing another prescription. His gut microbiome was a mess. Leaky gut. Elevated gluten antibodies. Reacting to dairy. Fungal overgrowth. Low zinc, low magnesium, low B6, low folate, low omega 3s. Lead toxicity.
He ate only processed food. Never a vegetable in his life.
So we removed the gluten, dairy, sugar and processed food. Rebuilt his microbiome with probiotics. Treated the fungal overgrowth. Chelated the lead. Corrected the nutrient deficiencies with magnesium, zinc, fish oil.
Two months later his mother brought him back. No more symptoms. No more meds. No more behavioral issues.
And his handwriting went from illegible to perfect penmanship. Same kid, same brain, two months apart.
That handwriting change is what made me write The UltraMind Solution. A brain that chaotic and disorganized became coherent and synchronized once we fixed what was happening in his body. The writing on the page was just a reflection of what was happening in his gut.
ADHD is not a brain problem. It's a systemic problem that shows up in the brain. If your kid's brain isn't working right, don't just look north of the neck. Look at what's happening south of the border first.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
ALL school districts need to embrace the one or two really nerdy teachers that read 50 educational books a year or listen to podcasts on a daily or weekly basis. The ones with really good outcomes with their students year after year. I've heard too many stories from teachers on here that they are basically deemed the "difficult" teacher or are just sidelined in their district. Not all schools/districts do this, but far too many. This is a call to admin. It is perfectly fine if a teacher knows far more than you. Listen to them. Learn from them. Appreciate them. Put them in positions to help improve your district. Admin that do this are truly the best. It is about the kids. That is what we are all here for.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
Like others, I am very struck by the PISA results and how reading scores are down across industrialized nations. Also interesting that the UK did not decline ... would love someone to talk a bit about its approaches. edweek.org/teaching-learning…
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
“When you chase 5 rabbits, you catch none of them.” 🐇
@Doug_Lemov broke this down for us, and we can’t unhear it.
He stops practice with five coaching points. All five are correct: pass on the ground with pace, receive on your back foot, eyes up, move it side to side, push higher.
“Got it? Go.”
Working memory holds about one thing at a time. So either the player picks one at random, and now you can’t reinforce anything, because you don’t know which one he picked, or they remember none of it and quietly get good at practicing while ignoring you.
You didn’t teach five things.
You taught them to tune you out.
One rabbit. 🐇
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
I continue to see reference to "background knowledge" in discussions of comprehension, but knowledge is hardly in the background. It is at the forefront of comprehension, shaping what we understand and determining the richness of the meaning that we construct.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
Remembering the late, great Dolly, who brought joy, comfort and inspiration to so many - including the millions of children given free books through her Imagination Library. We will always ❤️ you.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
Doll was the queen of Tennessee.
Dolly Parton gave her entire life to this state.
Because of her, every child in this state receives a book each year from birth until they start kindergarten.
May the angels welcome her home to paradise.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
"The pace of linguistic phonics is a major draw for Kimberly Hart, an instructional coach in Bleckley County schools in Georgia, which uses Reading Simplified. She says it moves faster than the program the district was using before, helping kindergarteners in her district to read longer words and connected text faster than in previous years."
They surpassed 90% in DIBLES 1st yr!
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
WHEN A CHILD IS FALLING APART, REMEMBER: LESS TALK. MORE CALM.
When a child or teen is having huge emotions, intense anxiety, or is on the edge of a panic attack, our instinct is often to talk MORE.
We explain.
We reassure.
We ask questions.
We give advice.
We try to convince them everything is okay.
But in that moment, they may not need a better explanation.
They need to borrow your calm.
Remember the 4 S’s:
-SOFT
-SLOW
-SHORT
-SAFE
🗣️ SOFT — Lower your voice.
Not louder. Not firmer. Softer. Your tone can communicate safety before your words ever do.
🐢 SLOW — Slow everything down.
Your voice. Your movements. Your breathing. Your questions. Their nervous system is speeding up. Yours doesn’t have to join it.
🤫 SHORT — Use fewer words.
An overwhelmed brain may struggle to process a lecture, a bunch of questions, or complicated directions.
Try:
💙 “I’m right here.”
🫶 “You’re safe with me.”
⏳ “Take your time.”
❤️ “We don’t have to solve this right now.”
1️⃣ “One thing at a time.”
🌬️ “Breathe with me.”
🛟 SAFE — Be the safe person, not the problem solver.
Sit nearby. Give them space. Reduce noise and stimulation. Don’t demand eye contact. Don’t argue with the emotion. And please don’t keep saying, “Calm down.”
Help their BODY feel safe first.
Then talk.
Because when someone is drowning in a big emotion, they usually don’t need us standing on shore explaining how to swim.
They need us to help them get their head above water. 🛟
So next time a child, teen—or honestly, an adult—is overwhelmed, remember:
🗣️ SOFT.
🐢 SLOW.
🤫 SHORT.
🛟 SAFE.
You don’t need the perfect words.
❤️ Sometimes your calm IS the intervention.
🔖 SAVE THIS for the moment you need it.
❤️ SHARE it with a parent, teacher, coach, counselor, or anyone who works with kids.
— Dr. Bryan Pearlman
Therapist • Former Principal & Teacher
#ParentingTips #ChildMentalHealth #AnxietySupport #EmotionalRegulation #BackToSchool
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
In 2015 David Kilpatrick's analysis of reading interventions found just 4 programs had out-sized results: LiPS, Phono-Graphix, Discover Reading (a fusion of first two), & Read, Write & Type. These approaches got 12 to 25 standard score point gains, as compared to well known programs with gains of 0-6 SS points (i.e., Wilson, Read 180, LLI, Reading Recovery). He didn't note it at the time, but all "Highly Successful" programs orient instruction from the sound. 3 of the 4 methods are linguistic phonics. (See ch. 11 of his Essentials book.)
A New Phonics Debate Shows How the 'Science of Reading' Movement Is Evolving edweek.org/teaching-learning…
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
I think 3-5 for reading might be in worse shape. I think ReadSimplified/EBLI paired with Word Mapping Project is one promising solution. I'd love to see a school/district using this combination for k-5.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
.@SoRclassroom is absolutely right:
We are the solution we need when it comes to moving students beyond decodable books.
Please take this survey (we are proud collaborators!).
@SciInTheMaking @BenisonMrs @MrKWisconsin @kellygrillo @CarvajalHageman @AbbyTeachesDSM @SorforMore
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
How to end pendulum swings in literacy:
Clearly articulate the reasonable middle for teachers and education leaders in a way that incorporates all essential practices.
Create curricula as well as guidance documents that illustrate and explain how schools can walk and chew gum at the same time in early graes, and beyond: teaching phonics while also building knowledge and vocabulary; ensuring all students have foundational skills while also making sure they work with whole books from the earliest grades; designing the ELA block to include all essential practices, including writing, without short-changing the importance of foundational skills.
The method is in the models:
We have known for a long time that the shape of curriculum influences teacher practice, whether we're talking about cueing or work with whole books. Some teachers modify their curricula heavily, but importantly, some don't.
The way to ensure that pendulums continue to swing is to embrace the tribalism that has long pervaded the literacy space:
For example: "You are Science of Reading, or you're the problem."
Or, "The Science of Reading movement is so essentially good and important that we ought not critique its excesses."
Or "Critiquing the Science of Reading movement for its excesses will invite Whole Language practices back into schools." Friends, this is simply not the case. Even Balanced Literacy standard-bearers have evolved with the SoR shifts. Lucy Calkins had revised her position on phonics before Emly Hanford's podcast was finsished; go listen to Episode 6 if you have forgotten. Calkins has aligned her decodable books with the UFLI Scope and Sequence. Whole Language frankly lacks a viable camp, and it's important to note this development.
We are no longer in your mother's (or my mother's) Reading Wars. Please, all, let's evolve with the times.
Marnie Ginsberg retweeted
I can't stop thinking about this report.
In 58% of the observed K-2 classrooms, students did not get to read text longer than individual words during their foundational skills block. This is a HUGE problem. Word level accuracy does not automatically transfer to reading fluency.
Students need to spend way more time reading real stuff. Even in K, individual words are not sufficient. Sentences are not sufficient. Kids need to be reading real books!
