Reading Fun with Dick and Jane

School starts this week and I’ve been fondly remembering Dick and Jane. My first memory of reading on my own is “Run, Spot. Run.” What a thrill to realize that the letters on the page could be turned into words and ideas! Yet, I don’t recall being “taught” to read. I don’t remember learning the sounds of the letters or the rhythm of syllables strung together. The Dick and Jane stories, it turns out were brilliant primers. By the time you’ve seen Dick, Jane and Sally, and you’ve implored Spot and Puff to run, you’ve learned the following:

  • a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y
  • Long a with a silent e
  • Short vowel sound precedes a double consonant
  • The importance of verbs…
  • …and punctuation

Our Classroom Coaching programs will start again soon, so I’ve been thinking a lot about how you teach children to read. It turns out that there are a few fundamental strategies that facilitate fluency and comprehension at all grade levels. These are the practices that will build stronger readers:

  • Pre-teach vocabulary
  • Read aloud to model fluency
  • Help students visualize the story
  • Do frequent comprehension checks
  • Help students predict what will come next

Over the next few weeks, I’ll explore each of these approaches in more detail. We’ll talk about why it’s important and how to do it. And I’ll share some of my learnings from coaching two sixth graders last year.

Pat

 

en_USEN

Announcement: Leadership Transition

Isadora Day Named Interim Executive Director Following Dr. Cathy Jones Departure

June 25, 2025 – Austin Partners in Education (APIE) has announced a leadership transition following the departure of longtime Executive Director Dr. Cathy Jones, who will begin a new role as CEO of UP Partnership, a nonprofit serving young people across Bexar County. After 13 years of dedicated service to APIE and Austin ISD, Dr. Jones leaves behind a strong legacy of community collaboration, student-centered innovation, and organizational growth.

With Cathy’s departure, the APIE Board of Directors has appointed Isadora Day as Interim Executive Director, effective July 14, 2025. Day most recently served as Director of Programs at APIE, where she has led high-impact initiatives in college readiness, mentoring, and math intervention for Austin ISD students…