The weekly Lunch & Lit aims to bridge the research to practice divide by bringing scientists and practitioners together to discuss their work.
The Lunch & Lit 2023-24 season, including recordings and presentations, is archived here. 2023-24 presenters include:
Lunch & Lit sessions are on Fridays, beginning at 12:45 pm ET/ 11:45 CT/ 9:45 PT. They run for 90 minutes, including a presentation (recorded and posted to this page) and discussion (for Lunch & Lit participants only). If you are interested in participating in the Lunch & Lit, send us an email (see the About Us page).
May 30, 2025
Rebecca Sutherland, Zuowei Wang & Tenaha O’Reilly
The Decoding Threshold: What Is It? What’s the Evidence for It? What Are the Instructional Implications?
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Wang, O’Reilly & Sutherland (2024). Replicating Decoding Threshold in ReadBasix® : Impact on Reading Skills Development. ETS Research Institute.
Wang, O’Reilly & Sutherland (2024). The Decoding Threshold: Measuring the Roots of Older Students’ Reading Difficulties: New Evidence. ETS Research Institute.
May 23, 2025
Daniel Willingham
Reading Comprehension: Knowledge and Rules
Session Recording
May 16, 2025
HyeJin Hwang & Panayiota Kendeou
Enhancing Inference-Making Skills in Young Readers: The Promise of Computer-Based Instruction
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
Hwang, H., Kendeou, P., & McMaster, K. L. (2025). Fostering Inference-Making Through Video-Based Technology in Young Children With Early Reading Difficulties. Journal of Special Education Technology, 40(1), 117–126.
Hwang, H., Orcutt, E., Reno, E.A., Kim, J., Harsch, R.M., McMaster, K.L., Kendeou, P. and Slater, S. (2023), Making the Most of Read-Alouds to Support Primary-Grade Students’ Inference-Making. Read Teach, 77: 167-177.
Kendeou, P., McMaster, K.L., Butterfuss, R., Kim, J., Bresina, B. and Wagner, K. (2020), The Inferential Language Comprehension (iLC) Framework: Supporting Children’s Comprehension of Visual Narratives. Top Cogn Sci, 12: 256-273.
Kendeou, P. (2024). A Cognitive Approach to Comprehension That Transforms Instruction. [Presentation at Lunch & Lit].
Zucker, T., Cabell, S.Q., & Pico, D. (2021). Going Nuts for Words: Recommendations for Teaching Young Students Academic Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 74(5), 581–594.
For vocabulary instruction:
https://www.powerthesaurus.org
May 2, 2025
Matt Burns & Kari Kurto
Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines Interrater Reliability and Use
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Burns, M. K., Abdelnaby, H. Z., Welland, J. B., Graves, K. A., & Kurto, K. (2024). Reliability of Ratings of an English Language Arts Curriculum With the Curriculum Evaluation Guidelines. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 50(1), 48-52.
https://www.apmreports.org/story/2025/03/06/edreports-reading-curriculum-reviews-science-of-reading
https://edsource.org/2025/popular-textbook-evaluation-organization-hasnt-followed-the-science/727835
April 25, 2025
DJ Bolger & Simone Gibson
MILE: A research and technical assistance center to study and support implementation of Equity-centered, Evidence-based literacy for all Marylanders
Presentation:
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
State Level Analysis of Literacy Implementation in Maryland (2024), Maryland Initiative for Literacy and Equity.
April 4, 2025
Rachel Donegan & Sally Fluhler
Intentisfying Reading Intervention Using Explicit Instruction
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Lynn S. Fuchs, Douglas Fuchs, and Amelia S. Malone (2017), The Txonomy of Intervention Intensity, Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 35–43.
March 28, 2025
Nancy Madden & Julie Wible
Early Literacy at Scale: The Success for All Model
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
Sold A Story, Episode 11: The Outlier (listening is recommended, but just in case, APM has published a transcript)
Early Literacy at Scale: The Success for All Model (2024), Nancy A. Madden, Johns Hopkins University.
March 21, 2025
Ashley Sanabria
Opportunities to Learn Literacy in Preschool-3rd Grade Classrooms
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Individualized Instruction & Assessment: Webinar with extended background information on the observation system used to document classroom learning opportunities
Individualized Instruction & Assessment: Webinar with extended background information on the observation system used to document classroom learning opportunities
A Review of Screeners to Identify Risk ofDevelopmental Language Disorder by Xue Bao, Rouzana Komesidou and Tiffany P. Hogan (2023)
March 7, 2025
Jessica Toste
Data-Based Instruction: Considerations for Effective Implementation
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Toste, J. R., & McMaster, K. L. (in press). Data in action: Implementing data-based instruction in
schools. In C. L. Lemons, M. Weiss, & S. Hirsch (Eds.), Enduring issues in special education:
Personal perspectives (2nd Edition). Routledge.
February 28, 2025
Jason Yeatman
Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR): A bridge between the lab, community, and classroom, Part 2
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
ROAR@Home (beta)
https://roar.stanford.edu/homesignup/
This is the portal where parents can sign up for research studies, have their kids take ROAR assessments, contribute to our ongoing research and receive ROAR score reports.
Browse the ROAR website.
(Optional) ROAR technical details: https://roar.stanford.edu/technical/
Tran, J. E., Yeatman, J. D., Burkhardt, A., Ma, W. A., Mitchell, J., Yablonski, M., … Richie-Halford, A. (2023, December 1). Development and validation of a rapid online sentence reading efficiency assessment. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/u3mjzf.
February 21, 2025
Chris Such
Meaningful Reading Lessons
Recommended Resources:
Such, C. (2025). Primary Reading Simplified: A Practical Guide to Classroom Teaching and Whole-School Implementation
This brief video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvtUxB5WM1k
Bailin, S., Case, R., Coombs, J., Daniels, L.B. Common misconceptions of critical thinking
February 7, 2025
Laura Steacy
Set for Variability and Word Reading: What We Know and What We’re Still Trying to Figure Out
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Steacy, L.M., Edwards, A.A., Rigobon, V.M., Gutiérrez, N., Marencin, N.C., Siegelman, N., Himelhoch, A.C., Himelhoch, C., Rueckl, J. and Compton, D.L. (2023), Set for Variability as a Critical Predictor of Word Reading: Potential Implications for Early Identification and Treatment of Dyslexia. Read Res Q, 58: 254-267. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.475
Steacy, L. M., Wade-Woolley, L., Rueckl, J. G., Pugh, K. R., Elliott, J. D., & Compton, D. L. (2019). The role of set for variability in irregular word reading: Word and child predictors in typically developing readers and students at-risk for reading disabilities. Scientific Studies of Reading, 23(6), 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2019.1620749
January 31, 2025
Language Sample Analysis: Implementation Across the Tiers
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Murphy, K., Springle, A., Sultani, M., & Mcilraith, A. (2022) ,Predicting Language Performance From Narrative Language Samples, Language And Reading Research Consortium (LARRC).
January 17, 2025
Jessica Hamman & Laura Garroway Myers
Guiding Shifts Toward a Stuctured Literacy Approach in a Northern CA School District
Session Recording
Presentation:
January 10, 2025
Jan Hasbrouck & Nancy Young
Climbing the Ladder of Reading & Writing: Meeting the Needs of All Learners
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
Read more about The Ladder of Reading & Writing infographic and download a copy here:
https://nancyyoung.ca/the-ladder-of-reading-writing/
Request a preview copy of Chapter 2: A Closer Look from the publisher here:
https://info.benchmarkeducation.com/climbing-ladder-of-reading-and-writing-request-virtual-samples
December 13 and 20, 2024
Charles Haynes, MaryKate DeSantis & Susan Lambrecht Smith
Structured Writing Instruction: Part 1 . Word & Sentence Strategies
Session Recording
Structured Writing Instruction: Part 2 . Micro-Discourse & Discourse Strategies
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
Charles W. Haynes, Susan Lambrecht Smith, and Leslie Laud (2019). Structured Literacy Approaches for Teaching Written Expression. Perspectives on Language and Literacy. International Dyslexia Association.
December 6, 2024
Sarah Powell
Literacy and Mathematics
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
SPIRAL (Specialized Intervention to Reach All Learners) Resources
Instructional Routines for Mathematics Interventions (Texas SPED Support)
Project STAIR (Supporting Teaching of Algebra: Individual Readiness) Resources
Intensive Intervention in Mathematics Training Course (National Center on Intensive Intervention at the American Institutes for Research)
Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades (IES Practice Guide, What Works Clearinghouse)
Maths Practices You Can Count On: A Guide to Five Research-Validated Practices in Mathematics by Sarah R. Powell, Sarah G. King, and Sarah A. Benz (Centre for Independent Studies)
Myths That Undermine Math Teaching by Sarah R. Powell, Elizabeth M. Hughes, and Corey Peltier (Centre for Independent Studies)
10 Key Mathematics Practices for All Elementary Schools (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk)
10 Key Mathematics Practices for All Middle and High Schools (Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk)
Elizabeth M. Hughes, Sarah R. Powell, and Elizabeth A. Stevens (2016). Supporting Clear and Concise Mathematics Language Mathematics: Instead of That, Say This. Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 7–17.
November 22 2024
Nancy Hennessy & Julia Salamone
Comprehension: The Challenges of Implementing Effective Instruction
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
The Reading Comprehension Blueprint Activity Book (Hennessy & Salamone, 2024)
November 15, 2024
Nadine Gaab
Moving from a reactive to a proactive model in education: How a neurobiological framework of reading development can inform educational practice and policy
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Gaab, N., & Duggan, N. (In press). Leveraging Brain Science for Impactful Advocacy and Policymaking: The Synergistic Partnership between Developmental Cognitive Neuroscientists and a Parent-Led Grassroots Movement to Drive Dyslexia Prevention Policy and Legislation. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
Turesky TK, Escalante E, Loh M, Gaab N. (2024). Longitudinal trajectories of brain development from infancy to school age and their relationship to literacy development. bioRxiv [Preprint].
November 8, 2024
Pati Montgomery
It’s Possible. A Leadership Plan for Implementing Quality Reading Instruction and Ensuring Literacy for All.
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
It’s Possible!: A Leadership Plan for Implementing Quality Reading Instruction and Ensuring Literacy for All (Increase reading proficiency for all students.) (Montgomery & Hanlin, 2024)
November 1, 2024
Tiffany Hogan
Advocating for Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): Where we’ve been and where we want to go
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
What’s Language Got to Do With It? Speech-Language Pathology Contributions to the
Science of Reading (Hogan, 2022)
Common but Hidden: A spotlight on Developmental Language Disorder (Hogan & Hancock, 2022)
If We Don’t Look, We Won’t See: Measuring Language Development to Inform Literacy Instruction (Adlof & Hogan, 2019)
Dldandme.org (Hogan, co-founder, 2018)
SeeHearSpeak Podcast (Hogan, hosted since 2018)
October 11, 2024
Dawn Brookhart & Daryl Michel
Instructional Leadership Through Student-Focused Coaching: Creating the Conditions for System Success
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Student-Focused Coaching: The Instructional Coach’s Guide to Supporting Student Success Through Teacher Collaboration by Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D. and Daryl Michel, Ph.D.
October 4, 2024
Dan Reynolds
Fair or Foul? Interrogating the Role Baseball Knowledge in Studies of Knowledge and Comprehension and the Implications for a Translational Science of Reading Comprehension
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Watch this 2.5 minute video digest of a recent open-access Reading Research Quarterly article by myself and Dr. Courtney Hattan about this topic
Skim this this article and this article. (They’re open access, so feel free to share widely!)
September 27, 2024
Elsa Cardenas-Hagan, Mark Anderson & Josette Claudio
NYC Reads: Implementation of Structured Literacy for Multilingual Learners
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Lentz, A., Desimone, L.M., Stornaiuolo, A., Pak, K., Flores, N., Nichols, T.P., Polikoff, M., and Porter, A. (2024). Changes That Stick. Kappan.
Stornaiuolo, A., Desimone, L.M., Polikoff, M., Lentz, A., Pak, K., Flores, N., Nichols, T.P., and Porter, A. (2023). “The Good Struggle” of Flexible Specificity: Districts Balancing Specific Guidance With Autonomy to Support Standards-Based Instruction. American Educational Research Journal.
September 20, 2024
Margie Gillis, Christine Cohen & Kristen Troester
What We’ve Learned In Nearly Twenty-five Years of Coaching
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Brady, S., Gillis, M., Smith, T., Lavalette, M., Liss-Bronstein, L., Lowe, E., … & Wilder, T. D. (2009). First grade teachers’ knowledge of phonological awareness and code concepts: Examining gains from an intensive form of professional development and corresponding teacher attitudes. Reading and writing, 22, 425-455.
10 Key Policies and Practices for Instructional Coaching (2023). The University of Texas at Austin/The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk.
September 13, 2024
Claude Goldenberg
What to do about misinformation and ill-informed influencers in discussions of reading policies and practices?
Recommended Resources:
Russo, A. (2024, July). English Learners and the Science of Reading (An Interview with Claude Goldenberg). Kappan.
Mora, J., Flores B., and Diaz, E. (2024, August). Response to English Learners and the Science of Reading. Kappan.
Goldenberg, C. (2024, August). English Learners, Literacy Reform, and the Role of Journalism. Kappan.
Goldenberg, C. (2024, May). To improve how California students read, we must get past confusion and misinformation. EdSource.
Goldenberg, C. (2023, May). Research must guide how we teach English learners to read. EdSource.
Dehaene, S. (2024, April). Response to California Association of Bilingual Educators Webinar, Debunking SoR Neuroscience Claims. Reading League.
September 6, 2024
Jane Ashby
Discussion and Q&A
A follow-up to last season’s: Let’s see what this sentence tells us. The cognitive journey from print to meaning when reading text as revealed by eye movements.
