The weekly Lunch & Lit aims to bridge the research to practice divide by bringing scientists and practitioners. To view recordings and resources from previous seasons, visit the Lunch & Lit 2023-24 and 2024-25 archives. Past presenters include:
Lunch & Lit sessions are on Fridays, beginning at 1:00 pm ET/ 12:00 CT/ 10:00 PT. They run for 60 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).
October 3, 2025
Noel Gunther, Tami Mount & Carla Sanford
An Introduction to Reading Universe
Session Recording
Recommended Resources:
Short videos: Teaching the Digraph ’th’ – Introductory lesson with third-graders
Writing stronger sentences: Which conjunction works best? – Lesson on conjunctions
Reading: Two-page introduction to Reading Universe
Website: Reading Universe
September 19, 2025
Elfrieda (Freddy) Hiebert
When Students Don’t Read Enough: Examining Scientific Evidence on Text and Volume
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Article: Hiebert, E. H. (2025). Unpacking automaticity: Scaffolded texts and comprehension. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 68(4), 369-379.
Blog: Why Every Minute of Reading Matters:
Website: www.textproject.org (specifically free texts and/or: Teaching Toolkit on reading stamina in silent reading)
Short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEaBksn_7JY&list=PLwIychIT3IChz_e0oM8LYzucp9yJFvAbg (Take the Seven Minute Challenge)
September 12, 2025
Cherish Sarmiento & Adrea Truckenmiller
Using long words as a metric for vocabulary knowledge
Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Resources:
Sarmiento, C. M., Truckenmiller, A. J., Cho, E., & Wang, H. (2025). Academic language use in middle school informational writing. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(2), 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12724 .
