The weekly Lunch & Lit aims to bridge the research to practice divide by bringing scientists and practitioners together to discuss their work.
The Barksdale Reading Institute’s Lunch & Lit webinar series was launched in 2020 by BRI’s CEO, Kelly Butler. Topics have included: teacher knowledge (Louisa Moats), writing (Joan Sedita), The Reading Rope (Hollis Scarborough), reading comprehension (Nancy Hennessy), language development (Margaret McKeown), decoding (Linnea Ehri), Reading First (Reid Lyon), and many more.
The Right to Read Project is now host of the Lunch & Lit and, to make the content more accessible to educators, we’ll be posting the presentations, resources and articles recommended by the presenters here.

Sept 22, 2023
Heather Peske
Getting Reading Instruction Right: Is the next generation of teachers learning to teach reading?
Link to Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Reading:
National Center on Teacher Quality.(2023) Reading Foundations National Findings Page.
Sept 15, 2023
Patricia Alexander & Courtney Hattan
Leveraging What Students Know to Make Sense of Texts:
Exploring the Power of Prior Knowledge and Knowledge Activation
Link to Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Reading:
Alexander, Schallert & Hare.(1991) Coming to Terms: How Researchers in Learning and Literacy Talk about Knowledge, Review of Educational Research.
Hattan, Alexander & Lupo (2022). Leveraging what students know to make sense of texts, Review of Educational Research.
Hattan & Lupo (2020). Rethinking Knowledge, Reading Research Quarterly.
Sept 8, 2023
Maryanne Wolf, Tim Odegard & Carolyn Brown
Exploring the Intersection Between Technology and Literacy
Link to Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Reading:
Wolf, Maryanner (2015). Skim reading is the new normal. The effect on society is profound, The Guardian.
Shanahan, Tim (2023). Is digital text a good idea for reading instruction? Shanahan on Literacy Blog.
Other Resources:
Maryanne Wolf on the Ezra Klein Show: This is your brain on ‘deep reading.’ It’s pretty magnificent.
Aug 25, 2023
Marcia Davidson
The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) in Low- and Middle-income Countries and Instructional Implications
Link to Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Reading:
Dubeck, Margaret M. & Gove, Amber, 2015. The early grade reading assessment (EGRA): Its theoretical foundation, purpose, and limitations,” International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 315-322.
Kim, Young-Suk & Lee, Hansol & Zuilkowski, Stephanie. (2020). Impact of Literacy Interventions on Reading Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Meta-Analysis. Child Development. 91. 638-660. 10.1111/cdev.13204.
Other Resources:
EGRA Barometer website
Reading in Peru on Vimeo
Aug 18, 2023
Margaret Goldberg
Bridging the Research to Practice Divide
Link to Session Recording
Presentation:
Recommended Reading:
Stanovich, P. J., & Stanovich, K. E. (2003). Using research and reason in education: How teachers can use scientifically based research to make curricular & instructional decisions. Partnership for Reading (Project), National Institute for Literacy, U.S. Dept. of Education : National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Goldberg, M. (2019, July 19). Teachers Won’t Embrace the Research Until It Embraces Them. The Right to Read Project.