SERP Institute

In this conversation with Catherine Snow, we explore why learning to read doesn’t end in third grade and what meaningful literacy instruction should look like for middle and high school students still developing as readers.

From motivation and student identity to discussion, vocabulary, and authentic reading tasks, Dr. Snow shares why adolescent literacy requires instruction designed for the complexity of adolescent learners.

Read the conversation here:

Dr. Catherine Snow on Adolescent Literacy: Why Learning to Read Doesn’t End in Third Grade Improve your classroom with our educational research and resources. SERP provides innovative and scalable solutions for our schools' most pressing problems.

What happens when students read real books, not just excerpts or isolated passages?

Our latest blog explores why whole books matter for struggling adolescent readers and how sustained reading experiences can help students build stamina, engagement, and deeper understanding. 📚

Read the post here:

Read books. Whole books. Improve your classroom with our educational research and resources. SERP provides innovative and scalable solutions for our schools' most pressing problems.

What helps young readers thrive? According to a new Education Week article featuring SERP’s K–2 literacy work, it may be the combination of strong foundational skills and rich opportunities for language, discussion, and meaning-making. 📚

The article explores how educators are thinking beyond phonics alone to support vocabulary, comprehension, and joyful engagement with text—an approach that has long been central to SERP’s work with schools and educators.

We’re excited to see this important conversation gaining national attention and grateful to the teachers and partners bringing this work to life in classrooms every day.

Read the article:

What Might Matter More Than Phonics in Early Literacy A district invested in evidence-based literacy instruction but reaped uneven results. Here's why.

From North Mankato to Sartell and now Rochester, SERP Literacy Specialist Emily Hayden has been criss-crossing Minnesota lately talking adolescent literacy and the Minnesota READ Act.

As districts across the state rethink how they support struggling readers, one thing is clear: evidence-based literacy instruction can’t stop at elementary school.

Learn more about what Minnesota is doing differently — and what it means for adolescent readers across the state: https://www.serpinstitute.org/news/why-evidence-matters-for-adolescent-readers-and-what-minnesota-is-doing-differently

Missed our recent Education Week webinar on adolescent literacy? The recording is now available.

In Unlocking Success for Struggling Adolescent Readers, educators and researchers from across the country discussed what students need beyond third grade — from fluency and comprehension to motivation, discussion, and confidence as readers.

The conversation featured insights from classroom educators, district leaders, and literacy researcher Catherine Snow on how schools can better support students who are still learning to read in middle and high school.

Watch the recording and explore practical strategies for supporting readers across grade levels: https://www.serpinstitute.org/

💙 Thank you to everyone who joined today's Education Week webinar on supporting struggling adolescent readers!

A special thank you to Catherine Snow, Jennifer Joynt, Melissa Delgado, and Janea Dax for sharing their expertise and bringing this conversation to life.

If you have questions, drop them in the comments — we'll make sure they get answered.

ByExample has been recognized as a national “Bright Spot” by the Alliance for Learning Innovation!

The feature highlights the impact of helping students learn through worked examples—an approach that builds deeper understanding as students explain their thinking and engage in discussion.

For teachers using ByExample, this reflects what you see every day in your classroom.

👉 Read more: https://www.alicoalition.org/success-story/how-stem-centered-ed-rd-can-increase-americas-global-competitiveness/

Reminder: our Education Week webinar is coming up next week!

Join Catherine Snow (Harvard Graduate School of Education) alongside educators from across the country—including Jennifer Joynt (New York City Public Schools), Melissa Delgado (Los Angeles Unified School District), and Janea Dax (Sauk Prairie School District) for a conversation on supporting struggling adolescent readers.

We’ll explore practical strategies for strengthening engagement, discussion, and comprehension for adolescent readers.

👉 Save your spot: https://webinars.on24.com/edweek/OlderStrugglingReaders

Early literacy teachers—how much time are you spending each week prepping word work station activities? 🤔

Are you:
⏱️ Scrambling the night before
📚 Piecing together activities from multiple sources
📝 Trying to differentiate for every student

Word work is essential in K–2—but the planning load can be a lot.

If you’re starting to plan for next year and want to lighten that load, take a look at our ready-to-use K–2 Word Work Station Kits:
https://www.serpinstitute.org/K2-Literacy/kits

Planning a curriculum rollout for next school year? This is worth a read. 📋

A new case study from the National Math Improvement Project makes a compelling case that the year before launch — what they call "Year 0" — is the most critical time in any curriculum rollout. Teacher buy-in, professional development, feedback loops, family engagement — the groundwork you lay before Day 1 shapes everything that follows.

The lessons here go beyond math. If you're introducing any new curriculum next year, the planning you do now matters more than you might think.

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Why ‘Year 0’ is the most critical time in a curriculum rollout Recent math deployments in New York and Philadelphia show the value of pre-implementation, research from the National Math Improvement Project says.