According to a leading cognitive scientist, we've been teaching reading wrong. The latest science reveals how we can do it right. In 2011, when an international survey reported that students in Shanghai dramatically outperformed American students in reading, math, and science, President Obama declared it a "Sputnik moment": a wake-up call about the dismal state of American education. Little has changed, however, since then: over half of our children still read at a basic level and few become highly proficient. Many American children and adults are not functionally literate, with serious consequences. Poor readers are more likely to drop out of the educational system and as adults are unable to fully participate in the workforce, adequately manage their own health care, or advance their children's education. In Language at the Speed of Sight, internationally renowned cognitive scientist Mark Seidenberg reveals the underexplored science of reading, which spans cognitive science, neurobiology, and linguistics. As Seidenberg shows, the disconnect between science and education is a major factor in America's chronic underachievement. How we teach reading places many children at risk of failure, discriminates against poorer kids, and discourages even those who could have become more successful readers. Children aren't taught basic print skills because educators cling to the disproved theory that good readers guess the words in texts, a strategy that encourages skimming instead of close reading. Interventions for children with reading disabilities are delayed because parents are mistakenly told their kids will catch up if they work harder. Learning to read is more difficult for children who speak a minority dialect in the home, but that is not reflected in classroom practices. By building on science's insights, we can improve how our children read, and take real steps toward solving the inequality that illiteracy breeds. Both an expert look at our relationship with the written word and a rousing call to action, Language at the Speed of Sight is essential for parents, educators, policy makers, and all others who want to understand why so many fail to read, and how to change that.

Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It

Reference

Seidenberg, Mark

Words, Language & Grammar

Basic Books

"An important and alarming new book." --New York Times The way we teach reading is not working, and it cannot continue. We have largely abandoned phones-based reading instruction, despite research that supports its importance for word recognition. Rather than treating Black English as a valid dialect and recognizing that speaking one dialect can impact the ability to learn to read in another, teachers simply dismiss it as "incorrect English." And while we press children to develop large vocabularies because we think being a good reader means knowing more words, studies have found that a large vocabulary is only an indication of better pattern recognition. Understanding the science of reading is more important than ever--for us, and for our children. Seidenberg helps us do so by drawing on cutting-edge research in machine learning, linguistics, and early childhood development. Language at the Speed of Sight offers an erudite and scathing examination of this most human of activities, and concrete proposals for how our society can produce better readers.

Marvin falls hard for the new girl: a feisty nine-year-old named Tokiko, who turns out to be a Karate whiz! But when Hank tells everyone that Marvin has to be protected by a girl, Marvin must defend his honor. So he enters a citywide Karate contest to prove himself. Expecting to lay the smack down on trash-talking Hank, Marvin finds himself in competition with his crush! With stakes this high, can Marvin keep his Karate cool?

Kung Fu Klutz and Karate Cool Manga Volume 2

Children's Books

Milky, DJ

Comics & Graphic Novels

Tokyopop

A keepsake from the cartoon wedding of the year features highlights from the nuptials of grown-up Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm, capturing the Bedrock's favorite young couple and all of their Stone Age wedding guests. Original. TV tie-in.

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm's Wedding Album

Fogel, Rich

Burd, David

Turner Pub

A keepsake from the cartoon wedding of the year features  highlights from the nuptials of grown-up Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm,  capturing the Bedrock's favorite young couple and all of their Stone  Age wedding guests. Original. TV tie-in.

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm's Wedding Album (Collector's Edition)

Literature & Fiction

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Seidenberg, Mark. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Seidenberg, Mark

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Seidenberg, Mark. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It

Language at the Speed of Sight: How We Read, Why So Many Can't, and What Can Be Done About It

Kung Fu Klutz and Karate Cool Manga Volume 2

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm's Wedding Album

Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm's Wedding Album (Collector's Edition)