The Science and Poetry in Learning (and Teaching) to Read

If a colleague asks for one Maryanne Wolf essay, send this one — the Phi Delta Kappan piece (2018) that compresses the reading-brain story into a coffee-break read and dissolves the phonics-versus-meaning wars along the way.

Reading requires multiple parts of the brain to work rapidly and in tandem. As a result, more than one form of instruction is required to build and connect all the processes that make up this essential skill.

— Maryanne Wolf, Phi Delta Kappan

Read it free at Kappan Online.

Related in the Nest: ‘Elbow Room’: how the reading brain informs teaching · Her 2026 webinar: Can We Do Better?