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We are pleased to bring you a special radio presentation of the investigative podcast from American Public Media, "Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.”

Recently, award-winning education reporter Emily Hanford shared shocking statistics with Angela Davis, while being interviewed on her talk show: one in three 4th graders are poor readers, and when it comes to Black children, more than eight in ten children are at or below a basic level. Those statistics are from 2019, before the pandemic, which we now know has brought devastating learning loss for so many children across the board. 

All of this points to critical problems for children, parents and our community that we will be dealing with for years to come. And, that is where the “Sold a Story” podcast makes a vital contribution.

There is an idea about how children learn to read that is held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read.

In this three-hour radio version, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work. It's an exposé of how educators came to believe in something that isn't true and are now reckoning with the consequences — children harmed, money wasted, an education system upended.

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went so Wrong

Discussion Guide for Sold a Story

MPR News with Angela Davis: Can Minnesota schools do better at teaching kids to read?  

MPR News with Angela Davis: A conversation with Sold a Story lead producer Emily Hanford

COVID learning loss in Minnesota schools: Five things you should know

Education News

Shows

MPR News with Angela Davis

Listen to an exposé of how educators came to believe in a wrong idea of how children learn to read. MPR News with Angela Davis presents a three-hour radio version of American Public Media’s investigative podcast “Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong.”

What the Words Say: Why so many kids don’t understand what they read 

Sold a Story: How Teaching Kids to Read Went So Wrong - A special radio presentation

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