Summer ’25 Rewind: The missing link in reading comprehension, with Anne Lucas
Meet Our Guest(s):
Anne Lucas
As the current associate vice president for Amplify’s supplemental programs, Anne Lucas’s mission is to create digital reading programs that not only help students learn critical reading skills, but also save teachers time and extend their reach in the classroom. As a former teacher and administrator, Anne understands firsthand that classroom time is both precious and sacred, and that any digital tool that is brought into a classroom must be an effective one. She enjoys working with teachers and students of all grade levels, though she began her career as a kindergarten teacher, so it will always hold a special place in her heart.
Meet our host, Susan Lambert
Susan Lambert is Chief Academic Officer of Literacy at Amplify and host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.
As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. A former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, she’s dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.
Transcripts and additional resources:
Quotes
“Comprehension is making sense and meaning while you read, so you have the ability to discuss, analyze, and form an opinion about something after you read it.”
“Students who struggle with reading comprehension are often also weak in underlying language and literacy skills that are required of them to create a coherent network of ideas about what they read while they're reading it. [These skills] are collectively being called comprehension micro skills.”
“We often think about comprehension as a product, or something that happens after kids read, but…the ability for a student to build a model or a network of ideas or a picture in their mind happens while they're reading.”
“You know, you don't have to completely change your curriculum; you don't have to completely change the way you're teaching.”