Carla Stanford remembers coming home from her first week of kindergarten and announcing to her parents that she was going to be a teacher. "And I was going to drive the bus, too," she says.
Ms. Stanford is one of those rare, gifted teachers who stands in front of a class and immediately commands attention through kindness and playfulness. Her stories, delivered with a Southern drawl and sunny disposition, build to fill the room; her explanations are carefully worded, colorful, mesmerizing.
In 2012, after 15 years of teaching elementary school, the Georgia native received the highest recognition from her community: she was named the Decatur Teacher of the Year.
But despite her talent and many successes with students of all backgrounds, Ms. Stanford had a problem: each year, a handful of students in her classroom weren’t making the progress she expected in reading.
"The award was such an honor, but the truth is that, at the same time, I was really struggling internally," she says.
These kids were smart and had great background knowledge and curiosity, but they could not consistently pull the words off the page. "I knew deep down that there had to be something missing. This was a ‘me’ problem and I knew that I still had a lot to learn," she says.
She remembers what it felt like to sit across from the parents of those struggling readers. "There were always tears and frustration — mine and the parents'," she says. "It was the heaviest."
Ms. Stanford’s tenacity and openness to change would soon lead her on a journey toward a different way of teaching reading.
Teacher Trainings Missed the Mark
Like most elementary school teachers she knew, Ms. Stanford had always taught reading the way she’d learned throughout her training, using a method known as balanced literacy.
In the mid-1990s, when she was in college, the dominant theory in literacy education was whole language, which posits that students learn to read through immersion in words and text. That theory morphed into what became called balanced literacy, which emphasizes using meaning and context to figure out unknown words. Phonics is seen as one tool among many for determining what a text says.
"We were basically taught to expose kids to books, provide them with books to read in their book box level, and do lots of read-alouds," Ms. Stanford says. "I used guided reading, which relies on pictures, background knowledge, and predictable texts. If a student continued to struggle, we’d focus on looking at the pictures — not the words — and thinking about what would make sense within the context of the story. Here and there, I would throw in a little phonics lesson ... but there was no real system."
What Is Balanced Literacy?
Balanced literacy is an approach to teaching reading that involves a mix of techniques, including teacher-led instruction, guided reading in small groups, and independent reading. Students receive some phonics instruction, but it is generally not a focus. In a balanced literacy classroom, when a child comes to a word they don’t know, a teacher may encourage the student to draw on context clues, sentence structure, or even the pictures to figure out the word — a strategy called three-cueing. Research has shown that three-cueing (opens in new window) reinforces guessing at words and other habits used by unskilled readers.
Ms. Stanford did have many readers at the end of each year, meaning her methods were working for some students. But the premise she was working under — that learning to read should come somewhat naturally if students are exposed to enough books — was in contrast to decades of cognitive research about how reading really works. Teaching phonological awareness and phonics directly and systematically, the research shows, yields better outcomes for all.
"I just did not have the full knowledge at the time — that in order to learn to read, children need explicit, step-by step instruction," Ms. Stanford says. "I feel incredibly sad about how long it took me to come to this realization."
Soon after receiving her teacher of the year award, Ms. Stanford saw the documentary The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia (opens in new window), which Robert Redford’s son James had made about his own son’s struggles with dyslexia. The movie shows that struggling readers can succeed — if they’re explicitly taught to crack the alphabetic code. "I watched it with my jaw on the ground," says Ms. Stanford. "I kept thinking, ‘Are you kidding me? I have been teaching reading wrong all this time?'"
With doubts and questions buzzing, Ms. Stanford sought more knowledge. She dug into the science on reading acquisition, learning about the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough’s Reading Rope, among other influential theories backed by years of research. She took more in-depth courses such as Orton-Gillingham training (opens in new window), a highly structured, multisensory approach that has long been used for students with dyslexia. And she began to see the importance of teaching decoding skill by skill, with frequent assessment to gauge what kids know and ongoing vocabulary building.
What Is Structured Literacy?
Structured literacy encompasses a science-based approach to reading instruction that is explicit, systematic, and cumulative. Also sometimes known as the science of reading, it’s based on decades of research showing that students need to know how the alphabetic code works and have sufficient language comprehension in order to understand what they read. The approach focuses on explicit teaching of phonological awareness, phonics, and fluency, as well as of other key components of literacy, such as vocabulary, comprehension, and writing. Teachers use direct instruction, rather than relying on discovery or exploration, and ensure students have no gaps in their knowledge of how reading works. Ongoing assessment helps teachers individualize instruction and guide kids towards skilled reading.
Using the balanced-literacy approach, Ms. Stanford would have, for example, come up with a list of words with ‘ck’ for students to memorize — tack, muck, sick — and then given a spelling quiz. "Surprise, surprise ... the next week, many of the kids had no memory of how to read or spell those ‘ck’ words," she says.
Through structured literacy, she learned to teach the ‘ck’ pattern as part of the larger, cumulative phonics system. Students first learn single letters and sounds, and eventually move on to more complex phonics patterns like ‘ck’. They learn that you spell the /k/ sound with the letters ‘ck’ when /k/ comes at the end of a word with a short vowel, like sack or kick.
Students no longer need to spend time memorizing words; rather through practice they internalize these patterns and use them to read and spell words. The words are stored in memory through a process called orthographic mapping, in which sounds, spelling, and meaning come together.
Ms. Stanford is frank with other teachers about how much work it took to transition from balanced to structured literacy. It entailed a several-year process of researching, learning the science of reading, and then applying that new big-picture knowledge into the day-to-day lessons in the classroom.
When she first started doing explicit phonics instruction, she started too slowly, drilling students on the sounds day after day and never quite making the connection to fluent reading. "It’s like I was going to the burrito bar and only putting on the sour cream,” she says.
But she eventually learned to implement a systematic approach — and began to see the payoff. Finally, she could "sit across from parents and say, 'Let me show you what is going on with your child — here’s the data,'" she says. She could point to the exact skills a student needed to work on, either in word recognition or language comprehension, rather than estimating where the gaps were and throwing strategies at the wall.
"Being able to actually show parents what is going on changed everything," she says. "No more tears, rather a solid, achievable plan."
Helping More Teachers
The more she learned and the better her teaching became, the more Ms. Stanford wanted to share her knowledge with other educators. In addition to coaching teachers and modeling in their classrooms, in 2013, Ms. Stanford cofounded a not-for-profit called Reading Is Essential for All People (opens in new window), or REAP. Based near Atlanta, REAP funds trainings for public school teachers in the foundations of research-based reading instruction, specifically multisensory, systematic, and direct phonics instruction.
When teachers understand the findings that have been supported by research again and again, they can avoid pendulum swings in trends and stay true to what actually works in teaching reading, Ms. Stanford says.
Even so, many teachers are apprehensive about learning how to teach reading in a new way, and they fear losing what brought them to the profession in the first place.
Ms. Stanford has advice for these teachers. "You can still love literature and still love having your students sit on the rug for read-alouds. That’s so important! But you also have to teach children explicitly how to decode,” she says. “You can't just read aloud and think that osmosis is the way it’s going to go. And so, it is about intentionally breaking down the reading process into bite-size pieces for kids and teaching them these steps in very engaging, exciting ways.”
In February 2024, Ms. Stanford joined Reading Universe as director of instructional design. Reading Universe is a free professional-development service aimed at helping teachers and coaches learn about research-based reading instruction. It offers lesson plans, videos, activities, assessments, and explainers. Ms. Stanford now spends her days collaborating with content experts and a multimedia team to develop a step-by-step guide for teaching reading.
“I was a teacher who didn't know all the research on teaching children how to read, and I didn’t want that experience for other teachers,” she says.
Above all, Ms. Stanford wants teachers on the precipice of a similar change to know they are not alone. “There are lots of resources and lots of other teachers also on this journey of changing — wholesale — the way they teach reading,” she says. “If I can do it, so can you.”
Teaching Closed Syllables with the Alphabet Queen
In this video, Ms. Stanford demonstrates a creative, fun way to teach students about how to recognize closed syllables, an important skill for early decoding. "The Alphabet Queen is a perfect example of how phonics does not have to be dry and boring; it can be fun and entertaining so that the knowledge is deeply understood and sticks," she says. Watch Ms. Stanford tell her students the story of The Alphabet Queen.
Hide Video Transcript Show Video Transcript
Carla Stanford: Are you ready for a story?
Students: Yes.
Narrator: Reading coach Carla Stanford is introducing these second graders to the concept of closed syllables, and she's using an engaging and interactive story called "The Alphabet Queen" to do it.
Carla Stanford: A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away, there was an Alphabet Queen and the Alphabet Queen, she was in charge of all of the letters and sounds. Just like a dog's name is dog. And the sound that it makes is ...
Students: /d/ ...
Carla Stanford: What sound does a dog make when it communicates? It says ...
Students: Woof, woof ...
Carla Stanford: Exactly. And just like a cow, the name of the animal is cow, but what sound does the cow make?
Students: Mooooo ....
Carla Stanford: Well, the Alphabet Queen said, "Oh my goodness, in my land, I want all of my letters to have names and I want them to have sounds." So she said, "This is the letter ..."
Students: 'g' ...
Carla Stanford: And the sound is ...
Students: /g/ ...
Carla Stanford: This is the letter ...
Students: 't' ...
Carla Stanford: And the sound is ...
Students: /t/ ...
Carla Stanford: Good. Clip that sound. I love it. So, the Alphabet Queen went around and she named all the consonants. Can you say consonants?
Students: Consonants.
Carla Stanford: She named all the consonants. And she said, "Here's your name, here's your sound, here's your name, here's your sound." Well, then the Alphabet Queen said, "Oh my goodness. I have some letters that are precious." Can you say precious?
Students: Precious.
Carla Stanford: "These letters are so precious, and they are called vowels." Say vowels.
Students: Vowels.
Carla Stanford: "And the vowels are so precious, I need to keep them inside of a fence to keep them safe." So she put 'a' ... What's another vowel?
Students: 'e' ...
Carla Stanford: What else?
Students: 'i' ...
Carla Stanford: Another vowel?
Students: 'o' ...
Carla Stanford: 'o' ...
Assistant Teacher: One more ...
Students: 'u' ...
Carla Stanford: 'u' ... You're right, 'y' is a vowel, but today we're only going to focus on the always vowels. Are y'all okay with that? Another day we'll talk about that other sneaky vowel. So, the Alphabet Queen said, "Oh my goodness, these are my most precious vowels. I have to keep them in here to keep them safe. But my goodness, I have to keep the gate closed so they'll be safe." So the Alphabet Queen said, "Consonants, you stand guard. I want you to come guard the gate." Let me close my gate a little bit more. "I want you to guard the gate and keep the gate closed." So everyone say "the gate is closed!"
Students: The gate is closed.
Carla Stanford: Well, when the gate is closed, friends, the vowels could not get out and they would throw their arms up in the air. Let me see your arms up in the air.
Throw their arms up in the air and they would say their short sound. So 'a' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ă/ ...
Carla Stanford: They would run up and try to get out, and they couldn't. 'e' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ĕ/ ...
Carla Stanford: 'i' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ĭ/ ...
Carla Stanford: 'o' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ŏ/ ...
Carla Stanford: And 'u' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ŭ/ ...
Carla Stanford: So, anytime that the gate is closed, the vowel always says its short sound. So let's just look at that for a minute. I want you to think about this. What is the vowel in this word? Everyone tell me.
Ms. Stanford and Students: 'e' ...
Carla Stanford: This is the vowel. When I look next door, the gate is closed. What is the gate?
Students: Closed.
Carla Stanford: And when the gate, the gate is closed, the vowel throws its arms up in the air and says ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ĕ/ ...
Carla Stanford: So, let's tap this ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /w/, /ĕ/, /b/. Web.
Carla Stanford: And this little guy right here, like the little smiley face, it's called a breve, and it's just like the same thing. Throw your arms up. That's like the symbol for the short vowel. So when the vowel is closed in, it says a short sound. Have you ever heard about the Alphabet Queen? Now you know, she's in charge of all the letters and sounds. We're going to learn some more tomorrow.
Narrator: Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. For more information, please visit ReadingUniverse.org. Special thanks to the Toledo Federation of Teachers, Riverside Elementary School, and Toledo Public Schools in Toledo, Ohio. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale, the American Federation of Teachers, The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and three anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C., The Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.
Related Content
Meet Max Venia, a second-grade teacher at Riverside Elementary School in Toledo, Ohio, who is learning how to teach reading using the structured literacy approach. Mr. Venia struggled with reading himself as a child and is determined to give his students the support he wishes he had received. With help from reading coach Carla Stanford, Mr. Venia is bringing science-backed strategies into his classroom.
Hide Video Transcript Show Video Transcript
Carla Stanford: Are you ready for a story?
Students: Yes.
Narrator: Reading coach Carla Stanford is introducing these second graders to the concept of closed syllables, and she's using an engaging and interactive story called "The Alphabet Queen" to do it.
Carla Stanford: A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away, there was an Alphabet Queen and the Alphabet Queen, she was in charge of all of the letters and sounds. Just like a dog's name is dog. And the sound that it makes is ...
Students: /d/ ...
Carla Stanford: What sound does a dog make when it communicates? It says ...
Students: Woof, woof ...
Carla Stanford: Exactly. And just like a cow, the name of the animal is cow, but what sound does the cow make?
Students: Mooooo ....
Carla Stanford: Well, the Alphabet Queen said, "Oh my goodness, in my land, I want all of my letters to have names and I want them to have sounds." So she said, "This is the letter ..."
Students: 'g' ...
Carla Stanford: And the sound is ...
Students: /g/ ...
Carla Stanford: This is the letter ...
Students: 't' ...
Carla Stanford: And the sound is ...
Students: /t/ ...
Carla Stanford: Good. Clip that sound. I love it. So, the Alphabet Queen went around and she named all the consonants. Can you say consonants?
Students: Consonants.
Carla Stanford: She named all the consonants. And she said, "Here's your name, here's your sound, here's your name, here's your sound." Well, then the Alphabet Queen said, "Oh my goodness. I have some letters that are precious." Can you say precious?
Students: Precious.
Carla Stanford: "These letters are so precious, and they are called vowels." Say vowels.
Students: Vowels.
Carla Stanford: "And the vowels are so precious, I need to keep them inside of a fence to keep them safe." So she put 'a' ... What's another vowel?
Students: 'e' ...
Carla Stanford: What else?
Students: 'i' ...
Carla Stanford: Another vowel?
Students: 'o' ...
Carla Stanford: 'o' ...
Assistant Teacher: One more ...
Students: 'u' ...
Carla Stanford: 'u' ... You're right, 'y' is a vowel, but today we're only going to focus on the always vowels. Are y'all okay with that? Another day we'll talk about that other sneaky vowel. So, the Alphabet Queen said, "Oh my goodness, these are my most precious vowels. I have to keep them in here to keep them safe. But my goodness, I have to keep the gate closed so they'll be safe." So the Alphabet Queen said, "Consonants, you stand guard. I want you to come guard the gate." Let me close my gate a little bit more. "I want you to guard the gate and keep the gate closed." So everyone say "the gate is closed!"
Students: The gate is closed.
Carla Stanford: Well, when the gate is closed, friends, the vowels could not get out and they would throw their arms up in the air. Let me see your arms up in the air.
Throw their arms up in the air and they would say their short sound. So 'a' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ă/ ...
Carla Stanford: They would run up and try to get out, and they couldn't. 'e' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ĕ/ ...
Carla Stanford: 'i' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ĭ/ ...
Carla Stanford: 'o' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ŏ/ ...
Carla Stanford: And 'u' would say ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ŭ/ ...
Carla Stanford: So, anytime that the gate is closed, the vowel always says its short sound. So let's just look at that for a minute. I want you to think about this. What is the vowel in this word? Everyone tell me.
Ms. Stanford and Students: 'e' ...
Carla Stanford: This is the vowel. When I look next door, the gate is closed. What is the gate?
Students: Closed.
Carla Stanford: And when the gate, the gate is closed, the vowel throws its arms up in the air and says ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /ĕ/ ...
Carla Stanford: So, let's tap this ...
Ms. Stanford and Students: /w/, /ĕ/, /b/. Web.
Carla Stanford: And this little guy right here, like the little smiley face, it's called a breve, and it's just like the same thing. Throw your arms up. That's like the symbol for the short vowel. So when the vowel is closed in, it says a short sound. Have you ever heard about the Alphabet Queen? Now you know, she's in charge of all the letters and sounds. We're going to learn some more tomorrow.
Narrator: Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. For more information, please visit ReadingUniverse.org. Special thanks to the Toledo Federation of Teachers, Riverside Elementary School, and Toledo Public Schools in Toledo, Ohio. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale, the American Federation of Teachers, The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and three anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C., The Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.
