In the 1990s, debates over literacy instruction reached a tipping point in the nation’s most populous state. Learn more about the reading crisis in California and the start of the so-called “Reading Wars” in this episode of A Novel Idea. Plus, hear from:

• Dr. G. Reid Lyon, former director, NICHD
• Dr. Maryanne Wolf, author, Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain and Dyslexia, Fluency, and the Brain
• Dr. Timothy Shanahan (Twitter: @ReadingShanahan), distinguished professor emeritus, University of Illinois at Chicago 

Learn More
“The Reading Wars,” Nicholas Lemann, The Atlantic Monthly
https://www.pbs.org/weta/twoschools/thechallenge/history/
Scarborough’s Rope
https://institute.aimpa.org/resources/readingrope

Episode transcript and sources
https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/transcript-and-sources-novel-idea-episode-6

A Novel Idea website:

irrc.education.uiowa.edu/resources/novel-idea-podcast