# Understanding Your School's Reading Curriculum Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum.md Podcast: [play on words](https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561) Published: 2026-03-20T15:03:49+00:00 Episode link: https://zencastr.com/z/XvGM7mNC Audio file: https://redirect.zencastr.com/r/episode/69bd61d5f698baca1529261e/size/104712170/video-files/643d94b7e5cd786efbd7958c/a20458f4-3298-4f32-ad6d-9802eec5f8b9.mp4 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/play-on-words-6399561/episodes/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum Duration seconds: 1311 ## Resource Episode 87: In this episode, Beth answers one of the most common questions she gets from parents: What reading curriculum should I be looking for and how to I know what my school uses? She breaks down why reading is not a natural process, what phonological awareness really means, and what to look for in a strong reading curriuclum program (plus red flags that a curriculum may be doing more harm than good.) * Why curriculum matters and the different types of curriculum schools can use * What to do if your child's curriculum isn't working * What phonological awareness is and why it predicts reading success * How to evaluate your child's school reading curriculum * What parents of struggling readers and kids with dyslexia need to know * How fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary all fit together Topics science of reading · phonological awareness · structured literacy · reading curriculum · phonics instruction · dyslexia · early literacy · reading fluency · parent questions about reading Links Mentioned Kindergarten On-Demand [https://www.bigcityreaders.com/kindergarten-ready] First Grade On-Demand [https://www.bigcityreaders.com/first-grade-bootcamp] 2nd & 3rd Grade On-Demand [https://www.bigcityreaders.com/mastering-spelling-rules] Play on Words Episode 52: [https://tinyurl.com/n3b9nxkv] 3 Cuing and Reading Struggles [https://tinyurl.com/n3b9nxkv] About the Host Beth Gaskill (Miss Beth) is a reading specialist, early childhood educator, and founder of Big City Readers. She helps parents support their children's literacy development through research-backed, science of reading strategies. Follow Miss Beth on Instagram @BigCityReaders Browse Big City Readers resources at BigCityReaders.com ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/play-on-words-6399561/episodes/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/play-on-words-6399561/understanding-your-school-s-reading-curriculum.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.