Teaching Adolescents to Read: Faith Howard on Literacy Intervention That Works

Summary

What does effective literacy intervention look like for students in middle and high school? Faith Howard returns to Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works to explain how she built Literacy Lab, a 6–12 intervention model that combines the science of reading with age-appropriate, grade-level texts.

Faith shares how a glorified study hall became a focused literacy intervention, why secondary educators need practical support in teaching foundational reading skills, and how schools can build sustainable literacy capacity instead of depending on one-time professional development. She also explains why teachers—not computer programs—teach kids, and how decoding, morphology, vocabulary, and rich novels can work together for adolescent readers.

Faith Howard is an adolescent-literacy leader and educational consultant with 17 years of experience in education. She has taught middle and high school English language arts, coached ELA and social studies teachers, served as a director of curriculum and instruction, and worked as a literacy specialist.

Chapters

00:00 — Meet Faith Howard and the case for adolescent literacy01:48 — Why the original intervention model was not working03:50 — Faith’s self-study in the science of reading05:02 — Building Literacy Lab with foundational skills and grade-level texts05:58 — Why teachers teach kids, not programs08:11 — Making structured literacy meaningful for teenagers10:39 — What “teen-friendly” literacy intervention really means12:40 — Decoding, morphology, vocabulary, and complex texts14:04 — What secondary teachers need from literacy support17:27 — Demystifying the science of reading through modeling21:11 — A sustainable sequence for schoolwide literacy improvement24:16 — From professional development to practice and follow-through44:49 — Building local capacity and letting the work speak for itself46:36 — Gene’s closing messageShow Notes

Faith’s work focuses on students who have been overlooked or left behind by unsuccessful literacy interventions. Literacy Lab brings explicit foundational-skills instruction into a teen-friendly setting, pairing work with multisyllabic words, morphology, decoding, and vocabulary with thought-provoking, grade-level books.

In this conversation, Faith and Gene discuss:

How students can be misidentified for intervention when schools do not examine the root causes of academic difficultyWhy secondary teachers are often expected to address reading gaps without having been trained to teach readingThe limits of relying on computer-based programs without an in-person connectionHow to adapt foundational reading routines for older students without giving them childish contentWhy adolescents need both explicit instruction and meaningful, challenging textsHow Faith supports districts through modeling, planning, coaching, and follow-throughWhy lasting change requires school leaders and teachers to build capacity togetherLearn more about Faith Howard and Literacy Lab:

Website: literacylabwithfaith.comFacebook: Literacy Lab with FaithSubstack: litlabwithfaith.substack.comYouTube: Science of Reading ClassroomEmail: literacylabwithfaith@gmail.comFaith also highlights the Wyoming Science of Teaching and Learning Collaborative Conference, taking place October 10 in Cody, Wyoming.

Better Teaching is hosted by Gene Tavernetti. Find more practical conversations about teaching and learning at tesscg.com.

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