I am Dr. Bruce Murray--the Reading Genie--an associate professor of Reading Education in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Auburn University. Actually, there's nothing magic about learning to read when we base our instruction on the science of reading education.  We can plan lessons using this public knowledge base to ease children into reading and spelling with the alphabetic code.  Soon they will be reading independently with understanding and enjoyment.

LESSONS:  These links take you to research-based instruction in learning to read.

    Overview of how children learn to read words
    How to help children tune into the sounds in words

    How to teach phoneme awareness 
    How to teach blending
    How to teach a letterbox lesson
    How to assess decoding and phoneme awareness
    How to teach spelling as wordmapping 
    How to help with oral reading
    How to develop reading fluency 
    Using decodable text
    How to count phonemes in spoken words
    How to teach letter recognition
    How to analyze miscues for missing correspondences

                Pictures and information about the 2015 Auburn University Summer Reading Program

Read a sample Reading Genie decodable book online.

Access a collection of Geniebooks in PowerPoint files.
Find short-vowel decodable books written by teachers

FROM THE CLASSROOM:  These lessons apply scientific knowledge of reading with creativity and flair.

Travels--Lesson designs Fall 2015
Handoffs--Lesson designs Spring 2015
Edifications--Lesson designs Fall 2014
Metamorphoses--Lesson designs Summer 2014
Partnerships--Lesson designs Spring 2014
Expeditions--Lesson designs Fall 2013       
Transformations--Lesson designs Summer 2013       
Rendezvous--Lesson designs Spring 2013
Epiphanies--Lesson designs Fall 2012
Awakenings--Lesson designs Spring 2012      

Doorways--Lesson designs Fall 2011

Invitations--Lesson designs Spring 2011
Adventures--Lesson designs Fall 2010
Caravans--Lesson designs Summer 2010
Realizations--Lesson designs Spring 2010
Journeys--Lesson designs Fall 2009
Solutions--Lesson designs Summer 2009
Projects--Lesson designs Spring 2009
Sightings--Lesson designs Fall 2008
Passages--Lesson designs Summer 2008
Voyages--Lesson designs Spring 2008
Encounters--Lesson designs Fall 2007
Navigations--Lesson designs Summer 2007
Odysseys--Lesson designs Spring 2007
Perspectives--Lesson designs Fall 2006
Catalysts--Lesson designs Summer 2006
Inventions--Lesson designs Spring 2006
Constructions--Lesson designs Fall 2005
Innovations--Lesson designs Summer 2005
Connections--Lesson designs Spring 2005
Explorations--Lesson designs Fall 2004
Beginnings--Lesson designs Summer 2004
Guidelines--Lesson designs Spring 2004
Inspirations--Lesson designs Fall 2003
Discoveries--Lesson designs Summer 2003
Openings--Lesson designs Spring 2003
Inroads--Lesson designs from Fall 2002
Elucidations--Lesson designs from Spring 2002
Challenges--Lesson designs Fall 2001
Illuminations--Lesson designs Summer 2001
Breakthroughs--Lesson designs Spring 2001
Insights--Lesson designs Fall 2000
 

MATERIALS:  These links take you to materials for reading teachers, especially those enrolled in CTRD 3000 at Auburn University.

Tongue ticklers for practicing phoneme awareness
4-, 5-, or 6-phoneme example words for your letterbox lesson 
Phoneme pictures for short vowels
Creative phoneme chants with posters
Phoneme-letter pictures--phoneme pictures with embedded letters
More phon-let pictures: Professional illustrations for short vowels
Phoneme pictures: Consonants and other vowels
Images from Byrne and Fielding Barnsley study for teaching phoneme awareness
What are coverup critters and letterboxes?  
Hand gestures for phonemes

TUTORING IDEAS:  These links take you to ideas for teaching students how to read, especially by tutoring.

Click below for entertaining decodable text online.

                How I evaluated the reading series
                Harcourt
                Houghton-Mifflin
                McGraw-Hill        
                Scholastic
                Scott-Foresman
                Summary and ranking
                SRA Reading Mastery
                Houghton-Mifflin 2003 vs. Open Court 2002  

CRITICAL READING: Nothing But the Truth.  Everywhere we look, but especially on the web, we find emotionally charged language and opinion masquerading as fact, often written by people with little knowledge of their topics but with a strong desire to persuade.  We hope readers will learn to strip away emotional language, sort facts from opinions, examine the qualifications and motives of writers, and finally consider whether the evidence warrants believing a claim as "nothing but the truth."

Check back for more research-based information on teaching children to read. 
If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, e-mail me at murraba@auburn.edu