Season 9, Episode 11

Writing the way to better reading, with Judith Hochman, Ed.D.

In this episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Susan Lambert is joined by Judith Hochman, coauthor of The Writing Revolution.聽Their conversation begins as Dr. Hochman recalls the early days of writing instruction and research, then delves into the connection between better writing and better reading. Dr. Hochman touches upon topics such as writing comprehension, her experience implementing writing instruction as a classroom teacher and as an administrator, and how the writing revolution came to be. She also answers a question from our listener mailbag, providing a detailed overview of the scope and sequence for transitioning student writing from sentence composition to paragraphs to whole texts.

Elderly person with short white hair smiling, surrounded by a border with a background of lightbulb, book, and pencil icons.

Transcripts and additional resources:

Meet Our Guest(s):

Judith C. Hochman

Judith C. Hochman

Judith Hochman, Ed.D., is the former head of The Windward School and the founder of the Windward Teacher Training Institute in White Plains, New York, as well as the former superintendent of the Greenburgh Graham Free School District in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. She is the founder of The Writing Revolution, a not-for-profit organization which disseminates evidence-based strategies for writing instruction. Dr. Hochman is the author of聽Basic Writing Skills: A Manual for Teachers聽and coauthor of聽The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades聽(2017, 2024).

Meet our host, Susan Lambert

Susan Lambert is the Chief Academic Officer of Elementary Humanities at 黄色直播, and the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Throughout her career, she has focused on creating high-quality learning environments using evidence-based practices. Lambert is a mom of four, a grandma of four, a world traveler, and a collector of stories.

As the host of Science of Reading: The Podcast, Lambert explores the increasing body of scientific research around how reading is best taught. As a former classroom teacher, administrator, and curriculum developer, Lambert is dedicated to turning theory into best practices that educators can put right to use in the classroom, and to showcasing national models of reading instruction excellence.

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Quotes

鈥淚 had an epiphany that our students really had to learn writing as a second language.鈥�

鈥擩udith Hochman

鈥淗aving students write a lot is not teaching writing. It's just like if you put a lot of books in a classroom, students don't magically begin to read.鈥�

鈥擩udith Hochman

鈥淚 often talk to teachers and remind them that they can be their own researchers in their own classrooms鈥攖o try something small鈥� . Watch to see the impact that it has; make adjustments when needed, and if it's working for the kids and you're actually seeing outcomes.鈥�

鈥擲usan Lambert

鈥淭his is not learned by osmosis, and it's not learned by vague feedback like, 鈥楳ake it better,鈥� or, 鈥楢dd more details.鈥� You've got to be very granular. This is not a naturally occurring skill in human development for any of us.鈥�

鈥擩udith Hochman

鈥淲hat's good for elementary school is good for high school and beyond. The principles of teaching someone how to write coherently and with clarity don't change.鈥�

鈥擩udith Hochman