The Knowledge Matters Podcast
Episodes
Bonus Episode: Following History's Stories, on Film | History Matters Podcast
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thirteen colonies rose up, rebelled against an Empire, and won their independence. These unlikely victors built a new nation on democratic principles ...
Curiosity That Goes Beyond the Classroom | History Matters Podcast
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Thermopolis, Wyoming, second-grade students love learning about the War of 1812, from the swashbuckling sea battles off the coast of Louisiana to t...
The Four Questions That Make History Come Alive | History Matters Podcast
11 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Many teachers build history lessons on primary sources like letters and legal documents. But without context and historical thinking skills, students ...
Building Teachers' Historical Knowledge | History Matters Podcast
04 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What do teachers need to successfully teach high-quality history lessons in elementary school?A strong curriculum is a great start, but teachers also ...
Massachusetts' Big Move on Elementary History | History Matters Podcast
28 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Medway, Massachusetts, “social studies is a subject to be valued,” fifth-grade teacher Jennifer Lindsey explains in this episode. “It’s the...
History Can’t Wait Until High School | History Matters Podcast
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the typical American high school, 9th-grade history students are expected to dive into the historical content, grapple with complex ideas, and enga...
The Power of Historical Knowledge | History Matters Podcast
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The more history young students know, the more they want to know. That’s one of the joyful discoveries that elementary teachers are making in Ouachi...
What Makes Great Elementary History Curriculum | History Matters Podcast
14 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Teaching history involves balance: too many facts and it’s boring, too few and students don’t have enough information to make sense of what they’...
A Case for Teaching History in Elementary School | History Matters Podcast
30 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Elementary schools spend almost no time teaching history. How did we get here, and how can we reprioritize this crucial foundation for literacy and kn...
Natalie Wexler on How Writing Promotes Clear Thinking | Literacy and the Science of Learning
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 Episode 6 | “Teaching students to write clearly was actually teaching them to think clearly.” In the Season 3 finale, host Natalie Wexl...
Natalie Wexler on Memory and the Writing Effect | Literacy and the Science of Learning
22 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 Episode 5 | Writing is hard—and teaching writing is even harder. But science tells us it’s well worth the effort, because writing flexes...
Doug Lemov on the Power of Whole Books | Literacy and the Science of Learning
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 Episode 4 | “The book is in a death struggle with electronic and social media. And right now, it’s losing.”Host Doug Lemov makes a spi...
Doug Lemov on Fluency’s Impact on Comprehension | Literacy and the Science of Learning
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 Episode 3 | When we read fluently, we recognize words without effort. We also maintain an engaged pace (automaticity) and perceive expressio...
Dylan Wiliam on Building Student Knowledge | Literacy and the Science of Learning
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 Episode 2 | Our memories grow stronger when we work to retrieve them. That’s why flash cards and pop quizzes are effective: they prompt st...
Dylan Wiliam on How the Brain Learns | Literacy and the Science of Learning
24 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Season 3 Episode 1 | How can schools and teachers maximize student learning? To answer this question, we need to understand how the human mind works....
Trailer | Introducing Season 3: Literacy and the Science of Learning
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How is the Science of Reading connected to the Science of Learning? Join hosts Dylan Wiliam, Doug Lemov, and Natalie Wexler as they delve into the lin...
Bonus Episode: Writing: An Unsung Hero of Reading Comprehension
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This bonus episode is an audio recording of our most popular webinar ever, Writing: An Unsung Hero of Reading Comprehension. It features familiar voic...
Bonus Episode: Knowledge: An Unsung Hero of Reading Comprehension
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s episode is a special bonus—an audio recording of our recent webinar, Knowledge: Why It Matters. We found the conversation so valuable that...
Building Stamina for Deep Reading | Know Better, Do Better
19 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 Episode 6 | Explorers boldly venture into unfamiliar worlds, where confidence, curiosity, knowledge, and persistence are rewarded. When stude...
How Rich Texts Fuel Stronger Comprehension | Know Better, Do Better
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 Episode 5 | Have you ever read something and then realized you didn’t totally understand it? That’s the hallmark of a challenging text, ...
Making Reading a Social Experience | Know Better, Do Better
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 Episode 4 | How do actual teachers and students “center the text” in reading classrooms? In this episode, David and Meredith Liben get s...
Why Strategy-First Reading Instruction Holds Students Back | Know Better, Do Better
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 Episode 3 | When’s the last time you finished a chapter of a book and thought, “Hmmm, what was the main idea?” Competent readers don’...
Vocabulary’s Central Role in Developing Strong Readers | Know Better, Do Better
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 Episode 2 | Imagine reading a story about a trial, but not knowing the meaning of “indicted” or “exonerated.” Without a lot of deter...
A Reading Comprehension Call to Arms | Know Better, Do Better
15 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 Episode 1 | In today’s reading classrooms, too many kids are not alright. One of the biggest challenges is comprehension–or rather, its ...
Trailer | Introducing Season 2: Know Better, Do Better: Comprehension
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Season 2 of the Knowledge Matters Podcast is here! Teachers and reading experts David and Meredith Liben host “Know Better, Do Better: Comprehension...
Taking on the Knowledge-Building Challenge | Reading Comprehension Revisited
26 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 Episode 6 | “Think what a better society we’ll have” | American education has a number of serious problems – and our failure to start...
Leadership and Literacy Reform | Reading Comprehension Revisited
19 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 Episode 5 | “Everything was in silos” | So far in "The Knowledge Matters Podcast: Reading Comprehension Revisited", we've...
Reading and Writing Go Hand-in-Hand | Reading Comprehension Revisited
12 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 Episode 4 | “Now they had something to write about” | In the last episode of "The Knowledge Matters Podcast: Reading Comprehension ...
Classroom Insights on Knowledge-Rich Curriculum | Reading Comprehension Revisited
05 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 Episode 3 | “That cloud looks like an anvil” | In Episode 3 of "The Knowledge Matters Podcast: Reading Comprehension Revisited"...
Where Reading Instruction Went Wrong | Reading Comprehension Revisited
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 Episode 2 | “A simple way of looking at a complex problem” | In the second episode of "The Knowledge Matters Podcast: Reading Compr...
How Content Knowledge Builds Motivation to Read | Reading Comprehension Revisited
28 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 Episode 1 | “Kids were bored to death” | Welcome to the inaugural episode of the six-part Knowledge Matters Podcast series, "Readin...
Trailer | Introducing the Knowledge Matters Podcast: Reading Comprehension Revisited
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
"Reading Comprehension Revisited," the inaugural series from the Knowledge Matters Podcast. Hosted by Natalie Wexler, education journalist...