S2 E5: Why It Works

Zig Engelmann’s Direct Instruction has a strong evidence base — so why is it so hard to find in schools? We look at why schools keep giving it up and visit a charter network in North Carolina that’s stuck with it for more than a quarter century. Read: Direct Instruction doesn't last in schools. Here's whyVideo: Scripted lessons make teachers cringe. Should they?Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM ReportsEmail us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

Direct Instruction has decades of research behind it, but what makes it work? We dig into Zig Engelmann’s theory of instruction, what cognitive science reveals about how children learn and what hundreds of studies show about the program’s effectiveness. Read: The evidence for Direct InstructionRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM ReportsEmail us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

In a poor, Black neighborhood in Houston, Principal Thaddeus Lott transforms a struggling elementary school with Direct Instruction. Soon, his students are outperforming students at much wealthier schools. The results are so remarkable, some people think it’s too good to be true.Video: The secret to Wesley Elementary’s successRead: Teachers who use Direct Instruction tend to like itRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM ReportsEmail us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

Zig Engelmann gets the chance of a lifetime: Put Direct Instruction to the test in one of the largest education experiments ever conducted. The results could have changed the direction of American education. Instead, they’re contested — and ultimately cast aside.Read: Why America’s massive educational experiment didn’t transform schoolsRead: The forgotten voices of Project Follow ThroughVideo: The biggest education experiment you’ve never heard ofRead: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

At an experimental preschool in Illinois, Zig Engelmann and his colleagues begin turning his ideas into a classroom teaching method. Along the way, they make a series of discoveries about effective instruction. Their mantra: “If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.”Read: What is Direct Instruction?Video: The 5 key concepts of DIVideo: Who was Zig Engelmann?Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

In the 1960s, an education outsider named Zig Engelmann begins challenging conventional ideas about what young children can learn. He teaches his 4-year-old twins basic algebra. But he has a hard time getting anyone in education to take him seriously, until a professor gives him a chance to see if his ideas will work in a classroom.Read: What is Direct Instruction?Video: The 5 key concepts of DIVideo: Who was Zig Engelmann?Read: Transcript of this episodeSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected] us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a weekly email newsletter from host Emily Hanford.

Sold a Story is back with a new season that goes beyond reading. Emily Hanford explores an approach to teaching that's been largely rejected by the education system — despite decades of evidence that it works.Video: Watch the trailer on YouTubeMore: soldastory.orgDive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part Extra Credit email series from Emily Hanford.

The New Yorker staff writer David Owen opened a recent piece with a personal story: To hide that she couldn’t read, his niece turned pages when her classmates did. Owen joined Sold a Story host Emily Hanford for a live conversation about his December 2025 article “Dyslexia and the Reading Wars.” The event was part of the Eyes on Reading series at Planet Word, a museum in Washington, D.C., dedicated to words and language. Read: Transcript of this episodeWatch: All Eyes on Reading videosConnect: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected]  Call us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

Early in her teaching career, Margaret Goldberg was skeptical of the science of reading. Today, she is working with neuroscientist Reid Lyon to bring it into more classrooms. Lyon and Goldberg joined Sold a Story host Emily Hanford for a live conversation about the challenges of translating research into practice. The event was part of the Eyes on Reading series at Planet Word, a museum in Washington, D.C., dedicated to words and language. Read: Transcript of this episodeSee: Slideshow from the event (cute pictures!)Watch: All Eyes on Reading videosConnect: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected]  Call us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

Education research is at a turning point in the United States. The Trump administration is slashing government funding for science and dismantling the Department of Education. We look at what the cuts mean for the science of reading — and the effort to get that science into schools. Read: Trump cancels survey of high schoolers Read: Nation’s Report Card at risk Read: Lawsuit saves massive reading experiment Read: Transcript of this episodeCarolyn Riehl: Medical research and education research Watch: The story behind Sold a StoryOrganize: Sold a Story discussion guidesSupport: Donate to APM Reports Email us: [email protected]  Call us: (612) 888-7323More: soldastory.org Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.